Free Agency 2012

[Apollo]

I had heard about Wallace not wanting to play for the Raptors so I did some research on that. Apparently 4 years ago Bruce Arthur from the National Post wrote an article and briefly mentioned that Wallace would not want to play for the Raptors. The reference came from left field and he stopped talking about Wallace there after. There was no direct quote from Wallace and no other source corroborated that story.

Since when in here have we ever held rumors to the standard of having to originate directly from a recorded statement the player made? Isn't that news then and not a rumor? The whole point of rumors is that they don't have to be validated with hard evidence. Real information can be leaked and denied without much backlash. It would have been stupid for Gerald Wallace to issue a public statement saying he won't play for the Raptors. He gains nothing but massive heckling every time he plays in the ACC. Not to mention there was no agreement on the table so why shoot himself in the foot?

I don't know Bruce Arthur at all, but is he even a basketball guy? Is this a valid reference? If so where was the direct quote, and how come no other source followed up on it? I would imagine it would be a big news item (especially coming from a guy who was an all-star).

Because talks didn't progress. If I remember correctly Wallace's name came up and Wallace let it be known via his agent that he wanted no part of Toronto and so talks immediately stopped. It wasn't like the trade was finalized and Wallace vetoed the thing. That would be big news but there wasn't a trade to veto so this didn't get much pub. An American player not hot on playing in Canada? That's not a rare thing... Maybe it will become a rare thing in the future given the increase in taxes, crime and what have you going on down there but right now it's not a special case.

I personally don't buy it. Unless I can see a current quote from Wallace saying he would not want to play here, I don't trust it.

That's your opinion but my opinion is I do I believe it and it's not a bombshell. I believe Wallace's idea of what it's like to play in Toronto is based on ignorance and chances are he hasn't exactly been illuminated since then on the facts. The MLSE board of directors gave the team a bad rep throughout the league in the early years; the first decade of operations. They had no business making basketball decisions but they got involved, did and said a lot of stupid things and as a result Toronto is still struggling to obtain credibility now five years after they went into "hands off mode." [pure speculation beyond this point]All those disgruntled former Raptors will be retired in the near future. Things should become easier when they're not out there bad mouthing the Raptors behind the scenes to other players. Guys like T-Mac, Carter, Davis, Alston, Lamond Murray, Eric Williams they all left the team pissed off in one way or another. How many successful teams in free agency have a track record of pissing guys off like Toronto has in the past?

[planetmars]

Since when in here have we ever held rumors to the standard of having to originate directly from a recorded statement the player made? Isn't that news then and not a rumor? The whole point of rumors is that they don't have to be validated with hard evidence. Real information can be leaked and denied without much backlash. It would have been stupid for Gerald Wallace to issue a public statement saying he won't play for the Raptors. He gains nothing but massive heckling every time he plays in the ACC. Not to mention there was no agreement on the table so why shoot himself in the foot?

There was a rumour that Sasha Vujacic had already signed a contract with the Raptors and that came from some random twitter feed. IMO, there has to be something tangible out there that can be discussed before we can consider it gospel. If there was a source other than Bruce Arthurs' sentence in his one article then I'd consider it more tangible. However I could not find any other printing of that comment anywhere. And that takes me back to how credible Bruce Arthur is. I don't know enough of Arthur to indicate whether his source was even credible.

That's your opinion but my opinion is I do I believe it and it's not a bombshell. I believe Wallace's idea of what it's like to play in Toronto is based on ignorance and chances are he hasn't exactly been illuminated since then on the facts. The MLSE board of directors gave the team a bad rep throughout the league in the early years; the first decade of operations. They had no business making basketball decisions but they got involved, did and said a lot of stupid things and as a result Toronto is still struggling to obtain credibility now five years after they went into "hands off mode." [pure speculation beyond this point]All those disgruntled former Raptors will be retired in the near future. Things should become easier when they're not out there bad mouthing the Raptors behind the scenes to other players. Guys like T-Mac, Carter, Davis, Alston, Lamond Murray, Eric Williams they all left the team pissed off in one way or another. How many successful teams in free agency have a track record of pissing guys off like Toronto has in the past?

