so is that why Toronto drafted him even though they could have become stonger in other positions?? now thats funny..
I don't blame Raptor fans for the hate mail. All I ever read about regarding the Raptors, besides their GM and team sucking, is that Toronto can't support an NBA team and basketball will never survive in Canada. I'd be a little incensed by that. It does sound rather xenophobic. Kelly, I don't know if you ever wrote anything like that or not; and probably the Canadian readers are in the same position I'm in -- that an individual writer like yourself is completely sublimated into the monolithic "Media," and each becomes responsible for the trends seen in the whole.
What a reason to draft Villinueva! Because he wanted to be there, what?? Are you kidding? They drafted Villinueva because they are bad evaluators of talent. Villinueva is the next Big Country Reeves, wonder if he liked Canada. Who cares if Villinueva likes canada, he's going to be a bust. Talk about a lazy, underachieving player, Villinueva is the staple for that. Good luck with your bust, the 2nd coming of Big Country Reeves, at least he likes Canada though right?
they needed a guy who could rebound, tell me of a player who was available who cold have been better than Villi? vlaurelio tell me of a guy who would have been a better pcik??? don't say Green cause a lot of other teams also passed on the guy....Granger?....he has questions regarding his knees....i can't think of a better player than Villi!...
There's your problem. Your most promising player is a 4 (Bosh), so the next year out, you try and complement him with another big man taken way too early, Araujo. So either last year's lottery pick was a mistake or this one was. You wanted a rebounder? Sean May or Ike Diogu sound good?
Sean May's ability to play in the NBA is a bigger question mark than Villi's!!....and Diogu....that guy is too short to TRY to play center....you want the Raptors to draft an undersized 4??? and yes Araujo is a mistake!!..everyone knew this after his first game...the guy can't play!...he is role player at best. its not like the NBA is full of centers.....there are only 4-5 legitimate centers in the league …the rest are either unskilled or just 4’s playing the 5 spot!!
What about that guy that the Lakers claim to be the next Shaq. There is just no reason to pick up Villanueva. Raptors are going into the crapper because of their management. Yall should have gotten rid of that coach a long time ago.
I'd rather have skill (Diogu) than size (Araujo) everyday how can someone who cannot play be a role player at best? so why will you need more rebounding if Araujo's a good role player? isn't rebounding the most basic role for a center? at first you're saying its a mistake then you're saying Araujo's the best center available to the Raptors in last year's draft? can't make up your mind? considering Villi can rebound like Barkley and Rodman, are you going to start Bosh or him or let them both start and let Bosh slide to center??? here are all draft picks available to Raptors. We all know they have holes for PG, SG, SF and C.. so why draft another PF? Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut Channing Frye, Arizona Ike Diogu, Arizona State Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph (NJ) HS Fran Vazquez, Spain Yaroslav Korolev, CSKA Moscow Sean May, North Carolina McCants, North Carolina Antoine Wright, Texas A&M Joey Graham, Oklahoma State Danny Granger, New Mexico Gerald Green, Gulf Shores Acad (TX) Hakim Warrick, Syracuse Julius Hodge, North Carolina State
but he's not a starting Center!!!! Araujo can not start....there is a huge difference between starting and just playing a role on a team...which could mean just playing 10 minutes a game. and please don't mix up Araujo who was drafted two years ago to Diogu who was drafted this year! wait i NEVER defended taking Araujo!! I was defending taking Villi. Araujo is/was a mistake. yes Bosh will be playing center....he actually has played at the center position in his ROOKIE YEAR!!! but nobody knows about this, cause nobody watches the Raps down under. the guy did all right, its not his natural position but he has played it before and did well!!!!
Only if this is the perception of mediocre minds, which go along the lines of, "I've seen a black guy dunk a basketball. Therefore, all black men can dunk basketballs." And I'm pretty damn sure that I never wrote that Toronto, thriving metropolis and modern-as-tomorrow city of dreams, wouldn't be able to host an NBA team. The unprovoked insecurity of these fans will soon cause other NBA fans to dismiss them outright ... if they haven't already.
i know how the raptors got beat.... THEY'RE AN AWFUL TEAM!!! i bet there are going to be NBDL teams that could beat them this year. i say the raptors go for about 14 wins this year.
One thing the Raptors can do, that other horrible teams of recent note (Bulls, Nuggets, Atlanta last year) is score. If some teams aren't careful, they'll wind up on the wrong end of a 118-112 game.
I want the Raptors to do well. I really do. However, I just can't support them until they get rid of that idiot Sam Mitchell. Man, I hate that guy. He ran his best guard out of town (not that I'm complaining about that since it directly benefits the Rockets ) and he makes poor decision after poor decision. Once they kick him to the curb and get a real coach, I will be more interested in the Raps. As for the whole "disrespecting the Raptors" issue, I think that the guy was a bit overboard in his e-mail, but I do understand his sentiment. I love the fact that Canada has a NBA team. I think it's sad the way a lot of Canadian NHL teams have moved to the States, and I can see how that can cause some resentment that carries over into other situations. Respect the Raps! (but get rid of Mitchell... please)
Just because a guy can play center out of necessity does not mean that's where he belongs. And I don't care what Villi says, as long as the raps continue with their joke of a coach and gm, no one is going to want to play there. If the Lakers were smart(not). They'd be targeting Bosh for a future acquisition, not Yao.
The whole "European Leagues are now on par with the NBA" argument is getting a little cliche. The Raptors lost to them because they are a godawful team. The fact that the Magic beat Maccabi 93-79 is a testament to that. http://www.nba.com/magic/ Magic Move Past Maccabi Tel-Aviv Despite a slow start, Orlando came out on top in its 2005-06 preseason debut at the TD Waterhouse Centre, defeating two-time Euroleague champs Maccabi Tel-Aviv, 93-79 on Wednesday evening. Next up, the Magic host the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
