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Almost as importantly, the team has gotten along. Aside from a few minor issues — Julian Wright refusing to go into a game in Golden State last month stands out — the Raptors have been a cohesive unit. Given the mounting losses, that is an accomplishment. “For the one-off incident that did happen, it is so minor to the other s— that goes on around this league,” Triano said, answering in the affirmative when asked if there were at least five incidents on last year’s team that would have been worse than Wright’s refusal to play. There were likely more involving Hedo Turkoglu alone. “I think that [Triano’s] work ethic, his professionalism and his positive demeanour, which is the hardest thing to maintain, is what has kept us going more than anything else,” assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo said. National Post

Toronto Raptors, Julian Wright, Jay Triano 

Julian Wright has apologized for refusing to go into the game last night … as the Raptors were being blown out by the Golden State Warriors. With Toronto down by 35+ points for most of the evening, head coach Jay Triano called upon Wright to go into the game late in the contest. But the swingman told the coach that he wouldn’t sub-in. When word of this story leaked out after the final buzzer, there was some talk that Wright may have been sick (he had recently returned from the rest room when Triano called his number) but it turns out the Kansas product’s health had nothing to do with his decision to not enter the game. FAN590

Toronto Raptors, Julian Wright, Jay Triano 

Wright addressed the coaches and his teammates in a game-day meeting earlier today. He apologized for his actions but said “everyone understood” his frustration. “The best way to put it is this was not characteristic of me,” said Wright. “That’s why I think this is (now) a thing of the past.” FAN590

Toronto Raptors, Julian Wright, Jay Triano 

D'Antoni, who worked under Colangelo in Phoenix, might be out of a job if Walsh leaves the Knicks at season's end. For now, the Raptors plan to bring back coach Jay Triano, despite their awful season. But if D'Antoni becomes available, Triano could be jettisoned. New York Daily News

New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, Jay Triano 

It sounds as if there is a small problem brewing in Toronto. Raptors coach Jay Triano called for forward Julian Wright to enter the game in a 138-100 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors. The problem wass that Wright refused to enter the game. I don't know what the deal is but apparently Wright isn't too happy about the amount of playing time he's been getting. There's one way to solve it Julian, play better. Triano didn't seem to be too bent out of shape over what took place. "I just went to the next guy," Triano told the Toronto Star. "I wasn't going to ask him twice." “I asked (Wright) to go in, and he didn’t go in,” Triano said. “I know he went to the washroom just before that. I don’t know if he wasn’t feeling well. I still haven’t talked to him.” Yardbarker.com

Toronto Raptors, Julian Wright, Jay Triano 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wright said. “Speculate on anything you want.” Yardbarker.com

Toronto Raptors, Julian Wright, Jay Triano 

The Heat forward said he spoke briefly with Triano while both were in New York over the summer, and “tried to shake his hand” before facing Toronto in Miami earlier this season. “That was bad,” Bosh said. “I tried to say hello but, if you’re not feeling it, it’s all good…. Yeah, it’s surprising. I mean, at the end of the day, this is a game. This is business for us, but it’s a game. I think if you’ve spent a significant amount of time with somebody, ‘Hey, how you doing, how’s the family?’ That’s it. I wasn’t looking to have a candid conversation before the game. But we play a lot of games, we do that all the time.” Palm Beach Post

Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh, Jay Triano 

This is not just the end of your contract. This is the final year on coach Jay Triano’s contract. If you are back as general manager next season, will Triano be back as coach? Bryan Colangelo: Jay has done a really solid job here given the difficult circumstances. We are clearly rebuilding and we have been decimated by injury, yet the young guys are clearly developing nicely and the atmosphere around the team has remained positive. The organization will likely address his contract status and whether to pick up his option year sometime after the season. Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano 

After yet another practice with more guys injured and sitting out than guys participating, Jay Triano was asked about the Raptors’ NBA record consecutive games with a three-point field goal made coming to an end at 986 games. His response was classic. “Yeah, you know what? With about a minute to go in a close game I thought, ‘You know what, we should probably figure out how to hit a three rather than try to win this game.’” The Score

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano 

And how did he find out that the streak was over? “I found out after we were walking off the floor. Somebody yelled at me that I should be fired because we didn’t make a three. Somebody yelled at me, that’s when I went, ‘Did we not make a three? OK, well,’ I mean, honestly, you know what, I think the organization should be very proud of the streak that it had, but for us to go into a game thinking that we should try to make a three and for us to have a depleted lineup with guys like Barbosa and Kleiza and Calderon not in uniform, I mean those are guys that are going to sometimes step up and make them for us. You know what, it’s a record and that record did not help us climb one spot in our race to try to get better as a team. It’s one less thing we can put in our media notes. Alright? So that’s about the extent of that streak being broken.” The Score

