...he is guaranteed the staring job. It's looking more and more like TJ will not be a Raptor next season. link I have a related question. As a restricted free agent, can Calderon accept a lower offer from a team other than the Raptors? edit: a better link
No, as a restricted free agent the option is with the team, not the player And im not against TJ moving, screw the Raptors and everyone not named Bosh
This development pleases me, because I would love for TJ to get out of Toronto. I think the Seattle/Oklahoma City Sonics could use his services.
As much as I love TJ, they have no need for him right now. Calderon proved this season that he can be a good starter and the Raptors have many needs, none of which include paying 2 starting point guards. Get CB4 another top scoring threat and I think they will at least compete in the East in a few years.
Sorry husker, but I don't agree with you that rafer is "fine" for this team. Rafer had a career year shooting the ball but with T-Mac's assortment of injuries it behooves the team to cut his minutes and lessen his workload. Rafer is not in TJ's league when it comes to drive and dish plays. It would do mcgrady wonders to have a PG like TJ Ford who can handle creating shots for the team, putting less stress on his body and letting him work off the ball. And yes they need a shooter, but mainly need a backup SG/SF behind battier.
rafer is far from fine; ive never seen someone say anything decent about him, much less that he's the answer at pg. he's a horrible pg compared to tj. he's the master of taking a ****** shots at the worst times..
If they could add Ford, I guess Jackson/Head/Brooks is the backup and then maybe get a shooter, they should have gone after Korver, all it would have taken was a matching expiring contract, the Rockets will be deadly next season.
With Rafer playing the full load, the Rockets were 2-1 against Utah. With him hurt and missing significant minutes, Houston was 0-3. Just saying.
I don't know if TJ is that great playing off the ball though. Rafer isn't the perfect answer for the Rockets, but I think he's a little bit better 3 point shooter and defender than TJ is. Which is what you really need next to Yao and T-Mac. Considering the Rockets would probably have to give up someone like Battier to make that trade happen, I don't think it would be worth it. TJ would be awesome on a team full of athletes that can run the court and finish at the rim, like what Nash has had in Phoenix with Marion and Amare. He really needs to be the #1 ball handler though, I don't think he would work well having T-Mac and Yao take 2/3 of the possessions.
To me TJ would be better on a team with athletes like Atlanta or Philly. On the lakers it would be the same situation as Houston, with Kobe doing all the ball handling. TJ would be an all star if he swapped places with Chris Paul (not as good as Paul mind you, but an all star.) He really needs to handle the ball 80% of the time and have a team around him that can deal with that. Outside of Bosh the Raptors just have a bunch of a unathletic 3 point shooters though. All you gotta do is face guard them tightly and play TJ 1v1, which turns him into a scorer and takes him away from his strengths. Even on the Raptor's TJ an extremely productive player when given minutes though. IMO if he gets traded Raptor fans will end regretting it a little just like Milwaukee fans do. Calderon is a careful passer with an excellent outside shot, but he's quite terrible defensively and cannot enter the lane without a ball screen. He's ideal for playing off of a Bosh ISO or running the pick and roll, but he has a real hard time creating offense for others.
When I say mediocre I am thinking about "elite PGs" "mediocre PGs" and "bad PGs" I love TJ, but I just dont think he is elite. I cannot put him in the same league as Paul, Williams, Parker, Nash... You show his stats, and they look good, but we both know stats dont tell the entire story. He is very out of control at times, and while his shot is a million times better than it was in college, he still needs work. And he gets absolutely abused defensively by any PG bigger than him, which is most of the league. Again, I love TJ, and maybe mediocre is a little unfair on the scale. I guess he would fall somewhere inbetween that and "elite".
TJ to the Blazers would work for me. He has to be on a team with the #1 pick - right. Plus it would keep his streak alive of playing as far from TX as possible. They have a nice nucleus, a PG coach, and a real need for a PG.
