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NBA Offseason Thread! All offseason NBA talk in THIS thread!
- Thread starter DMczaf
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Shinobi said:Anyway, time for me to get some VC talk in...
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...22,1,1875417.column?coll=orl-sports-headlines
Knowing the way some people up here hate on Vince, they'll probably say him wanting to stay here proves he's not interested in winning.VC is easily the Raptors' most tradable asset despite his lowered value, but I think he's too talented to just give up on considering he's played on a team with no real big man and no real point guard the last few years. I'd like to at least see him play with those pieces in place with a coach who knows how to run an offense that best uses his skills before the team gives up on him. Having said that, a change of scenery probably wouldn't hurt him either, as much as I wouldn't want to see him leave.
ROB BABCOCK yesterday drew a subtle line in the sand with regard to Vince Carter. First Babcock seemed to confirm, through the ducking of a question, that Carter's agent has demanded a trade on behalf of the disgruntled Raptors star. Then Babcock, the club's new general manager, said that what a player wants isn't always what a player gets.
"My feeling is, if the player demands to be traded, it doesn't mean you trade him," Babcock said, a day before tonight's NBA entry draft. "I have to do what's best for this basketball team. If the best thing is to trade the player, and I can make our team better, then certainly I'll look at that. But if that's not the case, I'm not going to trade the player."
What about the damage an unhappy player could cause?
"This is a professional league and if a player is under contract, he should honour the contract, which means you play hard and give your best effort," Babcock said.
Babcock is free to claim he was talking in general terms rather than about Carter in particular, but you don't need a calculator to figure out that one plus one equals two.
According to numerous NBA sources, the message has been passed to Babcock that Carter wants out, and a list of preferred destinations may even have been provided. This, despite the fact Carter allegedly told a Florida newspaper this week that he was willing to give Babcock a chance.
Babcock talked openly about many things yesterday, but when asked point-blank if Carter's agent had demanded a trade, Babcock replied, "I've had discussions with his agent, but I'm not going to comment on trades or no trades."
Bingo.
After Babcock was named GM on June 7, he left phone messages for Carter that were not returned. However, the two ran into each other at the Air Canada Centre last week.
Babcock said Carter did not broach the subject of a trade during their hour-long discussion.
"My feeling leaving the conversation was that we were on the same page as far as basketball philosophy," Babcock said. "I think that's a very good start. What I stressed to Vince is, give us all an opportunity to get to know each other and find out whether you accept our philosophy. I like Vince. He's a good person, he's a great basketball player, and my hope is that he's going to want to play here in Toronto."
The key word there is "hope."
Babcock claimed he and Carter did not talk about whom the Raptors should hire as their next coach. When asked if he would seek Carter's input, Babcock said, "To me, a coaching decision is my decision, not a player's decision."
Carter, 27, has been upset since Babcock got the job, but it has little to do with Babcock personally. It also isn't strictly about Carter's preferred candidate for GM, Julius (Dr. J) Erving. Rightly or wrongly, Carter feels he was misled by the club's hierarchy during the GM search, and the Carter camp has concluded that as long as the ownership structure at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., remains intact, the Raptors never will be an elite team.
Babcock implied that he thinks Carter will cool down.
COOL DOWN
"Players these days sometimes just get upset and think they want to be traded," Babcock said. "Well, it's not that easy to make a trade. Sometimes it just can't get done because the salaries don't work.
"Players get emotional, coaches get emotional, GMs sometimes get emotional, and you're going to say things in competition that are emotional things. I don't take all those things too seriously at the beginning."
How serious Carter is about his trade request remains to be seen. Some of his beefs are quite legitimate. But if yesterday is any indication, Babcock is not going to be prone to doing whatever Carter wants, just because Carter wants it.
Ninja Scooter
Member
"DUH LOOKIT WUD I DID MA!!!"
G4life98 said:
Indeed...remember his 6 point performance in game 5 against the VC-less Raptors?
I'll say this for Stack...he's as good as any perimeter player in the league at getting to the line.
bionic77 said:
That's because perimeter players were blowing past Payton and even Kobe at times almost at will, going right into Shaq and forcing the ref to blow the whistle. Kobe at least showed some effort on the defensive end...and hell maybe Glove did as well, but his legs are so creaky now you'd never know to watch him. That doesn't mean some of the ticky tacky fouls he made weren't stupid on his part because they were, but at the same time the Pistons put constant pressure on Shaq to force him into compromising situations in terms of committing possible fouls. Really that's been LA's achilles heel the last two years...thier team defense has been abysmal, and only really shone during the last four games of the Spurs series (and even in those games they gave up like 9 billion open shots...luckily for them the Spurs couldn't drop a ball in the ocean standing on a boat).
DarienA said:
Agreed.
And yeah, I read that story with Babcock and VC...it was going around that VC or his agent had quietly asked for a trade a few weeks ago. I don't think he'll be traded regardless, simply because they'd never get close to market value for him (especially with everything else going on). Anyway, I don't think he'll be a distraction if he stays in terms of being disgruntled and what not, unlike some other people. Unless the team sucks again.
Funniest thing I've seen all week LOL
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SQD*AtEW8GH7ksZJ3SODjp086uFQALCp2RsAh0KrbJRwGdoSRi4KDOfLLXux01ZE6TWnQ8d2cCDrxbM*dos4it82zYGbsANrFRSL*tdoyWTRmP9d!YrBLA/spiderman.jpg
There is a Kobe fan on the ISH forums called Spiderman 08 and someone made this in the daily bash-Kobe thread...
edit:
Just read the thread lol
http://p222.ezboard.com/finsidehoopsfrm1.showMessage?topicID=35149.topic
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0SQD*AtEW8GH7ksZJ3SODjp086uFQALCp2RsAh0KrbJRwGdoSRi4KDOfLLXux01ZE6TWnQ8d2cCDrxbM*dos4it82zYGbsANrFRSL*tdoyWTRmP9d!YrBLA/spiderman.jpg
There is a Kobe fan on the ISH forums called Spiderman 08 and someone made this in the daily bash-Kobe thread...
edit:
Just read the thread lol
http://p222.ezboard.com/finsidehoopsfrm1.showMessage?topicID=35149.topic
Matrix
LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world hed rather have. The problem is, Dwyanes not a woman.
"Sources said Wednesday the Rockets and Magic reached agreements on deals that could work either while Francis is considered a base-year player or when his base-year status expires July 1. If the deal is not made in June, it cannot be approved by the NBA and made official until July 14 because of the July 1-13 moratorium on trades or free-agent signings."
Make the trade this month damn douches.
Make the trade this month damn douches.
Matrix
LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world hed rather have. The problem is, Dwyanes not a woman.
Jim Gray on the ESPN Draft Show...
Francis will visit Orlando on Saturday, per Jeff Fried- apparently "much more amenable to a trade".
Gray says the deal is most likely done, but both teams want to let the draft have its focus; expects things to be done in 2-3 days.
Francis will visit Orlando on Saturday, per Jeff Fried- apparently "much more amenable to a trade".
Gray says the deal is most likely done, but both teams want to let the draft have its focus; expects things to be done in 2-3 days.
BatiGOOOOOOL
Member
The hell?!?!? Those uniforms look very similar to the Mavs' unifroms. But with better letters and numbering.
Chesapeake Silt
Member
One regret about the draft - no more 'FIRE LAY-DEN' chants from the Knick fans. Truly a sad day. 
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