海角社区官网

Enjoy.

If you are of a certain vintage, seeing Muhammad Ali鈥檚 draft card up for auction is a reminder of another turbulent time isn鈥檛 it?

I don鈥檛 mean this as a knock on the WNBA because I鈥檓 a big fan, but do you think it鈥檚 harder to officiate a game in the league because the play is slightly out of control sometimes?

鈥擯aul M.

I watched a documentary on CNN the other night on the 1970s (it鈥檚 an old one I鈥檝e seen a couple of times) but combining the Ali draft controversy of the late-鈥�60s, Nixon and Watergate and the 鈥�70s and the end of the war, my life is being bookended by the deterioration of the United States. I saw them recover from that era; I don鈥檛 know if they will from this one.

And I wouldn鈥檛 say 鈥渙ut of control鈥� as much as a style or manner of play that new fans to the women鈥檚 game are not used to seeing. But referees, who come from the ranks of that game, should be able to deal with it. My opinion is that the WNBA needs to make its officials full-time employees and train them better, like the NBA does.

Hey, Doug.聽I read John Hollinger鈥檚 latest in the Athletic (2025 Off-season Deals That Deserve More Scrutiny) and one quote stood out: “The perfect aimless move to pile on to the Raptors鈥� half-decade of what-are-we-doing-here since they won the 2019 championship, 海角社区官网extended Jakob Poeltl by three years and $84 million on top of a $19.5-million player option season that he locked in.鈥� I鈥檓 not interested in his opinion on Poeltl as much as the offhanded remark about the Raptors being 鈥渁imless.鈥�

I鈥檓 wondering if that is a prevailing opinion around the league? Do others see the Raps as a confounding franchise? Or is there a constituency that sees what us local fans hope is true 鈥� that Bobby Webster and company have an intriguing plan in place.

When I think of dysfunctional teams, I think New Orleans and Charlotte. I don鈥檛 see the Raps as 鈥渁imless,鈥� but I have wondered about some of the big money they鈥檝e committed to Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram before we鈥檝e had a chance to see them all run together. I get that 海角社区官网still has trouble attracting free agents, and I guess I get the logic that you鈥檝e got to pay to keep them here. But I also respect Hollinger. So my question for you is this: Do you think it鈥檚 fair for him to call the Raps aimless, or is Hollinger another U.S. scribe who doesn鈥檛 understand the market here?

Thanks Doug and congratulations on yet another season covering our squad.

鈥擜ndrew Gregg in Toronto

I see where John is going and it鈥檚 an opinion shared around the league, simply because the Raptors decided to rebuild but never, ever truly bottomed out. That was obvious when they changed the roster and didn鈥檛 give away guys like OG Anunoby for prospects, instead deciding to simply 鈥渟hift鈥� rather than 鈥渂low up.鈥�

I don鈥檛 tend to agree with that move. I think it鈥檚 too hard to truly take it down to the wood and build it back up; it takes almost a decade and so much has to go right. It seldom, if ever, works.

So maybe it鈥檚 a bit overreactive to say 鈥渁imless鈥� and maybe a better way to describe it is 鈥渙ff-focus鈥� or something like that.

And besides, it鈥檚 really only been two years and they made a rather bold move in the Ingram acquisition. So I鈥檇 suggest until we see this iteration play out for a few months, no one really knows whether the plan of retooling rather than totally deconstructing the roster will work or not.

And thanks. I don鈥檛 know if going into Year 31 is cause of congratulations or not, but it鈥檚 been a fascinating ride.

Hi, Doug.聽Still waiting for the NBA pre-season to see what a healthy team looks like and how it functions against real players, so I’ve only got a couple of questions.

1) I’ve read a couple articles suggesting that Dennis Schr枚der could/should end up in the Basketball Hall of Fame due to his FIBA success primarily (two-time MVP, two-time champ).聽Personally, I liked him here and while he wasn’t an NBA all-star, he contributed positives on the court in several ways. And not terrible in any aspect, we basically let him go for nothing. HOF, yeah or nay, Doug?