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano 

The word hung there for a few seconds, with no reporter quite sure what to do with it. “Politics,” Raptors head coach Jay Triano said. “Yeah.” National Post

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano 

When TSN’s James Cybulski picked up the politics comment with an assertion that the veteran-laden Celtics might get the favour of the whistle more than the anonymous Raptors, Triano responded, “Thank you. I didn’t have to say it.” DeMar DeRozan shot eight free throws, a game high he shared with teammate Joey Dorsey and Boston’s Paul Pierce. DeRozan had 27 points (although it took 25 field-goal attempts to get there) a game after he scored a career-high 37 points on Friday in Houston. National Post

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano 

With his health improved from recent seasons, Calderon has been able to regain his old form and play better at both ends of the floor. "Jose's defense this year has been a lot different," said Raptors' head coach Jay Triano. "He has been healthy so his defense has been way better. He has been more aggressive with his defense which is the style we are trying to play. Instead of sitting back, he has been up into the ball a lot better and we are giving him more definition as far as what he can do and where to push guys. "We count deflections and being able to get up into guys. He is up in deflections and getting his hands up into the ball and not letting point guards get comfortable in how they want to run their offense." HoopsWorld

Toronto Raptors, Jose Manuel Calderon, Jay Triano 

“He was always very good to me,” Jay Triano said of Mitchell, who was fired Dec. 3, 2008 as the unproven Canadian was handed the job on an interim basis. “One of his goals always was to help us become better coaches and he wanted us all to become head coaches if we could. “He was very good at delegating and letting everyone be involved with real input.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano 

But he also had very public clashes with some players — notably Rafer Alston and Jalen Rose — and was left to deal with the fallout of the trade of Vince Carter, the low-water mark in franchise history that set the team back years. “We went through a lot,” he said. “I leaned a lot about myself and I grew as a man and I learned a lot about the job of being an NBA head coach.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Sam Mitchell, Jay Triano 

NBA types in Toronto couldn’t help but break out laughing, as they’ve been doing frequently when they’ve watched Bosh’s abysmal (albeit early) failure to fit into the Heat’s game plan. Bosh’s comments suggested that he spent more than half a decade in Toronto apparently unaware that League Pass is widely available in Canada. While Bosh clarified that his Etobicoke waterfront condo was exclusively loyal to a TV carrier that didn’t give residents that option, he was also apparently dumb to the fact that anyone with a brain and a bit of money — and Bosh made $15.6 million (U.S.) in his final season in Toronto — can arrange to have a grey-market U.S. satellite package installed in their home with one phone call. “We should have informed him that he could have got (League Pass),” Jay Triano, the Raptors coach, said with a laugh. “I don’t remember one day when he came into practice and said he was mad because he didn’t have good cable.” Toronto Star

Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh, Jay Triano 

Sonny Weems, more a connoisseur of the tube, acknowledged a certain dismay. “(Canadian cable) ain’t got enough channels, but I deal with it,” said Weems, grouping U.S. cable outlets HBO, Cinemax and Showtime among his not-available-here wish list. Toronto Star

Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh, Jay Triano, Sonny Weems 

While there were concerns about Dorsey’s attitude after the Sacramento Kings— who acquired him in the Kevin Martin/Tracy McGrady swap with Houston— released him last spring, the bruising forward has been on his best behavior here in Toronto. “I have seen absolutely nothing of the negative variety at all,” Raptors head coach Jay Triano said. “He’s one of the nicest guys that I’ve been around. Respectful, works hard in practice and he’s fun. He’s a fun guy to be around. I like to base my opinion on what I see and what I know and maybe he’s pulling the wool over my eyes, but I’m not going to believe anything different until I see something different.” The Score

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano, Joe Dorsey 

He is Toronto’s most creative offensive weapon and while his ability to beat his man off the dribble and get into the paint still has some ways to go, it is huge for a team with no “main” offensive weapon. “I want him to be aggressive,” said coach Jay Triano. “We’ve asked him to try to get to the free-throw line eight times a game. Actually, we’ve asked him to try to make eight free throws a game, because he’s getting there eight but he’s not making eight — and I think that sets an aggressive mindset for him.” DeRozan’s aggressiveness is at least a little bit attributable to his familiarity with his surroundings. He is no longer a raw or awestruck rookie finding his way; he knows the challenges and assignments that await him. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano 

But this summer, when he was an assistant on Mike Krzyzewski’s USA Basketball staff, Triano noticed something in Rondo he hadn’t before. “He’s a very smart basketball player,’’ Triano said. “That surprised me. I wasn’t sure about that before. “He’s one of the most highly intelligent players in the game right now,’’ added Triano before his Raptors fell, 91-87, to the Celtics last night in an exhibition at TD Garden. “He knows everything. You cannot make a mistake with him. If you screw up on a scouting report, he knows.’’ Boston Globe

Boston Celtics, Rajon Rondo, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Jay Triano