Rumors, Rumors, Rumors.

Any fool who watches the raptors lose time and time again can all agree on one thing. Jamario Moon as the starting small forward is barely acceptable on a D League level. In fact, our perimiter play in general is perhaps one of the most lacking in the NBA. As the raptors tumble through the standings and as the 76'ers pull it together in the absence of Brand, the window of opportunity to claim a playoff spot is dwindling and the pressure to deliver a trade hightens.

During this economic recession, basketball and all pro sports take an interesting turn. How valuable is it to make the playoffs? Teams like Miami, New Jersey and Milwaukee, currently in the playoff hunt have to evaluate and wonder, is it worth it? With salary cap killers, Carter, Marion, Jefferson and Redd, an owner must be wondering whether a first round exit is worth all this money in troubled times. In my opinion, this recession makes trade talk all the more interesting as financial motives begins to take a higher precedence in trade motives.

What does this mean to the Raptors? Despite our famous stingy ownership, the Raptors are one of the few teams in the NBA who can afford to have salary busters. Being in a strong market, filled with corporate sponsorship, and a historical NHL franchise, they are one of the few teams who don't have to worry as much about breaking even and can contemplate taking on heavy contracts.

For the Raptors, we can discount a trade with the Bucks simply because, as I believe, our best trade bait is ONeal and with Bogut signed to a long term deal, they don't need Oneal there. But we can look at other teams looking to cement their core, give playing time to the young and shed some contracts. So who do the Raptors have a shot with? Just by looking at team situations, salary situations, and young talent, and players the Raptors may actually want, I think we can fairly easily narrow down possible trading partners to the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. These teams made the cut mainly because these teams would be interested in Oneal and have viable players to sendback and help clog up our deficiencies.

These four seem to be the most viable deals for the Raptors to do in return for Oneal, so lets take a deeper look into the benefits of each deal.

Dallas: Gets a great low post player to complete Dirk. In my opinion has a much better chance of working over the Bosh Oneal duo. Before he came I always felt that Oneal had a better shot of coexisting with Bargnani because that three point threat needs to be there.Not to mention this deal lets them dish their publicity nightmare Howard and also gives him the fresh start he needs. To make this deal viable, the expiring contract of Stackhouse would have to be thrown in as well. Given that he has seen a reduced role with Dallas given the emergence of Barea, they are also helping to solve their minute and chemistry issues. It is also of importance that in the west, they are going to need a solid defensive bigman to contain almost every team in the West. Dallas also doesn't lose any financial flexibility as the length of the contracts are the same.

Raptors: Giving the abundance of minutes at their positions, and Stackhouse's leadership off the bench, this may look like a simple financial inclusion, but his effect could be extremely influential on the rest of the bench. Both these players will look at this team as an opportuntiy, a fresh start and a chance to still be on a team that has a chance. In Howard we will find a solid all around sf, who more importantly, can create his own shot and be given the ball in late game situations. Having the team option for Howard may prove important in keeping Bosh with the Raptors if this trade works out.

*Note: For this trade, another player may have to be involved, possibly a Moon for Green swap.

Heat: Oneal round two. This duo may not be as powerful as the Superman Flash combo but it certainly would be a scary duo to face. With Wade unstopabable this year and able to get to the rim at will, he could be the perimiter play Oneal needs to regain his touch. Without any other credible bigs on the floor, this could also give him the room he needs to operate down low. An understated aspect of this trade could be the minutes it opens up for Beasley to have a more prominent, stable role and gain some valuable minutes to learn and get back into ROY contention. Again we see the immense cap relief in 2010 to keep wade and who knows what else.

Raptors: Of all the possible options, this may be the easiest to do, but the least helpful. In Marion we certainly get someone to address our needs of a defensive stop, but the question is what can he bring to the offensive table. Do the raps really want another player who can't create his own shot. I can't imagine any team at any time giving the ball to Marion to make the last play. However, his knowledge and ability on the fast break may be what the Raps need to learn how to actually run effectively. I think the success of this trade hinges on Bargnani's ability to keep this run going. If he maintains himself as a 20 point threat, it may not matter what Marion brings to the offensive table and his offensive putbacks and few fast break points may be all we need. I dont think the Raps really will be getting anyone else of value to make contracts match. With the emergence of Roko, do we really want Banks to clog up pg minutes? Getting Wright may be valuable if he can provide a consistent role.

Charlotte: They may be able to get rid of the NBA player with what I assume must be the record for most concussions. They get a great defensive and offensive low post weapon in ONeal who will definitely fit in well with Larry Brown's System. The availability of this deal however has dwindled in my mind as they already made moves to acquire Boris Diaw and recently Diop. With Okafor on the roster, they may be reluctant to add another big and may be in fact more keen on acquiring a strong guard. I would think that if a player of Oneal's stature was acquired, it could mean another big is on the move in Charlotte or they may just like to keep Diop and Diaw incase Oneal's injury history follows him. I do think however with the acquisition of Oneal, Charlotte could boast perhaps one of the best post defenses in the NBA and with Raja on the wing, it may not matter how difficult it is for them to score.

