fred-vanvleet.JPG
In this week’s mailbag, Doug Smith says that a young Raptors guard plays a lot like Fred VanVleet.
Tons of stuff here in this edition of Ye Olde Mailbag, well done folks.
Enjoy.
Dear Doug. With the plethora of injuries facing the Raptors these days (Brandon Ingram, Jonathan Mogbo, Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, Ulrich Chomche) plus the other players with ongoing injury issues (Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl), I fear the team is a few poor strokes of luck away from disaster.
Imagine a scary scenario in an upcoming game in which an especially physical tone is set, resulting in a few Raptors players leaving with injuries and another few fouling out. Then the referee tells coach Darko Rajakovic that if he doesn’t get a fifth player on the court, the team will forfeit the game! What does the coach do in this pickle?!
Does he ask broadcasters Alvin Williams or Matt Bonner to drop the headset and suit and take to the court? Or does he discreetly ask the Raptors mascot to steal the referee’s whistle and run around the arena getting chased by the refs — to distract them and buy time — while Bobby Webster searches the crowd for the tallest spectator he can find to sign to an immediate 10-day contract? Or does he resort to the most outlandish idea of all and … let Chris Boucher play?
What to do in this most perilous predicament, Doug? Hopefully my fears don’t come to fruition!
— Kevin R. in Winnipeg
As much I would love to see Alvin play — him dragging a fake knee up and down the court huffing and puffing would be something, and I absolutely guarantee he’d be diving for loose balls and playing hard because that’s the only way he knows — it’ll never get to that.
Raptors Insider: Here’s how to fix the NBA lottery odds to encourage bad teams to win
Raptors Insider: Here’s how to fix the NBA lottery odds to encourage bad teams to win
Raptors
Opinion
Doug Smith: Raptors Insider: Here’s how to fix the NBA lottery odds to encourage bad teams to win
If a team (and rules mandate each has a minimum of eight) falls below that, the last player to be disqualified for fouls can re-enter the game — incurring a technical foul then and on every subsequent foul.
But I much prefer Alvin play.
For those of a certain age, it is impossible to tell the tale of the Raptors without mentioning Oliver Miller, and at 54 he was just a kid. You must have a story or two to share.
I should briefly note this is one of my favourite bad seasons. The thing is, one is constantly being astonished by, for example, A.J. Lawson. Stay well, Doug.
—James A., Victoria
I wasn’t writing live the night that Miller’s passing became news, so I have not weighed in, so thanks.
It is absolutely a shame that any 54-year-old should pass, and I extend condolences to those who love and knew him. That said, he was certainly not my favourite Raptor in any of his three incarnations. He was openly disdainful and dismissive of the media, and he mistreated women I knew very well who worked in the organization back then.
Two stories? Sure.
On the very last day of the very first season, when I was having a halftime fresh-air break and talking to his mom, the conversation ended with, “I’ll guess I’ll see you next season?” There was no way he’d turn down the option year on his contract, right? “Maybe,” mom said, “but my baby’s gonna get paid.” Miller never signed another full-year NBA contract.
At some point in that same first season, Miller announced to the media that we were all on “probation” and he wouldn’t talk for three weeks. Charlie Lemmex, an old Broadcast News hand of some years of service, looked around and announced, sotto voce, “We all still get paid, right?”
As I said, it’s a shame that a 54-year-old died, but to lionize Miller as some colourful actor in a 30-year play is wrong.
Hey, Doug. Man was that buzzer-beater by Jamal Shead sweet — get the loss and the emotional win celebration, perfect. How impressive has Darko been threading the development planning to a tee with close games? Let’s keep those losses coming!
How do anti-tanking rules apply? You just can’t rest players unnecessarily?
I am generally thinking you are the best Raptors perspective out there. If I had any criticism, it would be that you do not criticize Raptors management. I also am a big fan of what Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have done, so I get it, but for fun: In what ways, not including the draft, has Raps management fallen short? Either this year or in past years?
If I had to choose the worst, it would be letting Norman Powell go and signing Gary Trent Jr. for the same money. Or the signing of DeMarre Carroll years earlier.
