Ed"209"Davis (Trademark Pending): First impression I had from him is that he didn't seem happy coming to Toronto. Not one bit. But lets hope he settles in. How many Raps fans felt like punching that reporter that kept asking him about Canadian taxes? I felt like super-kicking him. But alas, I didn't really know too much about his game as I hadn't seen it for myself but from what I heard he can rebound and block shots. I heard from some people that he couldn't score, and from other people that he had a strong low post arsenal. I was more excited about Soloman on draft night then I was Ed. However this all changed after watching them play during the first summer league game. Ya ya it's just one game but you could tell a lot about them just from the way the carry themselves on the court. Ed was quite impressive. Seems very comfortable in the post, has some good back-to-the-basket moves and some nice hooks and footwork. Needs to add muscle... ya ya ya... they say that about every bigman not named Shaq or Dwight. Also needs work on his mid range jumper. Bet a lot of fans wished he took #33 so they can recycle their Antonio Davis jerseys. I dunno what do you think? Ed 209, or Little Baby Davis?
Soloman Alabi: Some of the words used to describe him was that he was mechanical and robotic. This does seem to be the case after watching him. Looks like he needs to stick to what he's good at which is swatting shots and rebounding. Offense can come into play slowly as he adjusts and learns. Needs to smooth out that hook shot and shoot the mid range shot more cause I know he can hit it. Well spoken guy and seems pleasant enough. He'll be a good backup center or pf and an upgrade over POB during garbage time. During draft night I had hoped the Raps traded for Lani Gawal instead. Looks like he's turning into a super stud in the summer league. I hate when I'm right.
Leandro Barbosa: I don't know much about him having only watched him play a few times but what I don't understand is why people are saying he'll be the starting PG. He's not a playmaker from what I can tell so I don't understand the logic. He's super fast so obviously you want him on the wings. I like this pickup cause he can score but I worry that his arrival will hinder the development of Sonny and DD. Nonetheless, a solid pickup which upgrades our team. I like Cpt. Barbosa off the bench as a spark plug allowing Weems to start and develop.
Boris Diaw: The man is a rock. A skilled one at that but he needs to get away from my favourite spot which is the buffet line and spend more time on the treadmill. Hopefully this comes to fruition. Plays just about any spot on the floor except the 2. Defends well which goes without saying is an overwhelming need. I like Boris coming off the bench as well or used as a defensive stopper. Too much of a log jam at the 5 and the 4 positions to justify starting him.
Tyson Chandler: Ah, my favourite pickup of the trades. What's weird is that I traded for him in my game on NBA 2k10 like a week ago. Then again I also traded for Turkoglu a few years ago and promptly realized he was a dickwad and traded him away for something good. But whatever, TC is a solid legit center. He brings intensity and is one of the quicker centers in the league. This is a definite upgrade for us on the defensive end. Let's hope he's healthy but I like this pickup more than I liked the Jermaine O'neal one back then since I always thought Jermaine was so fragile that he was one bad bump away from serious time off.... which he was. Chandler is younger and his issues seem a lot less serious. I'll take a bad toe over 2 bummed knees any day. His defense should cover up the some of the defensive inefficiencies produced by my favourite Italian bigman.
So the Raptors make some good trades today and I just like playing around with line ups cause it's fun.
Depth Chart:
C: Chandler, Amir, Alabi
PF: Bargs, Davis
SF: Diaw, Weems
SG: Derozan, Barbosa, Belli
PG: Jack, Banks
Possible Starting Line up:
1:
C: Chandler
PF: Bargnani
SF: Weems
SG: Derozan
PG: Jack
2:
Chandler
Bargnani
Diaw
Derozan
Barbosa
3:
Bargnani
Amir
Weems
Barbosa
Jack
Bench:
Amir
Davis
Bellineli
Alabi
Starting line up 1 is my favourite as it has the two towers up top and the young guns being allowed to develop with more minutes. Jack is our only real legit PG so he's going there unless there's another major trade. Another big issue is how they're going to find minutes for Amir Johnson the $34M man and their prized rookie Ed "209" Davis
Looks like it opens up some spots to sign guys like Mike Roll, Bobby Brown, Joey Dorsey or some other legit free agents that are still available. Doug Smith said the Raps are done dealing but I am not sure about that. Can a guy like Colangelo really keep the gun holstered? Also, like I said it doesn't rule out signings since we still have that $15M trade exception. Cha-ching! We also need a backup PG cause I really don't see Captain Barbosa as a legit PG.
A great day in Raptorland. I can finally stop complaining about the Turkish Shit factory. No disrespect at all intended to other Turkish people who I know are outstanding citizens. This is the biggest thing to happen to Toronto Sports in a long time. Maybe we should actually have a parade down Yonge St.
