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Three things I do believe:

1. Nuggets-Clippers and Rockets-Warriors are going to be great series.
2. I am sure there will be some kind of fracas as the Pistons and Knicks go six or seven games.
3. The Mighty Leafs will prevail over the Ottawas.

Enjoy.

Now that the season is mercifully over, we fans need to scramble to find some interesting things to mark on our calendars during the off-season.

Draft lottery and draft days are obvious.聽Other possibilities include free-agent signings and trades.

Do you see the Raptors being active in either of the latter two activities?

鈥擬ichael McKnight

I cannot see for a second any free-agent movement. There aren鈥檛 any realistic ones better than what they have, and the financial realities make me more sure they鈥檒l sit it out.

Now, trades are an entirely other matter. I don鈥檛 know that they鈥檒l do anything, but they certainly have some bits they could dangle and I know they鈥檒l make, and take, calls.

There is really only one player that I never saw play that I wished I would have.聽It鈥檚 not the Big O, as I am sure he was great, but the NBA game in that era really doesn’t appeal to me. Hockey there is none, NFL there is none. Tennis, golf, etc. none.

That player was in baseball. Never saw him at all, as when he retired I was 10. Mickey Mantle, a switch-hitting power hitter who hit for average, had speed, could play the field, plus I like how he was humble, a reluctant superstar.

That’s how I like my athletes聽鈥� well, people actually. He passed in the mid-‘90s and even then I never gave him much thought as his career was over, just one of many that was on the circuit signing autographs, etc.

To me he was lumped in with Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio 鈥斅爊ot in a bad way, just as players that were of an age that I never saw play.

But the more I read of him, the more I wish I had seen him play as I know he would have been one of my faves.

Who would be the one player in any sport you wish you could have seen play in their prime?

鈥擠oug B.

I鈥檝e had this conversation with the FAST Group (Friday Afternoon Stool Time) and there was one alteration. It鈥檚 not so much that we didn鈥檛 see them, it鈥檚 that we 肠辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 see them because there was, like, one game a week available to see instead of three or four a night.

I 鈥� and I鈥檒l be bold and suggest you, too, given the similar vintages 鈥� probably saw all of the true greats in small snippets, but not often enough.

Anyway, the two guys I always landed on are Willie Mays and Bob Gibson.

Happy Easter to you and yours, Doug!聽Hope you enjoy warm weather and good basketball!

Some questions for you:

1) After seeing DeMar DeRozan eliminated, like him I am wondering if he will ever get a ring (and Jonas Valanciunas, too). I think the days of DeMar leading a team to victory have passed; he can’t be your go-to guy, but obviously can be one of your best guys. Perhaps both ex-Raps could get rings in an Al Horford role on better teams. What’s your take on this?

2) What’s wrong with the Atlanta Hawks? A year ago they make the play-in tournament, then get the No. 1 pick, only to end up play-in losers again. Are they fundamentally flawed for building/focusing on Trae Young?聽Isn’t their recent history a huge red flag that their ship has come in, but it’s the Titanic?

3) The Knicks鈥� lack of regular-season success against the best teams reminds me of the Leafs: a decent team with diehard, long suffering fans, money, etc., who likely won’t see a championship. However, to their credit, they are skilled at finding and recognizing talented guards. Think of the guys they’ve traded in recent years. Do you think either the Leafs or Knicks will make it to the finals in the next five years or are they both fundamentally, tragically flawed and doomed?

4) The Raptors hot mic incident: Honestly I couldn’t tell who said what聽鈥� too many voices! If the allegations are true, shouldn’t people own up and apologize? Or would doing so effectively end the careers of the guilty parties (which player wants to answer questions from someone who has insulted them)? What’s your treatment for foot-in-mouth disease?

Bonus question: Did Sacramento’s management give up on a roster that would have eventually gone further had they been more patient?

Thanks for writing about our team during the best of times and the worst of times!

鈥擝ernie M.

A nice, quiet Easter and not nearly enough chocolate.

I鈥檇 love for DeMar or Jonas to get a ring, but do I think they will? No. But then I also didn鈥檛 think Kyle Lowry or Fred VanVleet or OG Anunoby would. What I do think is that neither of DeRozan or Valanciunas will chase a ring.

I don鈥檛 think the Hawks had 鈥� or have ever had 鈥� enough talent or depth to legitimately challenge for a championship, and they鈥檝e missed on the moves they鈥檝e made to build the roster. And I don鈥檛 look at Trae Young and see a guy with championship-calibre leadership skills.

I鈥檓 going to go with no on Leafs and Knicks, because I know how hard it is to win it all and how much luck you need. Which, of course, means parades along Bay St. and Broadway later this spring.

I was and am blissfully unaware and uninvolved in whatever undecipherable snippets of private conversations a table microphone caught. I don鈥檛 know, I don鈥檛 care. I believe it to be the work of tweeters who obviously have nothing serious to occupy their time, so I offer no other comment.

My understanding from talking with more than a few people who have deep knowledge of Sacramento is that you should probably switch 鈥渕anagement鈥� with 鈥渙wnership鈥� and you鈥檙e barking up the right tree.

Hi, Doug.聽Hope you are doing well.

I misfocused an earlier question. Given your contention that one of聽the Raptors’ issues is a glut of similar players, how much of that is聽a leaguewide issue? If all (most) of the teams also have a surfeit of聽these kinds of players then fixing it via trade would be hard.

Thanks.

鈥擩im R.

I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a leaguewide issue at all. Off the top of my head I cannot think of a team with four rookies, one player just through his second season and another just through his third who are all on very manageable contracts, play very similar positions and have yet to separate themselves from each other. Is Gradey Dick better than Ja’Kobe Walter. Is either better than Ochai Agbaji? And where do Jamison Battle or Jonathan Mogbo fit?

Can鈥檛 think of another team, so finding one or two that need those traits shouldn鈥檛 be all that hard.

Doug, when I鈥檓 sending this on Friday, the Blue Jays have the second-best record in the American League and Vladdy鈥檚 barely started. Can we start getting vacation days to watch October baseball here?

鈥擪yle, Mississauga

I鈥檇 love to tell you yes, and I do think the American League East is as open as it鈥檚 been in years. But you know, there鈥檚 a lot of horsehide to be thrown and I鈥檓 not anywhere near close to suggesting October will be different. And neither should you. Or anyone.

I still don鈥檛 think they have enough offensive depth, and I have a sneaky suspicion the bullpen may not hold up.