With Brandon Ingram added next year, where do you see the Raps in the East? How far under Cavs and Celtics, or the Knicks?
50 shades of Shai: How Gilgeous-Alexander is reaching new scoring heights in his best NBA season
50 shades of Shai: How Gilgeous-Alexander is reaching new scoring heights in his best NBA season
Nba
50 shades of Shai: How Gilgeous-Alexander is reaching new scoring heights in his best NBA season
If you are looking at the draft, who has you excited joining the Raps? Who are your top three on the board after Cooper Flagg?
Is Drake a worthy ambassador or is it time to put it to rest? I have never been a fan, so I am biased, but the organization has distanced itself from others for less.
Thanks! LeBron for Prez.
—Andre F.
You want me to go transaction through transaction and debate this front office’s record? Not a chance. But trust me, for every Powell-Trent trade and every Carroll signing I’m gonna find a couple of Pascal Siakam drafts, a Fred VanVleet signing, a Serge Ibaka trade, a Jonas Valanciunas transaction and cap it with the parade. I don’t rant or scream about one-by-one moves, especially in hindsight.
Sure, they’ve missed on some middle-road free agents, but none have been crippling bad signings; they’ve been misses. I won’t sweat it. Never have.
Here’s the NBA’s player participation policy: There is much leeway for any team to rest any player, and the Raptors haven’t “rested” anyone who fits the criteria.
The draft? I won’t start looking closely for another couple of weeks at least, and I won’t really care until after the May 12 lottery. Obviously, Cooper Flagg’s No. 1 and the two Rutgers kids are in the conversation in the top five, but if you’ve got a college program with two top-half lottery picks and you can’t sniff the bloated March Madness tournament, something’s amiss with the coaching, the players or the program.
No one with any position of authority in the organization has mentioned Drake to me, even in passing, in about two years.
Hello. A couple of easy questions.
The number of ankle injuries has me wondering if wearing unfashionable high tops would help. Would they?
The second concerns the Raps roster. Why is Jontay Porter still listed, and what is the status of James Wiseman?
Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
—Bev
Not easy, interesting!
Some players wear modified high tops for support, some wear cloth braces on their ankles, a very few have them taped each game. It’s a case of personal comfort and risk/reward.
Not sure where Jontay Porter is listed, but it’s a mistake. He’s banned from the league. Wiseman, still rehabbing from an Achilles tendon tear, was waived and released the day he was acquired.
Hi, Doug. Write a one page essay on what you did during your March break! Hope yours is free of comments in red and spelling mistakes!
Like you’ve said, the past two weeks of Raptors basketball have been entertaining, come what may during the draft lottery. As a fan, I’ll watch a winning streak over a losing streak every time!
Some questions, hypothetical in nature:
1) How likely do you see Jamal Shead becoming the next Kyle Lowry or Fred VanVleet? He’s proven he belongs on the roster. What about as a starter? Know where we can get another?
2) Given the level of competition lately, have any of the new faces indicated that they are NBA ready? Has A.J. Lawson supplanted Jamison Battle in the pecking order? Is Orlando Robinson next year’s backup centre?
3) Would you agree that there are a few teams that, even with the addition of Cooper Flagg, will still likely be lottery teams a year from now?
Personally, I think if he lands here, we are a playoff team. Which other teams would go from lottery team to contender right away? Philly? Utah? Suns? … Dallas?
4) Assuming we don’t land Cooper Flagg and our roster is healthy, who are your starting five and first guys off the bench? If by some miracle the “Sag for Flagg” goes our way, who’s likely to be sent packing or to the bench?
Enjoy the last dozen or so games! With some luck, we make the play-in and win the lottery!
—Bernie M.
There certainly is a lot of VanVleet in Shead, but on this team with RJ Barrett, Barnes and Ingram, there’s no starting spot unless they want to move off Quickley and they don’t want to do that.
I think Lawson, Jared Rhoden, Battle and Robinson are all legitimate NBA players, but it remains to be seen how the Raptors summer works out to determine if there are spots for them here.
