Watching the National Basketball Association final lurch to its inevitable result, two conclusions are clear — one with important ramifications for the Toronto Raptors and possibly even former NBA all-star Grant Hill...
The second is that the Eastern Conference is so wide open, the Raptors should be thinking of themselves as legitimate candidates to be here a season from now.
Doubtless general manager Bryan Colangelo and his crew think so, but even more significant, players who might help them get there are taking notice as well.
Hill, for example, has been covering the final as a television analyst for ABC. The Orlando Magic wing player will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and, after losing some of the prime years of his career to injury, is looking for an opportunity that will maximize his chances of earning an NBA le — or at least the chance to compete for one.
An uninspiring performance by the Cavaliers and the lack of a surefire next-best candidate in the East has suddenly put the Raptors into that mix.
"They're on the radar. Bryan's done a great job there," Hill said before the third game on Tuesday, adding that he would only begin focusing on his playing future after talking more with the Magic after the final is over. He
also noted that his wife, recording artist Tamia Hill, is Canadian and said that "at this point in my career, a winning situation is the primary thing."
A source close to the former Duke University star also said Hill has mentioned the Raptors as a possibility among a select number of franchises, with the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons under consideration. Certainly, the Raptors' playing style would seem to be a good fit for Hill, and there's no doubt that one of the NBA's most respected citizens would enjoy the team's uniformly drama-free locker room.
The most desirable names — Rashard Lewis of the Seattle SuperSonics and Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats — are both too expensive. Not as talented is Luke Walton of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he is a reliable three-point threat and top-grade facilitator. Getting him to leave Southern California could be an obstacle, however, according to those close to him.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' Sasha Pavlovic is intriguing, if only because he's 23 years old, will have NBA final experience and shows flashes of being a serious offensive threat — although that's often off-set by his hubris with the ball. He's a restricted free agent, and given Cleveland is likely to be a tax team next season if they re-sign Anderson Varejao, Pavlovic might be available with a carefully constructed, front-end-loaded offer.
Other candidates include James Posey of the Miami Heat and Mickael Pietrus of the Golden State Warriors, both long-armed defenders with some offensive skill, with Posey's experience balanced against Pietrus's promise.
Trades are a possibility as well, with the only problem being that the Raptors' most desirable commodity is Jose Calderon, the emerging Spanish point guard.
The Atlanta Hawks, who came close to signing Calderon out of Spain before the Raptors did, desperately needs point-guard help and carries a wealth of wing players that could fit in Toronto, but Colangelo has stressed that continuity and depth are features he wants to establish on his roster, which suggests any move that would involve a player as prized as Calderon would have to net a proven asset in return and likely a draft pick, too. One rumoured deal involving Calderon and Joey Graham for Josh Childress, Solomon Jones and the 11th pick in the draft, as floated the other day for example, wouldn't cut it...
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