President Colangelo's would be reverse of the above, no?

Bryan Colangelo may not be done wheeling and dealing yet, but I dare say the 2009-2010 Toronto Raptors roster is basically complete (a possible 15th man-for-12th man trade won’t make a huge impact).  So, with little news expected on the horizon, let’s take a look at the new Raps from a stats-and-ratings angle:

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If you’re like me, just waiting for something, anything to happen in Raptorland, this past week has been a tonic. The addition of assistant coach Marc Iavaroni was nice, but yesterday’s trade was better. How does the departure of Roko Ukic’s comic foil, Jason Kapono, affect the future of this Raptors lineup? Let’s break it down: Read more »

When our favorite NBA team loses, we fans often place blame on a particular person in the organization. The blame falls on that person quite a lot, rightfully or wrongfully so. We call him the Scapegoat.

So I ask the blogosphere, “Who’s your Scapegoat?” The blogosphere answers. First I present the NBA All-Scapegoat Team, then the blogger explanations. Read more »

Lots of response from the internets to Malcolm Gladwell’s recent New Yorker article “Annals of Innovation: How David Beats Goliath.” Here are some good points picked out by various bloggers.

The GeoffRe(y)port summarizes:

• When David plays on Goliath’s terms, and sticks to the “tried and true”, he will usually get beaten
• In all of the cases discussed, there was a sense of hopelessness from the outside of the “Davids”, and a sense of desperation on the inside
• It usually requires that David comes from (or is lead by someone who comes from) a place outside the regular system. Insiders are too stuck in the accepted model to be prepared to change
• Any attempt at bucking the system results in widespread social ridicule. The reaction from Goliath at an unconventional attempt is always to patronise.

Section Six focuses on Rick Pitino’s success using high-risk strategy.

Team Speed Kills counters with ”pressing is no magic bullet” and explains with Gilligan’s Island.

Ultimate Sports Insider segues into college program resources.

Box Score Beat realizes that Europe-bound highschooler Jeremy Tyler is a David. A tall, tall David.

So be sure to read Gladwell’s article for yourself — entertaining, outside-the-box thinking, as always.

Did I miss a good post from the basketblogosphere? Please comment.

Be sure to check out Hoop Heads North’s “Best of the Worst” Awards, as voted by the unhappiest of NBA bloggers, i.e., those who blog about teams in the draft lottery.

Here’s the ballot I submitted:

Most Valuable Player – The best player from the worst of the league, must be from a non-playoff team
1. Danny Granger
2. Kevin Durant
3. Troy Murphy (Whaaa?) Read more »

The Zoner’s recent tourney and my beautiful designer header have inspired me to start a competition of my own: Best Basketblog Header.

So please email me the link to a blog with an awesome header image. Some conditions:

• Must be a blog with a basketball focus
• The blog (and the header image is rated G, and the blog itself no worse than PG-13.
• Nominations must be received by 11 PM ET on Friday, April 10.

And please feel free to suggest more than one blog.

Let’s get nominating!

The Raptors’ chances of getting into the playoffs: less than one out of a hundred.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance. YEAH!

Can you name the general manager who made this very logical statement?

“There’s horrible math involved here,” [mystery GM] said in a wide-ranging conference call in advance of the [trade] deadline… “Any mathematician will tell you that we’re all crazy. Collective pronoun again: we’re all nuts. Because there’s 30 teams. There’s one parade. After the first round, there’s only eight teams playing … The math is horrible.

“But the human element … there’s that optimism we all share, that belief we’re missing that one piece. Second, your team expects it. Your players are looking to you to add weapons for this last part of the race.

“So we all get sucked in. We all make poor decisions and brilliant decisions. Some guys have made brilliant decisions at the trade deadline that have won them rounds, carried them farther than they should go. But for every guy that makes a brilliant decision, there are five or six of us that made poor ones that same day. It’s an awful day, it’s an exciting day, it’s a day full of magic, and a day full of very poor decision making.”

The answer after the jump.

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As mentioned yesterday on Trade Deadline Day, the Raptors went looking for depth at power forward and the bench, and came out with a centre. But Bryan Colangelo may not be done yet, since we now have NBA Boxing Week (a.k.a. signing players waived by March 1, who could then join their new teams in the playoffs).

Here’s a list of players and their statuseseses:

• Mouhamed Saer Sene, C – waived by OKC Thunder
• Mikki Moore, F/C – waived by Sacramento Kings
• Sam Cassell, PG – waived by the Kings
• Quincy Douby, SG – waived by the Kings
• Cheikh Samb, C – waived by LA Clippers
• Steve Francis, PG – waived by Memphis Grizzlies
• Joe Smith, PF – expected to be waived by Thunder
• Jamaal Tinsley, PG – might get waived by Indiana Pacers

Did I miss anyone? Who would you like the Raps to sign? Comment below.

UPDATE: Doug Smith mentions (see sidebar) that the Raptors worked out Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Antoine Walker (how appropriate).

And hey, whatever happened to Latrell Sprewell?

When: Today (Thursday, February 19, 2009), 3 PM ET. Trade news will continue to come in after 3 PM, probably.

What to consider:

• for everyone, the economy
• for the Raptors, shorter contracts in place of longer ones. Hello, Jason Kapono ($6,212,960 in 2009-10, player option worth $6,641,440 in 2010-11)

What to expect for the Raptors:

• “Depth at the power forward position”
• Depth on the bench via “free agent wire,” “waived” players

(straight from Bryan Colangelo’s lips)

Who’s keeping track:

• Doug Smith. Updates, analysis and live chat at around 2 PM.
• Wyn Douglas. Promises to update team salaries on the fly. Also highlights great moments and stats in trade history (Raptors have a league-high 10 trades in 12 years).

What’s the latest news: According to TwinCities.com, Minnesota guard Rashad McCants and center Calvin Booth to the Kings in exchange for forward Shelden Williams (AP’s brother-in-law) and point guard Bobby Brown

UPDATE: Doug Smith is liveblogging that Will Solomon has been traded for Celtics centre Patrick O’Bryant. Pete Marasmitch’s take: Ex-cellent.