Raptors trade Jalen Rose

[DEAD!]

Well, it would've been an alright trade, except for the fact that they FREAKIN TRADED A LOTTERY PICK.

As bad as the Raptors are, who knows who that might be??? And they traded it for Antonio Davis?!

The Knicks and the Raptors are on crack. This seems to be a common trend, the teams with horrible records in the NBA are the ones who seemingly have crackheads for GMs.

it will be a lottery pick if the Nuggets miss the playoffs.... The Knicks really didn't want to get rid of Antonio, they wanted to get rid of Kendra....

[CC97]

We may have traded a lottery pick, but we also gained $17million in cap room for next season.

Antonio Davis probably won't play here and I couldn't care less... I just hope the Raptors suspend him for not reporting instead of paying him to leave. I hate when players refuse to report and then expect to still be paid. If I told my boss I wasn't showing up to work until they moved me to the corner office they'd fire me, just like that.

[The Nation]

For crying out loud, doesn't anyone read the previous posts before adding their 2cents, it is not a lottery pick that we gave up, it is Denvers first rounder and it is protected from picks 1-10. So the Knicks this year will have 2 late first rounders,

1. San Antonio's 1st rounder(Malik Rose deal)

2. Denver's 1st rounder (Kenyon Martin -> Vince Carter -> Jalen Rose connections)

The latest on Antonio Davis is that he will suit up for the Raptors, and if not then he will be shipped to Chicago for Tim Thomas(expiring contract) and a second rounder.

Now for my 2cents:

I think this is an excellent deal, we need salary cap space, it was guys like Jalen Rose that prevented us from signing Steve Nash. We need the cap space to sign Mike James and other free agents in the offseason.

In hindsight the Raptors will come out of this deal with the upperhand. Comparing the possible rosters for both teams next year(2006-2007).

Guards

--------

Marbury

J. Rose

N. Robinson

Crawford

Mids

-----

Q-Rich

D. Lee

Woods

Ariza

Bigs

-----

Frye

J. James

Curry

M. Rose

Taylor

(2 First Rounders: Picks 20-30)

Raptors

Guards

---------

M.James(if re-signed)

J.Calderon

A. Williams

Mids

-------

J.Graham

M.Peterson

C.Villenueva

Bigs

-----

C.Bosh

P.Sow

M.Bonner

R.Araujo

(1 First Rounder Picks 5-10)

++++Cap Space+++

[Jigga]

What in the is so good about having cap space when...ahem...NO ONE WANTS TO SIGN WITH YOUR SORRY ASS FRANCHISE?!?

[rmackman]

Why is it that players don't want to play in Toronto? It's a really nice city. If I got traded there I'd be like WOOHOO more Ruben sandwiches at Shopsy's!

[The Nation]

Well they claim its cold...according to T-Mac, well Toronto is no different than say Milwaukee, Boston, New York...so that theory should be thrown out the door, if anything Toronto should be a good place for players to play,

1. Toronto is one of the biggest cities in North America, and its not dead at night like some cities

2. A host of good night clubs and lounges for players to go to....unlike Salt Lake City

3. Its an advantage to live here because of the cheaper Canadian Dollar, and players earning US$.

4. A multicultural city, very diverse just like the NBA.

5. During the summer the city is easily one the most beautiful cities in North America.

6. Its Clean!!!

[Starchild]

Toronto is nice, but you gotta think everyone just makes the association of Canada=Hockey=Cold... regardless of how the weather is by comparison.

It would also help if they had some foundation or history to fall back on. One playoff appearance and several superstars who left isn't exactly attractive. But that's to be expected with an expansion franchise. Nobody is running to sign with the Bobcats for the same reason, understandably.

I just think Toronto is a much harder sell than the other big cities in North America. New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Boston sell themselves. If Toronto was in the U.S. instead of Canada, I think Toronto would be in the equation as well.

Toronto's front office hasn't exactly been building contenders lately either. Since 1996, look at the former roster members. Put these guys together today, and you've got a well balanced, serious playoff team. Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Doug Christie, Antonio Davis/Jalen Rose, Mike James/Rafer Alston, Jerome Williams, Donyell Marshall, Charlie Villanueva. Just imagine if they had been patient... lineup of Stoudamire, Carter, T-Mac, Bosh, Camby. That's ridiculous. Perhaps its a little too good to be true, but lets say you're without T-Mac or Carter, Doug Christie, Jalen Rose, fine replacements that bring some other skills.

If anyone is to fault, it's not the city or the players. The Raptors just didn't build for the future well... they tried to rush the expansion process. The Bobcats have the right look right now. Okafor, May, Felton, Knight, Brezec... building around/through these guys will set them up 5 years from now.

But don't complain too much. At least you've got a bright side. More than I can say for the Knicks.

[CC97]

It would also help if they had some foundation or history to fall back on. One playoff appearance and several superstars who left isn't exactly attractive.

We've actually made three playoff appearances... in fact, we faced your Knicks twice.

[Davey]

We've actually made three playoff appearances... in fact, we faced your Knicks twice.

Dont forget we beat them once as well...

By the way.. inst that last time we faced the knicks in the playoffs, was the last time they been in the playoffs.. mmmmmmmmmm

[nsentv]

By the way.. inst that last time we faced the knicks in the playoffs, was the last time they been in the playoffs.. mmmmmmmmmm

Ahh, you're selling the Knicks short. Don't forget when they got their rear ends kicked by the Nets in 2004 (a 4-0 sweep).

[Starchild]

By the way.. inst that last time we faced the knicks in the playoffs, was the last time they been in the playoffs.. mmmmmmmmmm

Ahh, you're selling the Knicks short. Don't forget when they got their rear ends kicked by the Nets in 2004 (a 4-0 sweep).

Ah 2004 didn't count. That wasn't a playoff appearance.

It was a playoff cameo.

I guess I just didn't remember the other 2 appearances. I do remember the 2001 series against New York. The other two I just don't remember. Sue me

[VitaminD]

Toronto's front office hasn't exactly been building contenders lately either. Since 1996, look at the former roster members. Put these guys together today, and you've got a well balanced, serious playoff team. Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Doug Christie, Antonio Davis/Jalen Rose, Mike James/Rafer Alston, Jerome Williams, Donyell Marshall, Charlie Villanueva. Just imagine if they had been patient... lineup of Stoudamire, Carter, T-Mac, Bosh, Camby.

It's hard for the front office to be patient when guys are actively tanking games and more or less admitting to it as a way to force management's hand to get them out of Toronto. It's also hard to lure free agents to Toronto, where teenaged Americans with their high school educations rise out of economic disadvantage in many cases don't know the world beyond their hometown. To ask them to go to another city in the US is hard enough of an adjustment for many; to convince them to play in a foreign country sounds awful to them. Never mind that Toronto is a wonderful city that most people would love to call home if they gave it half a chance.

This is all wonderful retrospection, sorta like what we do when we lament all the free agent defections the KC Royals have had (Beltran and Damon in the same OF!! OMG!!). The bottom line for the Royals and Raptors is that for one or more reasons, neither team was able to retain the stars it had, and was unable to attract new talent to replace what was lost. Some of the blame is on the front offices, but some of the blame is due to circumstances beyond their control that won't change any time soon.