The Goat Pen

Posted: **Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:17 pm**

T Dot O Dot wrote: Rose knew he could negotiate Jonas' club down to a one year release for a lesser buyout value, he just wasn't willing to do it for Cleveland or more specifically Dan Gilbert.

IF this is true, the agent could be facing some serious issues I'd bet.

Everything I read in the day leading up to the draft was it was likely his contract was only going to keep him away the one year. Givony even did a story on it saying as much - that the details of the buyout were totally worked out - but that Jonas was still stuck in Europe for 1 more year, but he could come over the following. "Really surprised that Jonas Valanciunas deciding to stay in Europe for another season in a lockout year is such a big deal to lottery teams."

Posted: **Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:57 pm**

so far...

it's less a case of tampering/shenanigans & more a case of Rose just not wanting to do CLE a favour

so it's clean so far, but one more minor ripple from the Bron "Decision" fiasco

Posted: **Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:40 pm**

@WolstatSun
Ryan Wolstat
The #raptors have been informed that Leandro Barbosa has picked up his player option for 2011-2012 Bryan Colangelo tells Sun #nosurprise

Posted: **Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:12 pm**

Hizzy III wrote:Wow, that is suprising. Good for Tristan, though. Not hatin' on him (he is a Longhorn, after all), just familiar with what his struggles have been and will be.

Hizzy,

If you're a Longhorn fan then get ready for Myck Kabongo, he'll replace Cojo as your starting point guard

another Toronto recruit & dude will break ankles in the Big 12 this year, his handle is off the charts

Posted: **Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:42 am**

I think an agent has every right to do what he feels is best. Even though some people might feel Rose did it in "his" best interests, I don't think you can separate the two if the new CBA would hamstring what an agent could negotiate in the next contract. If Gilbert wants Rose to pay for LBJ, he can lowball him if he knows Rose has no options for Valuncias (in negotiations for his next contract). Sometimes it's best just to avoid the situation.

I am sure that Rose isn't so stupid that he doesn't realize that lieing to GM's doesn't bolster his reputation. I think he probably felt it was best for everyone involved and probably knew that Colangelo had no issues with drafting Euros and would have no problem waiting a year.... especially in light of the lockout.... so he knew if he could avoid one pick, he had a good situation for him and his client.

Posted: **Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:47 am**

New Toronto Raptors coach Dwane Casey has completed the bulk of his coaching staff, with former Raptors assistant and 76ers and Magic head coach Johnny Davis agreeing to join his staff as lead assistant coach. NBA.com

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Dwane Casey, Johnny Davis | share
David Aldridge: My apologies: the Raptors are also hiring Tom Sterner, late of the 76ers, Mavericks, Golden State and Magic, to the staff. Twitter

I always liked Johnny Davis. Don't kow much about Sterner but Davis/Casey should be one intense combination.

Posted: **Wed Jun 29, 2011 2:30 pm**

T Dot O Dot wrote:
Hizzy III wrote:Wow, that is suprising. Good for Tristan, though. Not hatin' on him (he is a Longhorn, after all), just familiar with what his struggles have been and will be.

Hizzy,

If you're a Longhorn fan then get ready for Myck Kabongo, he'll replace Cojo as your starting point guard

another Toronto recruit & dude will break ankles in the Big 12 this year, his handle is off the charts

Yeah but my fear is that he won't have a SOUL to which he can distribute next year. Jordan Hamilton: gone. Tristan Thompson (granted, limited offensive game but rebounds well and knows how to finish): gone. Of course, Calipari seems to have no problem bringing in three or four freshman at the same time so hopefully Rick Barnes (ie, Calipari-Lite) can do the same.

Posted: **Fri Jul 08, 2011 11:08 am**

Well, I think it's at least safe to say that Valuncias will not be a bust. He's gone mad at the U19, which obviously is missing the big time US players, but his 26 pts, 24 rebs against Poland is pretty darn impressive. He's averaging over 20+ pts, 13+ rebs for the tournament.

add in 3+ blocks per game and that's a fairly good week.