All your comments you laid out make a lot of sense. Wallace does seem like a guy that might not like Toronto. There are a lot of ex Raptors that would bad mouth the organization and Wallace may have heard all of that. But there is also a chance that he may not feel that way, and this could have been a rumour that should have been squashed a long time ago. If he doesn't want to come here, then he can go F@#! himself.

But you originally said the following:

No need to worry because Gerald Wallace has said no to Toronto in the past and let it be known he wants nothing to do with this club.

But like you just said this is your opinion. I just want to indicate that this may not be 100% entirely true and we should not all believe that Wallace does not want to come here even though it makes some sense.

[Soft Euro]

It's a persistent rumour and it has already been discussed on this site before. Some external links that mention Wallace might not want to play in Toronto:

Sources familiar with the thinking of Wallace and Iguodala said the players do not want to join a team in the throes of a massive rebuilding project.

Gerald Wallace had previously voiced his displeasure on playing in Toronto.

[Apollo]

There was a rumour that Sasha Vujacic had already signed a contract with the Raptors and that came from some random twitter feed. IMO, there has to be something tangible out there that can be discussed before we can consider it gospel. If there was a source other than Bruce Arthurs' sentence in his one article then I'd consider it more tangible. However I could not find any other printing of that comment anywhere. And that takes me back to how credible Bruce Arthur is. I don't know enough of Arthur to indicate whether his source was even credible.

Yeah, "some random twitter feed". This Wallace rumor was on multiple sports sites and origninated on a sports site. There was a rumor that Vince Carter was asking for a trade in August 2004. There was a rumor that shortly after all-star weekend that Bosh had made his mind up to follow LBJ. There was a rumor that Colangelo was going to take Bargnani with the #1 pick in 2006. All three of those rumors did not originate by some nameless person on twitter who had zero consequences in posting it. The same can be said for the Gerald Wallace rumor. On the flip side there were many American leaders who were directly quoted as saying that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, direct quotes. What happened there?

All your comments you laid out make a lot of sense. Wallace does seem like a guy that might not like Toronto. There are a lot of ex Raptors that would bad mouth the organization and Wallace may have heard all of that. But there is also a chance that he may not feel that way, and this could have been a rumour that should have been squashed a long time ago. If he doesn't want to come here, then he can go F@#! himself.

Maybe but if the rumor is true then Colangelo knows it's true. If it's bogus then Colangelo knows it's bogus. If it's bogus then I'd imagine he would be inquiring into what it would take to land Wallace. I agree, if he's basing his opinion of Toronto from a point of ignorance then fine, whatever, let him go no where on some other team willing to overpay for his services.

But like you just said this is your opinion. I just want to indicate that this may not be 100% entirely true and we should not all believe that Wallace does not want to come here even though it makes some sense.

I think we should believe what ever we want to believe. Take the information, apply logic and if you come to the conclusion it's true, he doesn't like Toronto then fine. If not then fine. Either way the impact is zero. I believe the rumor.

[jbml]

And I think if you have been eliminated from the playoffs and have had the next year pretty well discussed to death. The scope of what will be discussed will widen

[Nilanka]

So after all that, we've come to the conclusion that Wallace may, or may not like playing in Toronto. Got it

[Apollo]

Hearing Jason Kidd isn't interested in playing for a vets minimum or small exception. If he doesn't get a mid-level type offer, he'll quit.

Source: Twitter/@ChrisMannixSI

[ceez]

kidd should have retired after they won the championship

[LBF]

Bruce Arthur is on that show "The Reporters with Dave Hodge".

He writes for the toronto sun i believe. So, he's got some credibility.

Apollo you touched on ignorance and mlse messing shit up. T-Mac left because he was ready for more and toronto didn't give it to him. The rest i agree.

[Nilanka]

Bruce Arthur writes for the National Post. He's kind of a "jack of all trades" sports writer. He doesn't specialize in basketball.

[LBF]

Bruce Arthur writes for the National Post. He's kind of a "jack of all trades" sports writer. He doesn't specialize in basketball.

Which can be a good thing because you tend to not form as bias an opinion and don't look too far into things.

Anyways, I don't think the raptors are going after G. Wallace.

I'd be at least inquiring about that jerebko guy. He's gonna be a nice player.