Not sure any team goes to “contender,” but all the teams you mentioned are certainly playoff teams. One I’d watch closely is Portland; that’d be an excellent fit.
These are total guesses, and there’s a lot of moves that might happen, but: Quickley, Barrett, Ingram, Barnes, Poeltl with Shead, Walter, Dick and/or Agbaji, some mystery big man.
Raptors
Opinion
Dave Feschuk: In a lost season for the Raptors, tanking etiquette can be hard to define — and defend
There has been more talk lately about players — active, not retired such as Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas — having (podcasts). Paul George was more or less shamed into stopping his, considering the Sixers season and his personal performance, situation etc.
Now others are calling out Jalen Brunson for his and how it is a distraction. He states it isn’t, but I totally disagree.
If I were a coach or general manager, my take would be: off-season, fine, do whatever, but in season I don’t want my players on game day doing a (podcast) in the morning/afternoon or whatever.
I don’t know if contractually a GM can write it in a contract (I don’t see why not) but if so, I would. General managers can stipulate that players can’t play certain sports in the off-season, etc. There are riders/stipulations in all contracts, so to me, no in-season (podcasts), plain and simple.
What are your thoughts? Do you think they could be a distraction. Do you know of teams limiting players doing them, as they are becoming more and more common?
I wouldn’t allow them as they are definitely a distraction or, to me, have the real possibility of becoming one. Plus I don’t want players discussing in an open forum (which a podcast is) our season, situation, play, etc.
How Herbie Kuhn became the voice of the Raptors for 30 years: ‘Nobody deserves it more than him’
How Herbie Kuhn became the voice of the Raptors for 30 years: ‘Nobody deserves it more than him’
30 somethings
How Herbie Kuhn became the voice of the Raptors for 30 years: ‘Nobody deserves it more than him’
No, sorry, I am no t on board with them at all. Your take would be appreciated.
—Doug B.
I agree completely. The danger of them being a distraction is absolutely right, especially when coaches and teammates are dragged into them with questions like: “What do you think of what so-and-so said?” And believe me, the others don’t want to deal with that crap.
But I don’t see a way that teams can forbid it, except to build it into a standard contract and that’d be an issue with the players association.
But it’s a thing, and I don’t see it ending any time soon.
This past week marked the fifth anniversary of Rudy Gobert testing positive and the league shutting down. As time goes on, it’ll probably be forgotten how great the Raptors were playing at that time and for the year up to that point. Do you think it was possible that the 2019-20 team was not only a title contender, if not for the stoppage, but better than the previous year’s championship team?
—Paul M.
I have said since the resumption of that season that the Raptors would have been overwhelming championship favourites if the season didn’t end up in the toilet. They were stacked and they were rolling.
Usual questions, concerns:
It was nice to see Garrett Temple on the court for that many minutes. He’s shown he’s capable, in spite of long layoffs; we’ve heard about his mentoring skills. Clearly, some do look up to him as a blueprint. Will he be back next year as a player, or a coach? And do we want to free up that roster space?
Let’s assume Quickley’s injury kept him out of the game. Barrett was on personal leave. Scottie, apparently hurting a bit, was still particularly active in a coaching capacity all game long. It also seems clear that Chris Boucher won’t be back. He was sitting on the very end of the bench. He watched the game. He applauded his teammates the entire night. Seemed professional to me. He joined the group at each timeout. Still, he seemed subdued, perhaps sad. I guess knowing that they’ll give court time to anybody they can find for a 10-day contract before him can be impactful.
There is a story about Boucher that isn’t being told. He’s not, apparently, the mentor to other players the way Temple is. We’ve kept him on the roster these years, and two coaches have chosen to have reasons to not use him, even when he was far from the worst on the court. I think about the players that have come and gone, who received court time that Boucher didn’t. There was always a reason or rationale. OK, he certainly wasn’t a major contributor to our championship team. But he is, by some miracle, the last remaining player from that team and well-liked by the fans in the stadium. There aren’t many games left. Are we going to be given a chance to say goodbye? Does he really have to be shut down now? Severely depleted roster. Still didn’t get used. That has to be hard on him.