Posted: **Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:39 pm**

I knew he would kill it in U19

The more I hear about this kid the more I like him

scouts knocked him because off the pick & roll his only move is to roll hard to the rim, no popping, no fading, etc.

after being fed a strict diet of Bosh & Bargnani poppin for J's I will take a strong hard roll to the rim everyday of the week

I have no problems with a one dimensional center, if he crafts & masters his skills

JV needs to beef up his body though, big time

Posted: **Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:16 pm**

I said before the draft I would've taken him #2 ahead of Derrick Williams (with a small trade down obviously being the preferred method).

Posted: **Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:33 pm**

The Lithuanian under-19 national team has been turning heads all week in the FIBA U-19 World Championships in Latvia. Led by Toronto Raptors draft pick Jonas Valanciunas, they made quick work of the Russian team that shocked the US a few days before.

At the end of the first half, Lithuania was up 53-26, getting 15 points and 9 rebounds from their star center.

When asked about how they would fare in the NCAA, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, one of the leading draft-evaluation sites on the internet, said they would be the best team in the country.
Via Draft Express

Posted: **Mon Jul 11, 2011 3:16 pm**

In Lithuania’ 85-67 win over Serbia in the championship game, Valanciunas finished with 36 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks. He shot 13-for-18 from the field and 10-for-14 from the free throw line. He played all 40 minutes.

Valanciunas earned tournament MVP honors, averaging 23.0 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks, while shooting 60 percent from the field and 81 percent from the line.

Posted: **Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:50 pm**

I certainly feel better about the pick. But we'll have to see how he fares in European Championship later this summer. That's going to be a better test for him.

Posted: **Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:31 pm**

[youtube]lCMXxQGhGzQ[/youtube]

Posted: **Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:06 pm**

Joakim Noah will be playing for France in the Euros, time to see what this kid can do against legit NBA competition

Posted: **Wed Jul 13, 2011 4:11 pm**

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketbal ... erner?bn=1

a little surprised that they just let Carlismo and English walk for nothing. that's pretty much the same as being fired.

at least Triano can take comfort in knowing that they didn't think him the scapegoat

Posted: **Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:02 pm**

Canadian U19 women beat the US and sit at 6-0 at world championships

In every sport, the women of this country seem to be better..... except curling but that's like saying skeet shooting is a sport.

Posted: **Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:09 pm**

TORONTO - Apparently, Raptors' draft pick Jonas Valanciunas’ 26 point performance in a 94-73 victory over the Czech Republic on Saturday was a Lithuanian national team record for points scored in a senior team debut.

Valanciunas was MVP as Lithuania took the gold at the recent FIBA Under-19 world championship, but continued his fine play against more seasoned competition, scoring with a variety of dunks and hook shots.

Valanciunas added 11 rebounds and hit all eight of his free throws.

“I was more nervous than usually … (but) there wasn’t a moment that I thought of the statistics, I just went on the court and showed what I can do,” Valanciunas told reporters afterwards.

Valanciunas did not play in Lithuania’s first exhibition and there has been some question whether he would see significant minutes at Eurobasket, but it’s hard to see his coach benching Valanciunas both because of how effective he has been this summer and because he has become the most popular player in his country. The EuroBasket will be in Lithuania starting at the end of August.

Posted: **Sun Aug 14, 2011 1:15 pm**

In local news....

Toronto's Andrew Wiggins ranked #1 Highschool ball player in 2014 class

http://es.pn/ramLSL

Posted: **Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:42 am**

How did Mitchell Wiggins end up in Toronto for him to have his kid born here?

I don't recall him ever being involved with ball up here.

was he playing for the globetrotters or something?

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Draft Express: Lithuania U19 Team Would Be NCAA National Cha

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I like the intensity

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