HawthorneVillager.com

Bosh considering New York with or without James.
http://lebron-james-watch.si.com/2010/0 ... on-lebron/

12 months ago, I never thought I'd guess I would have any anticipation or longing for the arrival of David Lee.

Now, I see it as the best case scenario and am looking forward to it happening. Lee + Gallinari is a good combo for this team, since I don't see a defensive revolution happening anytime soon.

We have to get SOMETHING for Bosh, not just cap room.

Bynum? forget it. He's useful on a good team. On his own, he's nothing but a career ending knee surgery waiting to happen from over-use.

I'm actually surprised the the article you lined above - I thought they weren't allowed to talk that much about their plans prior to July 1, since it compromises the process... i.e. takes negotiation power away from the team that has him under contract...

oh well. I can tell you one thing, the Milton Canada Day festivities will be fun, but this will all be an exciting addition to a great day!

Bosh wanting to be THE MAN like he is in Toronto, may decrease his options and help the Raps re-ink the 5 times all-star.

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/a ... ef:nbahpt1

Jack Armstrong (Heellooooooo!) seems to think Bosh will stay with the Raps. I'm not so sure. He doesn't seem to be a very vocal or confrontational guy (from an inspiration perspective) like a Garnett (minus the asshole-ness) or a Kobe, nor did he make his teammates better, but he's still young and he might improve down the road.

I still think he's a good player despite not playing good down the stretch, but our team desperately needs some D and some moxy (Bargnani is always stone-cold emotionless, and Antoine Wright's voice isn't powerful enough since he isn't a top-tier player). Anyone who watched the semifinals and finals can see that defense is very important in games, and with Raptor games, they surrendered 30+ points in the 1st quarter many a nights, whereas with the good teams, the score after the 1st quarter is consistently in the teens or low 20s at most.

We'll see. I predict a sign and trade and that he doesn't want to be here.

_________________
What is the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

Corey maguette and a 2nd round draft to Milwaukee from the Warriors for Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzuric... More of a confirmed news than a rumor

Whoa! I saw a thread a week or so asking about a sports forum, missed that there actually was one! I may as well just quit my job now since I'll get no work done anyhow.

Fred D, if they can get Gallinari and Lee in a S&T, I'd be thrilled. I don't see them doing much better than that.

Either way, it sounds like Colangelo is resigned to blowing up the team:

LOL!

Gallinari and Lee.. sure!
Cole Aldrich... I guess, I'm just worried about the college --> NBA transition, as you never know with that type of player.

I'm actually looking forward to all the potential activity - change is exciting, regardless of how long it takes us to get disappointed again!

I've read a lot of mixed reviews about Aldrich: Best case seems to be that he'll be a serviceable starter, worst case he will be out of the league in no time. I have yet to read/hear any of the "experts" say he's a potential star.

I'm looking forward to all of this too. It'll be exciting the see the overhaul.

Dyingfor some raptors rumours. Where does everyone go to get there fix.

Last rumour I heard was our 13th pick to Portland for Rudy Fernadez and Portlands first round pick

Wow what a great rumour! No way that'll happen

Getting back to Cole, I am going to go on record to say he will absolutely STINK in the NBA.

Somebody has got to teach him how to shoot so quick 6'1" NBA guards can't block his shot.

Ask and ye shall receive: http://www.prosportsdaily.com/nba/raptors/rumors.html

This is a great site too: http://www.realgm.com

Trades forum where they post rumours and (usually) make up their own:
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewfor ... 3b51a19ab9

Raptors forum:
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewfor ... 3b51a19ab9

Raps fans are probably the most vocal and insane on these boards, so it's pretty good, but also quite funny when they propose absurd deals that are completely one-sided in the Raps favour.



May be true. Here's The Star's Doug Smith:



Unless Colangelo absolutely loves a guy at #13, I'm all for this deal!

WTF? one minute he wants to be the MAN and the other just a sidekick?
Or, is the wording misleading where he meant that he will be the MAN but a 2nd option if Lebron's negociations fail?