[Apollo]

Which can be a good thing because you tend to not form as bias an opinion and don't look too far into things.

Anyways, I don't think the raptors are going after G. Wallace.

I'd be at least inquiring about that jerebko guy. He's gonna be a nice player.

The sad thing is that Wallace is exactly the type of guy on the wing you need with Bargnani. Hopefully they look at what the Hawks want for Smith.... Which is probably Bargnani.

[Matt52]

The sad thing is that Wallace is exactly the type of guy on the wing you need with Bargnani. Hopefully they look at what the Hawks want for Smith.... Which is probably Bargnani.

It will be interesting to see what happens with him in Atlanta. Smith will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. He has made it known he would welcome a trade. Atlanta also sold a second round pick for cash at the trade deadline which is practically unheard of.

Offering the pick and Ed Davis would save them around $9M (Ed contract plus pick) and put them about $9M below the cap. They'd get younger, add depth, and have money to get a real C - Chris Kaman perhaps?

If the Raptors end up picking 8th or 9th, I'd certainly make the proposal. Although any trade would have to come with an extension. Having him leave after 1 season would be tough for the Raptors. They can't give away assets at this time.

[Matt52]

O.J. Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies – $5.6 million – Restricted ($7.4 million Qualifying Offer)

The Memphis Grizzlies have tried to trade O.J. Mayo at least a handful of times over the last two years, not because they don’t like O.J., but because they know they are going to have a problem retaining him this summer.

The Grizzlies have $62.54 million in hard salary commitments for next season, and that’s before the $7.39 million Qualifying Offer to Mayo, the $3.82 million Qualifying Offer to Marreese Speights or the $3.00 million Qualifying Offer to Darrell Arthur.

Mayo’s Qualifier alone puts Memphis into luxury tax territory.

There is no doubting there will be a hefty list of suitors for Mayo. He has really found his groove this season and that’s likely going to price him out of the game in Memphis.

The Grizz could opt to issue the offer and make O.J. a restricted free agent and deal with the tax implications later, but that just seems unlikely.

The Mayo situation will be interesting because Memphis will have to make some tough choices and letting the third overall pick just walk away doesn’t seem like smart business. How does Memphis make it all work?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-am-tal...-free-agency-3

Memphis has some serious decisions to make.

[Nilanka]

If we somehow end up with Mayo (the number 3 pick in the '09 draft), that will cosmically make up for dealing our 17th pick (Hibbert), and all will be forgiven

[LBF]

You had to open that can of worms?

Really!?

[Maleko]

Bruce Arthur is on that show "The Reporters with Dave Hodge".

He writes for the toronto sun i believe. So, he's got some credibility.

Apollo you touched on ignorance and mlse messing shit up. T-Mac left because he was ready for more and toronto didn't give it to him. The rest i agree.

Since when does writing for the Toronto sun give anyone credibility?

[The Coach]

http://www.hoopsworld.com/top-10-nba...ed-free-agents

What would be your big board if these "Top 10 Restricted Free Agents" were Raptor's choices and where does Kirilenko fit? I based mine on what I think the current Raptor's roster needs:

1. Batum
2. Gordon
3. Mayo
4. Kirilenko
5. Hill
6. Hibbert
7. Lee
8. Lopez
9. Lin
10. McGee
11. Anderson

Kirilenko MVP video (not great, but current year's highlight:


Edit: Probably should have compared Kirilenko to other Unrestricted FA's; however, just want to get a feel for where everybody would rank him.

[LBF]

I don't think Lin is gonna be consistent.

[LBF]

The sad thing is that Wallace is exactly the type of guy on the wing you need with Bargnani. Hopefully they look at what the Hawks want for Smith.... Which is probably Bargnani.

Mhh... not sure I'd be against Bargnani for Smith. If it wasn't for Smith having a year left on his contract.

Matt...

I like that plan. Although, I'm pretty sure unless the raps signed him to a very lucrative two or three year extension. Which I'm not saying is even bad. That you'd have to go without the extension and hope you can convince him before the end of the season.

I'm a big smith fan. Trying to get him in a raps uniform is something I can get behind. It'd also show that management aint just sittin around lettinf things play out.

Two guys I want to read about them inquiring is J. Smoove and Mayo.