Raptors: For this deal to be a success, I think a lot of it hinges on who the second peice is. If we were to receive Felton, this could be a steal. We would garner a solid pg/sg rotation and our whole at Sf would certainly be filled but at the same time let's not forget however that charlotte struggled to score with these two players as key weapons. I think it would be safe to assume they would be no better for Toronto's offense. As Raptor fans cringe when Solomon and Moon take their jump shots, do we really want two more players who have a penchant for bad shots? This deal to me is the riskiest of the possible ones out there, these players could thrive, or it could be the beginning of the end.

Bulls: The final deal to discuss. It's almost definite that one of the pieces involved will be Nocioni, and the success of this deal will largely depend on who those second and third pieces are. With Rose claiming the spotlight, Hinrich's days as the pg could be numbered. As the Bulls have searched for a low post threat for years, and after missing out on Gasol, this could be their chance to add that missing piece. A core of Rose, Gordon, Deng, Oneal and with the progress of Noah and Thomas, this would be a scary team for anyone to play. If I was Paxson, I would have to consider this deal greatly.

Raptors: I think perhaps the most important element of this trade is the fact that we would be getting three players back. With Hinrich, Nocioni and perhaps a thrown in Sefolasha, although their are no stars, we would be contributing greatly to our depth, our bench, and I believe our attitude. Nocioni is one of the most hard nosed players in the NBA and in all three of those players, we would be getting players with defensive mind sets. To build on my last article, I think they would be great leaders for our bench as well. With Calderon, Parker, Nocioni, Bosh, Barganin and Hinrich leading our bench, I think that's the biggest improvement our roster could see by only losing one player. We solve our SF and backup PG/SG holes in one swift move. Who knows, maybe we could sucker Paxson into taking Will off our hands as well.

I love the Bulls and Dallas the deals the most, but I think the best part of all of these deals, is that everyone's a winner. Here's hoping GM's agree with me!

Is leadership the question?

I could not help but think about the last few lines of the previous post. Is leadership really the problem, can we look at Bosh, or Jose and simply say they are not leading properly? After thinking about it, personally I don't think that its fair to criticize that. So many people tribute Boston's resurgence to KG's leadership, his intensity, leading his crew, but I find it hard to believe that KG learned leadership at the tender age of 32?


Being an avid KG fan in his Timberwolves day, I struggle to remember one year where the team as a whole showed the passion the Celtics showed last year. I quote last year because I don't see it as much this year. Even when they made it to the conference finals, KG was undoubtedly the leader, but his teammates did not show the intensity that he did, it was not visible that KG had a direct effect on "pumping his team up". That was a year where they just had a good mesh of talent, diving for those 50/50 balls was not the reason they made it as far as they did while for the Celtics, the hustle of Posey, PJ and Powe were deciding factors. I can't remember exactly but I think PJ Brown had a +/- of 20 something during the finals. I do think when you see the Celtics this year, you can see that void on their bench. The leadership of those two off the bench, their passion their leadership set the tone for their bench and I think once we hit the playoffs, we're going to really see how much they will sorely be missed. Similarily, I think it will be even more interesting to see the effect Ginobili, Terry, Odom and Kirilenko have on the outcome in the west.


Leaders of the teams get so much criticism because they are the face of the team, but I think it's more important to have a group of leaders, and personally I think the best teams have multiple leaders, different kinds, leaders who are your best player, leaders who are your smartest player, leaders who are your best bench player, leaders who are vets, but more importantly, I think they need PLAYERS who hold each other and themselves accountable. It's always easy to say, oh Chris should have driven on the last possession, but whose fault was it that the game was so close at the end? I think the most underrated leader is the leader of the bench. Having a quality seasoned player accept his role off the bench sends an example to the rest of the bench. I think being able to look at the bench and hold them accountable is important, but I think those players on the bench knowing they are accountable is perhaps one of the most important points in building a team.


Look no further than the spurs and you'll see. Yes, they have a superstar in Duncan and one of the best point guards in the league in Parker, but we also know their success depends on how far Ginobili can carry them. I don't think any Spur took it harder being eliminated by the Lakers when it was clear that him being injured and not having a great series was ultimately the deciding factor. I think too many team s underestimate the value of the 6th man. He's so much more than energy off the bench, he may be the most valuable leader on the team. Down the 13th man, they are the lesser stars, they are the ones who can look to that 6th man, making a sacrifice for the team, helping any way they can, but more importantly, by sharing that bench together, they can relate and learn.


As this is a Raptor blog, let me relate it someway. Looking at their roster, its clear, we are still pieces away, key pieces. In my opinion though, Oneal getting injured may be the best thing that happens to the team this regular season. Not only did we get Bargnani to see that he does belong, but having a former all star, a seasoned proven vet leading the bench, I cant' help but think he will be the example and leader that Joey, Kris, Jake, Jason and Ukic need. I think we didn't realize the psychological implications of the game. Having our 6th man early on be a unproven third year insecure player looking to prove that he belongs, I think that can be a bad sign. Do you really want your leader off the bench to be unsure of whether he even belongs? I think we can rest easy knowing that no matter how many times Azubuike destroy's Oneal's knee, he's going to know he belongs in this league. I think it will be very interesting to keep an eye on how the bench reacts to Oneal being the 6th man.


This was my first post on a blog in god knows so I would appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.


PS. I know its long, I tend to ramble!