Posted by djsunyc:

work your magic colangelo...

Does he have any magic? I mean he just signed a 30yr old Turkoglu to a bloated 5 year contract

MA: Portland is building its future upon three players: Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden. But in Toronto you'll be one of the main pieces in the puzzle with Chris Bosh. Has the magnitude of your role in Toronto effected your decision?

Hedo: Yeah, you're right, I would've been mentoring young and talented players in Portland. But in Toronto, they'll build the team around me and Bosh. Furthermore, it's a big advantage for me that there are great European players like Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani in roster. These are the reasons why I've selected Toronto.

this is what i'm talking about. colangelo's plan is to make toronto the international players preferred destination. with the globalization of the game, there are many talented players and now they see toronto as a desired spot. since US players are leaving, why not build a team where players want to come. not only does it get toronto an advantage in international scouting but also gives them many business opportunities overseas to make the club even more money. would you be surprised if ricky rubio wanted to go there?

he just stole a free agent from portland (the #1 free agent on the market). think about that, a team that many people are on the verge of contending just lost a free agent to toronto. that tells you how far he took the franchise.

the franchise hasn't made more than 2 playoff series in a row. they're still trying to build a legacy. and now colangelo has made it a place international players want to go to since US players can't wait to leave. brilliant strategy. he's proactive and innovative. team's worth went from 285 mil to 400 mil under his watch.

there's alot more to the job he's doing, especially playing behind the 8-ball in canada than just looking at the win/loss record.

btw, he also gave 30yr old nash a bloated 4 year contract.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 07-06-2009 11:16 PM]

Posted by Allanfan20:

That 30 year old Nash was a star in Dallas and was a point guard that could run and elevate the system that D'Antoni envisioned. It was a smart signing. Turk is nice, but he's no Steve Nash.

this is hindsight 101...

hedo's still hurt when he found out bargs was the father of his child.

nash was their 3rd option that summer. and when he signed the deal, everyone said they overpaid. and nobody knew anything about d'antoni.

Posted by djsunyc:

nash was their 3rd option that summer. and when he signed the deal, everyone said they overpaid. and nobody knew anything about d'antoni.

And Briggs, I remember, was the one who said they overpaid. I don't think I was on that boat.

Sources: Mavs would get Marion
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

It appears that the Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors have successfully recruited the Memphis Grizzlies to help them complete a trade that would eventually route free-agent swingman Shawn Marion to the Mavericks, according to NBA front-office sources.

Yet sources told ESPN.com that the deal, while very far along, has not been finalized and was unlikely to be completed before Thursday at the earliest, with the trade potentially including a fourth team in its final form.

The Mavericks' interest in a sign-and-trade deal for Marion emerged Tuesday but requires Dallas and Toronto to find at least one more team to facilitate the trade because the Raptors can't waive Stackhouse without incurring an extra $2 million in payroll for next season, which would slice into the cap space they have earmarked to sign prized free agent Hedo Turkoglu away from Orlando.

But the Grizzlies' participation would involve Memphis absorbing Stackhouse's $7.25 million contract and buying him out for $2 million before the Aug. 10 deadline in Stackhouse's contract. It's believed that the trade will stipulate that Dallas pays that $2 million to the Grizzlies to cover that expense.

It was not immediately clear what kind of contract Marion will receive from the Mavericks if the deal goes through, but the leaguewide consensus is that Dallas is his best and perhaps last remaining option to get a starting salary next season above the $5.9 million mid-level exception.

Although Raptors president Bryan Colangelo drafted Marion in Phoenix in 1999 and wants to help the former All-Star if he can, sources say Toronto is only interested in taking back draft considerations and/or cash to avoid getting in the way of its Turkoglu signing. In the midst of negotiations with Marion on a four-year contract believed to be worth $36 million late last week, Toronto managed to change Turkoglu's mind at the 11th hour and convince its No. 1 free-agent target to come to Canada for a five-year deal in excess of $50 million instead of signing with the Portland Trail Blazers.

If a fourth team ultimately joins in that would mean that the trade is expanding to involve other players. The main thrust of the deal, though, remains Dallas landing Marion at what would be considered a favorable price and Marion getting a contract that starts slightly higher than the mid-level exception.

Dallas is hoping that the combination of Marion and Orlando restricted free agent Marcin Gortat -- along with the re-signing of Jason Kidd -- would greatly improve the depth and flexibility possessed by a team that won 50 games last season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to Denver.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban has said for months that he was prepared to be as aggressive as possible this summer as opposed to waiting for the free-agent bonanza of 2010, when Dallas was initially expected to have substantial cap space. Orlando retains the right to match any offer sheet to Gortat but the Magic are widely expected not to match.

Sources say that the Mavericks, meanwhile, are determined to keep Josh Howard even if a trade for Marion can be worked out, with Howard entering the final year of his contract. One potential drawback for Dallas is the fact that Marion would be yet another key member of their core over the age of 30, joining Nowitzki (31), Kidd (36), Jason Terry (31) and Howard (who turns 30 next April).

Marion earned $17.8 million last season and was traded for the second straight February when Miami sent him to Toronto in a swap for Jermaine O'Neal. He went from Phoenix to Miami one year earlier in the Shaquille O'Neal trade.

The Raptors were intent on re-signing Marion if they couldn't win the Turkoglu sweepstakes, seeing late-season signs of promise in Marion's collaboration alongside Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. Sources say that the Cleveland Cavaliers, despite their recent pursuits of Trevor Ariza and Ron Artest and a well-chronicled need for a combo forward, are not making a hard push for Marion.

Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

looks like marion to mavs
stackhouse + cash (from dallas) to memphis
conditional picks + cash to toronto

colangelo looking out for marion and cuban spending cash like a psycho and memphis getting a cool mil for nothing...

[Edited by - djsunyc on 07-08-2009 9:31 PM]

Marion to Dallas.... did Josh Howard croak?

The Raptors... LMFAO... tying up your cap space in Bargs and Hedo and then looking to max out Bosh is probably not a formula for success. Unless success stops being rated after just making the playoffs. Making the playoffs is nice but I'd think the idea is to do more. Colangelo had one good year with the Euro North team and then it fell apart. If he thinks these moves are going to change that I got to say he is mistaken.