Official Toronto Raptors Thread (ISBA 2.0)

Hello friends and welcome to the next chapter of my coaching career. Here's a little video I put together to celebrate the occasion.




Check back for further updates.

Really good, I'm too lazy to make this thing...

Smh...

nice

nice vid

swag

Coach Bryan Preseason Press Conference


Coach Bryan addressed the media inside Air Canada Centre on Saturday


I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time and being here. I'm excited to get back into coaching and grateful for the opportunity with Toronto. It's been nearly 1 month since I left Denver for personal reasons and during that month I was able to rest and recharge the batteries. The fire and excitement is back and I wish the season was starting tonight.

I don't have any win/loss expectations for this team. I want the Raptors to play hard every game and play with pride. If we do those two things I'll be pleased. This roster has some holes in it. I think we all know that. It will be a great challenge but a challenge I'm looking forward to. My offensive philosophy will change with this team and I'm excited to see what comes of that. I'm generally pleased with the core players we have but I will be active on the free agent market and trade wire looking to make a deal or two. Nothing crazy but there's a few things I need to address with this roster.


*Noteworthy*

Saturday night the Raptors fell in overtime on the road against Crax. Toronto doesn't have any more preseason games scheduled.

IMO after this conference if I'm Bargnani and Calderon, I'm packing my bags and waiting for a trade because it's so clear that coach doesn't like me.

Dexter was using who?

I would like to play you, tell me when and we play, all star default 7 min

the "Pride" tagline made me giggle

With the season mere days away the Raptors still have a couple holes to fill on their roster with free agents. One of the best free agents out there is veteran guard Gilbert Arenas. The former all-star was recently an amnesty cut of the Orlando Magic and is now seeking a new home. Arenas, who turns 30 in January has seen a harsh fall from grace in recent years following the gun situation in Washington. Coach Bryan thinks he still has plenty of game left.

"He can still play, there's no doubt in my mind," said Coach Bryan following practice. "We would love to have him up here. I think he could play some shooting (no pun intended) guard for us and be a good change of pace guy."

Arenas was in Toronto on Thursday for a visit and reportedly has the Raptors on his short list.

I wouldn't sign this fgt if I was threatened to be killed,

but it's your choice, Toronto has big holes the roster...

Raptors really aren't that bad. I mean, they are but I like using them. It's fun to use a team without any stars or nobody to lean on. It's 100 percent a team effort every time without any stars. Arenas could be a nice player for me. Overall rating wise he'd be the best most likely but I've got some good kids on this team. Barbosa and DeRozan are fun to use.

Raptors Falter Late on Opening Night


The Raptors fought hard on opening night while honoring the military in style

The Air Canada Centre was buzzing Monday night after the anticipated debut of the NBA season. The Rockets spoiled the party by defeating Toronto, 57-51. On a night when the Raptors became the first team in history to wear camouflage uniforms, they showed plenty of fight and promise. Many of the experts have picked this team to finish at or near the bottom of the league but that's not going to stop this young team from competing hard every night. Despite trailing by 8 points early in the 4th, the Raptors came back and eventually tied the game at 49 before faltering in the final 2 minutes. Bargs led the way with 16 pts and 4 rebs. DeRozan added 15, 4, and 4 to the effort.

Coach Bryan postgame

I was pleased with the effort and fight we had tonight. We hung in there with a good team tonight and put ourselves in a position to win this game late. I think we're like a lot of teams right now trying to figure things out. We found some things that worked tonight and some that didn't. I keep telling these guys to play with pride. Play for the name on the front and back of the jersey. We'll continue to give it everything we've got and hopefully we get rewarded with a win or two at some point.

There wasn't much to celebrate in November for the Raptors but they're still playing hard


After the first 6 weeks of the season the Raptors overall record is 5-11 but that's not keeping the young Raps from having some fun along the way. Gilbert Arenas posted 27 points in a signature win over Denver a few nights ago. Andrea Bargnani has been one of the best front court players in the league this season from a statistical standpoint and is currently 4th in allstar voting for his position. The point guard position has been musical chairs so far this year with 3 different players making starts at the position. Arenas has been the most steady but Bayless has come on of late with increased playing time. Calderon has 3 "DNP-CD's" this year but is expected to get back into the rotation soon. DeRozan has contributed on both sides of the floor and Rasual Butler and Gary Forbes have had their moments.

Sunday morning the Raptors and Lakers announced a trade that will send Gilbert Arenas to LA for Matt Barnes, Derek Fisher, and cash considerations. The deal was made between the two GM's on opening day but since Arenas had a clause in his contract that prevented him from being traded for 30 days the deal had to wait until now.

"I was very pleased with Gilbert Arenas in his time here in Toronto," said coach Bryan. "He knew he was going to be traded to LA 4 weeks ago but that didn't stop him from giving 100 percent for us every night. It would have been easy for him to half-ass it here but he didn't and I'm grateful for that. I wish him the best of luck with the Lakers as he continues his comeback."

The Raptors have been rumored to make a blockbuster trade but nothing has come together yet. Expect Toronto to make some type of deadline trade. Players who could be involved include: Ed Davis, DeRozan, or Barbosa.

"I think a package including some combination of Davis, DeRozan, Barbosa, and our first round pick could be very attractive for some team. I'm not sure what our intentions are at this point to be honest. Steve Nash is on our radar and even though talks didn't go well before I think a deal can be made. Having Nash finish his career in Canada would be a tremendous thing for this country."

The Raptors schedule heats with with user games against Golden State twice, Utah, Lakers, and Boston in the coming weeks.

#NashToCanada trending worldwide

Report: Derek Fisher May Retire if Traded to Toronto

With the news breaking Sunday morning that Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes would be traded to Toronto in exchange for Gilbert Arenas, that news apparently didn't sit well with veteran point guard Derek Fisher. The longtime guard for the Lakers has told close friends that he hasn't decided whether he'll report to Toronto or opt to retire instead. He's rumored to be furious over the trade and feels betrayed by Lakers brass for not only dealing him but dealing him to a bottom feeder. Fisher is in the final year of his contract and has a player option for 2012/13.

I would retire if I were him. Lakers have no respect for their greats.

If I were him I'd probably retire too. What's the point? Either that or I'd demand a buyout and then he could try to catch on with a contender. I haven't decided how to handle it yet.

Such a shame for this thread to die before the biggest days in history of the Toronto Raptors franchise.

Raptors fans might go a bit overboard, but at least they have a reason to be happy.



#BuckFulls

^my intro video I made for this thread is proving to be true.