2) Cam Reddish is no longer in the league. In recent times, he was regarded as a valued player of high potential (maybe more than Precious Achiuwa?) but similarly didn’t meet those expectations. Again, is it the player or is the bar being raised for the level of skills required to stay in the NBA?

Bonus follow-up question: Are NCAA prospects overhyped by current (online) media prior to entering the league?

Thanks again, Doug! Not gonna jinx whoever by talking about magic numbers!

鈥擝ernie M.

I appreciate the consistency you bring each week even in the off-season very much, by the way.

I鈥檓 100 per cent in on Schr枚der being a HOFer. Anyone who wins World Cup and EuroBasket gold and is the MVP in each absolutely deserved a Hall of Fame slot for international success. It鈥檚 a shrine that encompasses all of basketball, not just the NBA.

And in my opinion, the importance of basketball events is ranked, in order: World Cup, Olympics, EuroBasket and the NBA. There鈥檚 a huge gulf between one and two, and two and three might be tied.

It鈥檚 the player聽鈥� in the case of Reddish, at least聽鈥� and a bit of the fault of talent evaluators because I remember the year Duke played here (with RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson and Reddish) and an NBA exec telling me he wasn鈥檛 sure that Reddish wasn鈥檛 the best prospect of the three.

The bonus question: How鈥檚 Adam Morrison or Jimmer Fredette sound?

Hi, Doug.聽I asked earlier about women’s rugby. I know you were skipping the pool rounds. Did you see the semifinal?

Canada looks fun, but England is riding an Edmonton Grads-level dominance period. With luck a good game for the final.

鈥擩im R.

I absolutely watched it 鈥� was out of the weekly 鈥渟olving the world’s problems鈥� meeting in the second half 鈥� and asked for the first time of my life: 鈥淪ay, saloon-keeper, can you please put women鈥檚 rugby on the television for me?鈥� and was impressed.

Then I found out it was the first time the Black Ferns had lost in like a decade and it was even more impressive.

The only regret is that I missed the opening minutes at home and may have missed the chance of seeing the Haka, which is one of the truly greatest sports traditions ever.

And I鈥檒l be watching next Saturday, I鈥檓 sure.

Hello, Doug.聽Your colleague wrote an interesting piece on the negotiations between Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in 2019, seemingly reinforcing the allegations that have recently been made about non-basketball related income flowing to Kawhi (and/or his family) during his tenure with the Clippers.

I assume that people came forward to the Star recently after the Clippers allegations and that no journalists were aware of the “extra” asks made in 2019.

My question is about your views on the ethics around what a journalist ought to have done if they were aware of those issues at the time they occurred. Should they be reported? What if the Raptors had signed Kawhi in 2019 and you learned that the team had agreed to some of those extra payments? It would be hard for anyone not to consider that in that scenario, if you wrote the piece and the league imposed serious penalties (forfeiture of picks, cancelling the contract, etc.), that would almost certainly cause you professional harm with respect to your biggest journalistic focus for more than 25 years.

Thoughts?

鈥擪别惫颈苍

Of course they should have, and in smaller bits they were. There鈥檚 a fair amount of 鈥渆verything old is new again鈥� because stories of Leonard鈥檚 demands 鈥� that came to the Raptors through his uncle 鈥� leaked in dribs and drabs, not like a deluge now.

Professional harm? In that scenario, it would have created professional accolades. It鈥檚 what we do.

Hi, Doug.聽There is so much talk of the Clippers contract with Kawhi Leonard, but it is not a unique manipulation for teams in the NBA. What about the Lakers acquiring Luka Doncic? Is it at all possible? Is there any logic that this trade gets done without some creative manoeuvring? Has the NBA investigated this, or are they complacent? Is it not logical. There had to be more for the Mavericks that is not public knowledge, or is it all about Luka鈥檚 new contract?

鈥擱ay in Victoria

Sorry, but of all the apples and oranges in the basket, these are the apples and orangest ones I鈥檝e ever seen. You can, and we will for years, debate the basketball value of the transaction and whether the Mavs could have maximized their return, but it was not a transaction aimed at possibly contravening the very heart of the financial structure of the salary cap/tax foundation.

So, no. No chance.