MVN: Most Valuable Network

Oh that Bryan Colangelo sure is clever. Just days after Chris Bosh announced that he would not be signing a contract extension, Colangelo sent one-dimensional sharp-shooter Jason Kapono to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Reggie Evans.

Now while this trade isn't exactly a blockbuster it does deflect some of the attention, at least temporarily so, away from his franchise player. As minor as this trade is, it does address a couple of the team's needs. Reggie Evans is a strong and aggressive rebounder and will also provide the team some much needed energy and toughness up front.

The other positive comes in the form of Kapono's departing contract. The moment Kapono was signed by the Raps two seasons ago, every fans initial reaction was 'that's too much money', and JK hasn't done anything to dispel those doubts. His departure will also make room for the incoming lottery pick which will surely be a wing player.

As we approach the NBA Draft and the 'official' off-season, this will surely be just the begininng of a string of changes by Bryan Colangelo and the Toronto Raptors. Anthony Parker has been rumoured to be on the block, there's still Shawn Marion's pending free-agency and oh yeah, don't forget about that Bosh guy. I What Colangelo does or doesn't do with him will go along way in paving this organization's fortunes over the next 3-5 years.

Now the first Laker you think of when discussing unrestricted free-agency is the multi-skilled Lamar Odom but the UFA I'm referring to is the somewhat underrated and over-looked Trevor Ariza. The former UCLA product and second round pick of the New York Knicks has improved by leaps and bounds since his arrival to the league four years ago.The soon to be 24 year-old's stock has sky-rocketed this season with his improved play, particularly in the playoffs.Ariza's playoff numbers have increased in scoring (8.9-11.4), MPG (24.4-29.7), FG% (.460-..558) and most alarmingly TP% (.319-.500). This coincides conveniently for Ariza with his upcoming free-agency status, which will no doubt see him receive a well-earned raise.Ariza would fit a number of the needs of the Toronto Raptors. He's young, hard-working, he's extremely athletic, he has good size (6'8), he can run for days, is an improving three-point shooter  and is a heck of a... Read more

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The Cavaliers fabulous season came to an abrupt and official end Saturday night at the monstrous hands of Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic, 4-2. With that loss, the much-hyped Lebron-Kobe showdown will have to wait at least another season.   Let's not get too bummed though, after all, Dwight Howard aka 'Superman' is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, former Slam Dunk Champion and one of the brightest young superstars in the league.   With the Finals beginning Thursday, hoop junkies will have to wait a grueling four days until Game 1 tips off at the Staples Center. So let's take a closer look at how the Magic and Lakers match-up.   First of all and maybe most importantly, the... Read more

Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} The Cavaliers fabulous season came to an abrupt and official end Saturday night at the monstrous hands of Dwight Howard and his Orlando Magic, 4-2. With that loss, the much-hyped Lebron-Kobe showdown will have to wait at least another season.   Let's not get too bummed though, after all, Dwight Howard aka 'Superman' is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, former Slam Dunk Champion and one of the brightest young superstars in the league.   With the Finals beginning Thursday, hoop junkies will have to wait a grueling four days until Game 1 tips off at the Staples Center. So let's take a closer look at how the Magic and Lakers match-up.   First of all and maybe most importantly, the... Read more

 Bargnani-less Raptors fall way short of winning the season series with the Pacers. From the start it looked like a joke of a defense for the Raptors without their star center, as the Raptors make the Pacers look like the Lakers in a lop-sided affair.  Now I know that the Raptors aren't making the playoffs anymore but from now on I think they should play for pride and the fans, because without both they wouldn't be anywhere near where they are today. Unlike the last game these two have played Danny Gragner had 29 points rather than the 10 he scored in their last meeting. Patrick O'Bryant started in place of Andrea Bargnani who had a sore heel, O'Bryant finished with 16 points 7 rebounds. Chris Bosh had yet another high scoring game in a loss once again. What I noticed today is that when Jose Calderon doesn't play well neither does his... Read more

