News

The Toronto Raptors are Linas Kleiza’s first choice in free agency, according to league sources, but landing the Denver Nuggets small forward remains contingent on what happens with Shawn Marion.

Similarly any other moves the Raptors make depend on Marion, including a report I got late last night that the Raptors have their eyes on David Lee of the New York Knicks.

Kleiza fits the Raptors need for depth and the ability to play multiple positions. At six-foot-eight and 240 pounds he can play power forward in a small lineup and shooting guard in a big lineup, though his natural position is small forward.

Not sure who else is in the mix for Kleiza, but when I reached his agent, Bill Duffy, by text, he said simply: “There’s time,” which suggested to me that he’s willing to wait until the Raptors get their ducks in a row.

Kleiza plays with an edge – “a poor man’s Ron Artest” – was one descriptive and has shown that with minutes he can score in bunches. He seemed poised to break out after a 2007-08 season in which he averaged career highs in nearly every category and was effective as an occasional starter, averaging 17 points and 4.7 rebounds in 13 games in that role. He was due a contract extension before this season but that got put on hold as Denver was manoeuvring to acquire Chauncey Billups and speculation is getting squeezed out of his deal set Kleiza back mentally.

He's also streaky and has a bit of Joey Graham to him in the sense that the talents are tantalizing, but not always harnessed. Still he's 24 and has had to play behind Carmelo Anthony for most of his career, so you can see why the Raptors are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Of course he only gets here if the Raptors sign Marion or sign-and-trade him. The only insight I have into that is that talks between Dan Fegan, Marion’s agent, and the Raptors have been “positive” whatever that means.

Which brings us to David Lee, whose name surfaced in connection with Toronto last night. He’s a restricted free agent who would require a heavy offer sheet – five years, $50-million (all currency U.S.) – to pry away from the Knicks. As we all know, the only way the Raptors can do that deal is if Marion goes away and Lee becomes the Raptors primary target.

There’s not much to not like about Lee, as his 65 double-doubles would attest. He’d be an instant crowd favourite at the ACC and a nice hedge if Bosh leaves or is traded in the short or medium term. And if you’re going to throw $50-million at a guy, probably better to do it when he’s 26 than when he’s 30 (Turkoglu), but the same question remains: does adding David Lee make you better if it means giving up Delfino, Parker, Marion and potentially Kleiza?

One other note, you can stop shopping around for a good back-up point guard the Raptors might get for the bi-annual exception. If the Raptors sign Marion, Delfino and Kleiza they’ll be nudging the luxury tax and won’t be using the bi-annual. If they don’t sign Marion and Delfino they’ll be under the cap and won’t have access to the exceptions.

XXXXXXXX

Tough start for Canada at the u-19s in New Zealand, but losing to Australia is not that surprising given the time change and travel adjustment required and that I suspect that Autralia, with the benefit of a team probably all from the Australia Institute of Sport, is a well-oiled machine at this point. Canada has a bit of that but will likely get stronger as the tournament goes on. Big game from Manny Arop, a product of the Canada Basketball’s National Elite Development Academy (RIP). He’s headed to Gonzaga this fall. I watched him at a practice in Hamilton recently and was very impressed. He’s an athletic, physical perimeter type who has a very mature game; really gets his body into people on offence, in a Kobe, MJ kind of way. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t become an impact player for the Zags.

Here’s the game report from Canada Basketball:

CANADA OPENS U19 WORLDS WITH LOSS TO AUSTRALIA - by Tanya Phillipps, basketball.ca Last Updated: July 02, 2009 AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Team Canada faced top ranked Australia in the opening day of the FIBA U19 World Championships in a tough fought game that resulted in an 88-77 loss.

Although the Canadians played a strong second half (43 points to the Australians' 46), the Aussies controlled the first quarter and were too dominant for the red-and-white.

Mangisto Arop (Edmonton) led all players, collecting a double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Cory Joseph (Pickering, Ont.), Rob Gagliardi (Whitby, Ont.) and Kelly Olynyk (Kamloops, B.C.) each contributed 11 points, but Australia’s dynamic duo of forwards Cody Ellis (25 points) and Brock Motum (22 points, eight rebounds) were just too much for Team Canada.

The Australians got off to a quick 17-6 run to start the first quarter, led by 6’7” power forward Ellis. Canada’s Tristan Thompson (Brampton, Ont.) tallied four points by the five-minute mark, but the team got into foul trouble early. With just under three minutes left, Australia was leading 21-12. Canada’s wing Arop scored six and guard Rob Gagliardi added four to bring Canada to within six, ending the quarter 24-18.

At the start of the second, Canada continued to struggle offensively with turnovers, as the Australians led 33-18 with 7:30 remaining. But the red-and-white settled into a rhythm and chipped away at the deficit. With one minute left in the half Canada had pulled to within seven (39-32), thanks to a deuce and a trey by Arop and Gagliardi respectively. Arop led Team Canada on both ends of the court with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, but the Aussies closed out strongly at 42-34 thanks to top scorer Ellis who collected 13.

Again the Aussies came out fast in the third quarter with the help of forward Brock Motum who amassed four points in three minutes of play. But Canada’s Cory Joseph responded with seven points to make it 53-43 with just over four minutes remaining. Ellis’s dominant shooting helped Australia to a 15-point lead (60-45) with 2:30 left in the quarter. Olynyk, a 6’10” guard, added four points in the period along with Arop’s deuce with 30 seconds left to make it 64-55. Australia answered back with a two to close out the quarter 66-56.

In the fourth period, Ellis continued his shooting show collecting five points. Canada responded with a deuce from Marc Trasolini (Vancouver) and a three-pointer from Gagliardi to make it 71-61, before calling a timeout with 6:30 remaining. At the three-minute mark both teams had 11 points apiece in the period, but Canada was still down by 10, 77-67.

It would take a combination of strong defence and quick points in the paint for the red-and-white to stop the Aussie combination of Ellis and Motum and chip away at the lead. Olynyk added a three and a two followed by Arop’s trey to make it 81-73 with just under two minutes left. Arop added another two and a couple of free throws to bring the game to within seven in the last minute of play but Motum collected a pair of deuces to end the game 88-77.

Defence definitely won this match for the Australians as they collected 42 rebounds to Canada’s 33. And while Canada played competitively for three quarters, the team struggled offensively from the perimeter, shooting only 26 per cent from the three-point line. Couple that with the early fouls in the first quarter and the limited points in the paint (38 to Australia’s 52), and Canada has to make some minor modifications for future matchups in this world class event.

Look to see the team make some adjustments as Canada faces Syria July 3 at 12:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET July 2). The preliminary round closes out for Canada on July 4 vs. Spain at 5:00 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET). The top three countries in the pool will advance to the second round.

Visit the tournament website at www.newzealand2009.fiba.com to catch the live stats and complete box scores.