Not writing about it plays into the narrative of the forgotten man. A story about his final days here in Toronto would be nice — and it would be nice to hear it from his point of view for once, rather than the team rationale.
These 10-day contracts: Watched a lot of games from players this year on 10-day contracts. Enjoyed it at first. Without a doubt, you could see sparks of real talent in some. The more I see it, the more you can see the hope mingled with desperation. I guess I’m saying that 10-day contracts seem a little unnecessarily cruel. Not enough time to really judge, not appropriate to do to someone. They accept because they are desperate and too many doors are closed. A month contract — even three weeks, for heaven’s sake — just seems a little bit more judicious. Am I wrong? Sure, there are some success stories out of 10-day contracts, but ….
Raptors
Opinion
Doug Smith: Raptors Insider: Toronto screwed with their game against the Magic. It was shameful
Circling back to Temple, has anyone asked individual players what they think of the U.S. anthem booing? In particular, it would be nice to know what Temple thinks, and if he’s supporting other players on this particular issue as well.
—Jeff V.
We haven’t asked Temple about his future plans. I know he loves it here, and if he wants to go another year they’ll gladly have him back. And with rosters as big as they are, he wouldn’t really be taking a job if that’s a concern.
There is no story with Boucher. We’ve written it a hundred times. He’s not in their plans right now. He knows it, he accepts it. He is too professional to lash out. When we ask him, he says he’d love to play. He knows the reality. He’s a good teammate and person and acts accordingly. There really isn’t anything there unless he rips them, and he won’t.
The first time the anthem was booed, we talked to a couple of players and they understood where the anger was aimed.
There was discussion last week about broadcasts being done remotely. You might be old enough (perhaps not) to remember when Toronto Maple Leafs baseball games (International League) were done remotely, but with the announcer — Joe Crysdale on CKEY (?) — doing them with only a teletype feed, no video. He had to make up what was happening from brief sentences he received. I seem to remember that he had a wooden pad and small hammer that he used to imitate the ball being hit.
—Bruce C.
I vaguely remember the baseball Maple Leafs of that era, and certainly know that a lot of minor-league teams fabricated “broadcasts” off teletype. I guess the big difference now is that the announcers can actually see what they’re talking about.
Hello. Have read your column for a long time.
The “screw the game and the game will screw you” thing is very good.
Inside the five days that shaped the Toronto Raptors
30somethings
Inside the five days that shaped the Toronto Raptors
Having said that, I was upset about how the coach did the last few minutes against Orlando. He did not appear to look at the bench while the bench was looking at him.
However, the kids stood up to the task and won the game. My wife and I, though, were talking about the next year and thinking this team could be very good.
The start of the year with so many injuries, to all the starting lineup, and the kids again learned how to play in those moments and it showed in the last four games.
So, who stays and who could go to other teams. Not sure how all those contracts work.
I think this will be a good team next year. What say you?
—Brian from Woodstock
It’s hard to say who’s back or not, but I do think there’s a logjam at the 2-3 with everyone from Barrett, Dick, Walter, Agbaji, Lawson, maybe Rhoden and maybe even Mogbo and that’s way, way too many.
But I will say I am sure they will be much, much better next year than they are, or have been, this season.
Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Report an error
Journalistic Standards
About The Star
This Toronto homeowner thought a laneway suite would attract buyers. Instead, it made his property harder to sell
Real Estate
Hudson's Bay Company plans to liquidate entire business by June, putting more than 9,000 jobs at risk
Hudson's Bay Company plans to liquidate entire business by June, putting more than 9,000 jobs at risk
Justin Trudeau's longtime photographer reflects on last decade, shares shots of former PM's final days in office
Justin Trudeau's longtime photographer reflects on last decade, shares shots of former PM's final days in office
King Charles signalling support for Canada as Trump talks annexation: royal watchers
King Charles signalling support for Canada as Trump talks annexation: royal watchers
Raptors mailbag: A player shows flashes of Fred VanVleet; projecting next season's contributors
Raptors mailbag: A player shows flashes of Fred VanVleet; projecting next season's contributors