 The Raptors lose their first "pointless" game of the season at the Air Canada Centre to the Atlanta Hawks, despite having a good start to the game something the team has been lacking since the beginning of the year. Chris Bosh had another high scoring game hitting 21 points and 10 rebounds for yet another double double. Yet the game high went to Joe Johnson of the Hawks with 25 points and 6 rebounds. As another poor 3 point defense effort equals the short end of the stick for the Raptors. Surprise, surprise! As I said before the Raptors looked to have a great start to the game scoring 31 points. The starters didn't have any trouble scoring as 4 out of 5 of them had their point totals in double digits, including Jose Calderon's 13 assists. Though it was Atlanta who had 7/10 of their players in double digits, it... Read more

 Raptors end a 6 game losing streak and a miracle play-off push. After eliminating the Knicks from play-off contention, New York returned the favor by getting a win in Toronto.  After a long 6 games the streak is finally over and it sure was a great thing for the fans to watch, I would know because I'm one of them. Although, the Raptors still want to play classy and respectful and will play as if any game played this season was never played. No matter what where you are in the standings you're still playing games. Though Chris Bosh had great numbers scoring 31 points and 14 rebounds, you could see the frustration during the second half screaming at the top of his lungs at his teammates trying unsuccessfully to fire up his team's defense and letting the referees know that he didn't like some of there calls and rightfully so. Jose Calderon was elbowed hard in... Read more

As the Raptors post-season hopes officially came to an end yesterday (it was merely inevitable) at the hands of the New York Knicks, a couple of things jumped out at me. Or should I say, a couple of players jumped out at me. Two players who have played key roles under first year coach Mike D'Antoni and two players who are fan favorites of the MSG faithful. Two players who are different in size, stature and even color but no doubt, two players who would be great additions to the Toronto Raptors.Of course the two players I'm talking about are Nate Robinson, a two-time slam dunk champion and Vinnie Johnson impersonator and David Lee, the man I like to call 'Coffee' cause he's a double-double waiting to happen. Come this summer both players will be restricted FA's. Now for those who are unsure about what restricted free-agent means it means... Read more

The Raptors continue to turn around a disappointing season with their biggest streak since April 2007. As they eliminate the Knicks from playoff contention. I'm not going to lie the first half the Raptors looked like a tired team, but by the end of the first half they were only down by two. Sloppy passes were very frequent in this game and not exactly the fast paced defensive effort the Raptors have been playing the previous 5 games. It payed the bills although the game lacked defense Andrea Bargnani had 4 big blocks, which not only prevented potential baskets but silenced the New York crowd. One in particular caught my attention, Andrea turned the ball over at half court and as Chris Duhon (I think it was Chris Duhon) was going in for the easy lay-up Bargnani popped out of no where to swat away the shot. This play reminded me of the Raptors this season after a... Read more

 The Raptors extend their winning streak to 5 games and snap the Magic's 6 game winning streak.Chris Bosh nabs his 36th double double scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds along with Shawn Marion getting 17 points 15 rebounds. Dwight Howard scored 30 with 9 rebounds.  Three point defense was key this game as the Magic only managed 7 threes. If Rashard Lewis made it 8 the outcome of the game might have been different as the Magic would have tied it with 20 ticks to go. Though he did miss and Chris Bosh hit a long 2 over Dwight Howard to seal the deal. Jose Calderon also had a big night scoring 21 points and 8 assists. Anthony Parker was also instrumental in kick starting the offense with some steals and 2 important three point shots.Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images... Read more

There's an annoying trend that has developed over the last few seasons with this city's sports teams, late-season surges. Whether it's the Jays padding their win-loss record and giving us false optimism for the upcoming season or the Leafs making a late push for the playoffs, which of course falls short and ends up hurting their draft status. This season it's the Raptors who appear to be emulating this trend. Heading into tonight's game with the Southeast division leading Orlando Magic, the Raptors are riding a four game winning streak. Mathematically, they've kept their playoff hopes alive but c'mon, even the most extreme optimists have to admit that the post season is not a reality. Speaking of reality, I expect the Raptors to receive a large and unwelcome dose of it tonight against the Magic. Now I don't want to come off sounding negative but let's not allow this winning... Read more