Danilo Gallinari’s play in the second half against the Cavs’ summer league team was very impressive. He played aggressively and with confidence, he mixed it up by shooting the three, going inside and displayed a tight mid-range game. Along with that he showed he had the handles to actually take slower defenders off the dribble by going either way. In short, it was a performance that might make skeptical Knick fans believers. He looked far more fluid than Andrea Bargnani and was a threat to do multiple things, not settle on one. Then again it was only one game. This kid might be a player.
During the broadcast of the Knicks/Sixers game Quentin Richardson was asked what he thought of the moves around the league including Elton Brand’s, he generally gave praise until they brought up the Jermaine O’Neal trade. Awkward silence ensued. That trade was “weird to me” said Quentin because it entirely changes the Raptors’ makeup and style of play. He’s got a point, we’ve gone from being a somewhat quick breaking team to an entirely half-court one with the addition of the big-man O’Neal and the loss of speed-merchant TJ Ford. The Raptors used to win games by having 5 guys in double digits and racking up the assist totals but next year the formula for success will be different – vastly different. You’d expect the points to be less spread out across the box score, a shorter rotation and more emphasis on post-ups and interior ball movement than ever before. The way Colangelo envisions the Raptors next year might be a complete 180 from his first two years! Call it a change of philosophy or a return to common sense but I like the direction. The execution is an altogether entirely different matter.
Barcelona have sold Roko Ukic to the Raptors for $650,000. This figure does not count against the salary cap, it’s just the transfer fee.
A bit surprised to see Marcus Camby traded to the Clippers for just a second round pick. Obviously the primary reason to make the deal for Denver is to shed nearly 16 million dollars in salary over two years. From the Raptors perspective you have to step back and say, hmmm..we could’ve gotten him here to solve the rebounding and defense issues and traded TJ Ford to satisfy the SF need. Hmmm…wouldn’t that have been something, eh? Either way, it looks more and more like Josh Smith isn’t going anywhere.
Nathan Jawai’s reminds us that he’s only been playing basketball for five years and still getting adjusted to the NBA style of play. He’s realizing the difference in talent and athleticisim between the leagues which is obvious but he also points out a key difference between the Australian league and NBA – no defensive three-in-the-key. Combine this defensive issue with the fact that he can’t simply tower over smaller players and get his on offense and it speaks of an uphill struggle to get in the NBA. He does have the right attitude so he might have a chance. A chance. If you didn’t catch the Denver game, there are highlights.
There’s no indication that the Raptors are remotely interested in Carlos Delfino unless he signs an offersheet for a ridiculously low amount which the Raptors could match because of them extending a qualifying offer to Delfino. It’s likely that Delfino’s next destination is somewhere in Europe, probably Russia. You have to think that Hassan Adams is essentially the replacement for Delfino which means that one of our most glaring weaknesses coming into the offseason remains unaddressed. The sad part about this situation is that aside from swings like Josh Childress and Ron Artest who aren’t coming here, there’s not much Colangelo can do. Realistically and salary-cap wise speaking, we can’t acquire someone like Gerald Wallace or Josh Howard or anyone who’s in the upper-echelon of NBA swings so we have to look at tier-two options like Andres Nocioni or Gordon Giricek. But hearing Colangelo speak, his main target for the rest of the summer is a combo-guard on the cheap and a player that I’ve always liked is Quentin Ross of the Clippers.
Some absolutely shocking news – Canada released Samuel Dalembert after their stunning victory over Korea, Leo says:
“Without going into too much detail, it’s a situation that we decided to move forward with the players who have the passion and desire to play for Canada. It’s disappointing for sure, but I think you have to have players who are a 100% committed to it. If not, it’s not going to happen for us.”
Leo Rautins showing some big time balls by kicking out a legit NBAer out of a roster that’s lacking any.
Michael Grange had some brief but key points about Canada’s loss to Slovenia. NBA Live ’09 is around the corner, check out the screen caps – very sweet.
Next Raptors summer league action is against the Sixers on Thursday. Approximately 110 days till the season starts. Later.
