Raptors Republic member Tim W. asks the question: is Jose a Top 20 PG in this league? What are your thoughts? Come vote on our poll and give your two cents.

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Chef Shawn Loving, who’s the Executive Chef for U.S.A. Basketball, admits the French toast has been “a big hit with the team.”

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The Executive Chef for U.S.A. Basketball talks about how he is helping the team bring home the gold.

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The U.S. National team is building their friendships as they take on the world.

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I haven’t exactly paid great attention to the events in Turkey so my opinion on the matter counts for next to nothing, but this casual observer of the proceedings did observe that the True North went a humbling 0-5 in their group. As a Canadian, a showing so poor is disappointing but I wish I could say it was surprising.

Critics might say that at the very least, whether Leo Rautins should be allowed to continue as head coach should be a matter of debate, and at worst, he should be fired before he boards the plane back home. But glancing at the FIBA rankings, the only team Canada lost to that was ranked beneath them was Lebanon, and that’s by only five spots. Would a better coach have delivered better results? I’d hesitate to think so, because international success in any sport is dependent on the level of commitment and quality at the grassroots level more than it is on a coach or a particular player. That’s my two cents, which are likely worth less than a penny.

I’m also looking forward to Rautins coming back as an analyst and trying to break down a key possession in a game. After every word he’ll say people will think back to the tournament and question his take on everything. I think it’ll be quite funny.

Leo: The Raptors need to isolate DeRozan in the post, and have Weems cut baseline.

Devlin: (dripping with sarcasm) That’s a great suggestion Leo, you really should try your hand at coaching.

Leo: Err..I’m..

Devlin: Oh wait, you’re the head coach of Team Canada, how’s that going for ya?

In Raptors interest, Barbosa chipped in with 17 points in a win over Croatia, and Kleiza had 15 in a win over France. The games didn’t mean much because all four teams had pretty much qualified for the next around. Barbosa is the player that I’ve been paying attention to and if there’s one conclusion that can be drawn from this tournament, it’s that he’s completely shaken off his injury problems from a year back. He looks fit and ready for the season to start.

Here’s something I just thought of doing about 10 seconds ago, three predictions for next year.

Julian Wright will be more hated than Antoine Wright: Antoine didn’t turn out to be the defensive stopper some thought he was going to be, mostly because in order to be one you have to have a good system around you. A good defensive player on a bad defensive team will look like a bad defensive player. Wright’s redeeming quality last year was his unexpected three-point shooting, which was at a career-best 33.5%. If the Raptors continue to be a poor defensive unit, Julian Wright has nothing to fall back on, he’s a career 27% three-point shooter with no mid-range game. Either Julian Wright will make a serious mark on this team because of his defense, or he’ll be completely useless.

Alvin Williams will replace Micah Nori on the bench: This move is a long time coming, and finally it’ll happen. A sidebar to last year’s horror of a season was Alvin Williams trying to cover his eyes as he couldn’t bear to see the team give the piss-poor effort that they did. This franchise has employed figureheads like JYD, Jermaine O’Neal and Reggie Evans in the name of toughness, but Alvin is a man that happens to bring it mentally. I would think a player can learn a lot more from a person like that than a tough guy who insists on being called ‘The King’.

David Andersen will surprise some people: For the record, I think Colangelo traded for him because he dominated the Raptors in one game last year. Since the depth at center is minimal, and any defense/toughness Andersen will bring will be better than what Bargnani will, he’ll look good by comparison. Solomon Alabi has a chance of being something decent some day, but Andersen is our best defensive option at center right now and it’ll show.

Amir Johnson’s working on his dribbling.

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As if the New York Knicks needed more bad news, they unfortunately got some as the New York Post is reporting that shooting guard Kelenna Azubuike’s knee still is not healthy enough to undergo the rigors of training camp; you can take that as a signal that he will not be ready for the first day of camp, which is on September 25.

Azubuike underwent knee surgery last November and the Golden State Warriors (Azubuike’s former team), according to sources, were aware that the recovery time was going to be around a year or so. If you go by that timetable, Azubuike wouldn’t be cleared to practice or even play until October, at the earliest.

Even Donnie Walsh has no idea as to when Azubuike will be cleared; according to Walsh:

“He is working extremely hard every day and is improving.”

“It is too early to pinpoint an exact date when he will be available.”

Found on slamdunkcentral

As much as the New York Knicks covet Rudy Fernandez, they’re not willing to pay a premium to obtain him.

At least that is the mindset of the team as the New York Daily News reports that the Knicks turned down a three-team trade with the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers.

The deal, had it been consummated, would have sent Anthony Randolph to Indiana, a first-round pick to Portland while Fernandez would have left the Trail Blazers and landed in New York.

The bump in the road is the apparent insistence that the Knicks send the first-round pick to Portland. When more information regarding this three-team trade proposal become available, Slam Dunk Central will bring it to you.

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Rick and Dennis talk with NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, who’s currently at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

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The “Associated Press” has reported that the Miami Heat roster now stands at 18 players after the Heat signed second round draft pick Da’Sean Butler to a contract Thursday. Terms of the deal have not been released. The Heat selected the former West Virginia Mountaineer forward with selection number 42 in last June’s NBA Draft. Butler at one point was looked at as a potential Lottery pick until he tore his left ACL as the Mountaineers lost to eventual NCAA Champs Duke in the “Final Four” last spring.

Butler averaged 17.2 points per contest last season with West Virginia and doctors say his knee will be healed in time for him to play at the start of the NBA season. The big question for Butler will be can he be one of 15 players that will comprise the Miami Heat roster on opening night? Barring him making the Heat will he show another team in the Association enough that he can make their roster? Or will Butler end up playing in upcoming campaign for the NBDL or head over to the Euro-League? Butler now has an opportunity we will soon find out how well he handles it.

© Copyright 2010 thesackattack

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Kirk Penney scored 25 points to help New Zealand surge into the knockout round of the basketball world championships with an 82-70 win over France on Thursday.

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