"Though LeBron James is the great domino, Chris Bosh, who wasn't shy in his compliments of the Knicks -- "The Garden is one of the greatest, if not the best place to play, in the league" -- hopes to be No. 2. "Am I waiting on LeBron? Pretty much," Bosh said. "I think everyone has to. ... I think everybody is going to be going at him first. They'll probably call him at 12:01. Hopefully they'll call me at 12:02." Bosh will have many suitors, including the Heat, Bulls, Lakers, Rockets. There's the possibility he can re-sign with the Raptors, for whom he played the first seven seasons of his NBA career."

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumo ... k-to-magic

I liked one of the comments suggesting:
* Gortat, Pietrus, Hinrich to the RAPTORS
*Hedo, Arenas to the MAGIC
*Carter, Calderon to the WIZARDS

Sounds very possible and reasonable. Makes sense to all 3 teams.

3 Powerful free-agent contenders
The draft provided opportunities for cap-space teams to drop more financial weight -- which in turn they hope to gain back instantly and brilliantly next month when the long-awaited class of free agents can be signed.

• Miami Heat. They are now the No. 1 contenders this summer -- not necessarily to sign LeBron, but to come out of the July recruiting window with the strongest improvement. The Bulls have more space under the cap, but the Heat have the likelihood of re-signing Dwyane Wade as well as the presence of team president Pat Riley, a duo that none of the other contenders can match.

I keep hearing that Riley is networked into the free-agent landscape more thoroughly than any other executive in the league; only Rod Thorn of the Nets comes close. Riley has endless credibility and he has done the hard and smart work to build relationships that will pay off July 8. He is the executive least likely to come away empty next month.

The Heat don't have enough space to sign two max guys along with Wade, but I'm not so sure they should want that much room. If they can land Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire or Joe Johnson to a huge contract to serve as the No. 2 player to Wade, then their remaining cap space will force whomever comes next -- Carlos Boozer or Rudy Gay, perhaps -- to accept a financially defined No. 3 role. No team with cap space is going to succeed unless the roles are defined explicitly to prevent a Shaq-and-Kobe war of control, and the Heat are now set up to enter next season with Michael Beasley as their No. 4 player coming off the bench. If Beasley is you're No. 4, then you have the makings of an excellent team.

• Chicago Bulls. Their bold draft-day dumping of Hinrich and the No. 17 pick leaves Chicago with close to $31 million in cap space to sign one max plus another near-max star. In addition, the Bulls have a promising young trio of point guard Derrick Rose, center Joakim Noah and small forward Luol Deng to help recruit the likes of James and Bosh, which is the ultimate goal for Chicago.

If James is looking to leave Cleveland, then the Bulls became more attractive now that he can recruit another star to join him. But will it be Bosh? He can earn an additional $30 million by negotiating a sign-and-trade -- something the Raptors would prefer if they are going to lose him -- and the Bulls (along with Miami and New York) have slashed so much payroll that they can't participate in that kind of deal.

The Bulls are going to have a strong summer. But if they can't sign James, then I wonder if they'll be able to land two of the big names. There now threatens to be more cap space on offer this summer than there are stars available to be recruited. And don't forget the likes of Dallas and Houston, which could seek to negotiate sign-and-trade deals for Bosh or another of the stars.

• New York Knicks. They have the most cap space, an excellent and popular coach in Mike D'Antoni and the city of New York itself. But there is little of quality remaining on their pared-down roster, and if they don't sign James or Wade will their fans be disappointed by the secondary alternatives of Bosh, Johnson, Stoudemire and/or Boozer? And will that negativity influence the decisions of those players?

I find myself wondering which franchise James is likely to visit first: the Knicks or the Nets? How will the fans and press in New York handle the day or two of waiting as James meets with Thorn, owner Mikhail Prokhorov and his friend Jay-Z? Will it be viewed as a negative signal of the Knicks' chances?

The opening week of July is going to be reality-TV theater and its headquarters will be New York. If James signs with the Knicks, the rest of the league will anticipate the building of a dynasty. But it will take a huge leap of faith by James as the Knicks will need at least a couple of years to fill out their roster around him.

Great posts, big ... except any mention of gortat becoming a raptor.
Please oh please don't bring him here!