HoopsHype.com Rumors

Of course, these are the same people who are convinced the two men stopped talking to one another midway through the season. On that front, we can unequivocally state they are wrong. While the vast majority of whatever meetings the two men conducted over the course of the year have come behind closed doors, there have been at least three times in the past two weeks when the doors to the gym opened at the conclusion of practice and the GM and coach were locked in conversation. Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Coaching, Dwane Casey, Bryan Colangelo 

One thing that many Raptors fans have been anticipating is a trade that would send Andrea Bargnani elsewhere, and while Colangelo worked to make that happen, a couple of unrelated injuries essentially prevented a deal from happening. “We obviously had some frank discussions with Andrea and his agent that a change of scenery might benefit everyone, but his two random and unrelated elbow injuries dismissed whatever trade scenarios were being contemplated,” Colangelo explains. “With the timing of his injuries, we simply just ran out of runway prior to the trade deadline. As far as value, I would disagree [that his is low], good size-to-skill ratio is a commodity in this league, especially the way the game is trending. If Andrea stays, however, I’m hoping [head coach Dwane] Case[y] can find a way to duplicate his tremendous start to the 11-12 campaign, where he was performing at an All-Star level on both ends of the floor.” HoopsWorld

Toronto Raptors, Trade, Andrea Bargnani 

As Colangelo and his team look at how to improve the Raptors in hopes of making their return to the playoffs next season, they will have to first decide whether or not they want to trade or buy themselves into the draft. Barring a miracle at the draft lottery, the Raptors won’t have a pick. “We gave up a protected first (1-3) for Kyle Lowry and our second in the Rudy Gay trade, so realistically we may have to sit this one out,” says Colangelo. “Given the underwhelming depth and strength of this draft and the fact that we are currently developing three promising rookies in Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross and Quincy Acy, we are not overly concerned about that. If there was ever a year to not have a pick, this is the one. Having said that, if we move up in the lottery and end up with a top pick, we do like a few guys on the board.” HoopsWorld

Toronto Raptors, Bryan Colangelo 

Once the draft plays out, Colangelo does have some specific things he’ll be looking for in free agency and via trade over the offseason. “Very clearly, veteran presence and leadership will go a long way in rounding out our very young nucleus,” says Colangelo. “We can certainly add some mental and physical toughness to our mix too. A full training camp will obviously help everyone, but I do really like the talent level of the young core we have in place. Of course, we need to add a piece or two to the mix, but we should get appreciably better with our efforts of growing organically.” HoopsWorld

Toronto Raptors, Free Agency, Draft, Trade, Bryan Colangelo 

Lowry said he’s getting more comfortable with each passing game, but he’s not content with the progress he has made. “I’ve been up and down this year due to a few different things, but I still have a lot of optimism for this team heading into next year,” he said. “I’m not where I want to be at all. I’m not doing half the things I think I could do. Maybe not half, but I’m not playing up to my full potential because of the different team and the changing players.” As for next season, Lowry said he’s hopeful of being back and wants to be, but admits that decision is out of his hands. The Raptors have a team option on Lowry they can pick up for $6.21 million Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry 

Ryan Wolstat: Still would be very risky of Raptors to pencil in Acy as primary backup big behind Amir next year. Expect a PF coming back in Bargnani trade Twitter @WolstatSun

Toronto Raptors, Trade, Andrea Bargnani 

The NBA on Saturday suspended Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton one game without pay for "throwing an elbow and making contact with the face of Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan." Hamilton will miss Sunday's game against the Miami Heat. The incident occurred with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter of Toronto's 97-88 victory Friday. Referees called Hamilton for a flagrant foul two, and he was ejected. It was Chicago's second loss to Toronto in four days. USA Today Sports

Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Richard Hamilton, DeMar DeRozan 

Officially the injury is a flexion extension injury of his neck — which is the convoluted way of saying whiplash. Valanciunas was in his normal good spirits as he and McKechnie maneuvered their way through another huge pain in the neck known as O’Hare International Airport. A near two-hour delay — after flying the team charter all season — was likely an inconvenience, but the easy-going Lithuanian rolled with the punches. He will be re-evaluated Thursday in Toronto. Toronto Sun

Toronto Raptors, Injuries, Jonas Valanciunas 

Marc J Spears: Bargnani is gone. I do not see him going back to Toronto unless he's a visitor. Keep an eye on teams like Chicago Bulls. That would be a team that could be interested in him. Yahoo! Sports

Toronto Raptors, Trade, Andrea Bargnani 

Marc J Spears: Another guy I think it's Pau Gasol. Toronto really wants a low-post scorer. They were interested in Carl Landry. They want a veteran guy that could score in the post, that could get them in the playoffs with Rudy Gay next year. Yahoo! Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Pau Gasol 

Lowry has one year left on a contract that will pay him $6 million next season, although only $1 million of it is guaranteed if the Raptors want to cut him adrift this summer. But having already dealt away Calderon and without significant money to spend in the summer, it seems inconceivable that he won’t be back. And Lowry, as everyone connected with the team is, remains confident in the pieces that are in place. “I’m confident in all my teammates, I think they’re all confident in me and I think we’re all confident in each other,” he said. “We’ve got some young pieces, some learning to do to get better in the summer. . . . We had a disappointing year but we’ll bounce back.” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry 

His own words reflect that when he’s asked what he’s learned in his first season with Toronto. “Things just have to be different, things aren’t always going to go the way you think they should go or they may not go the correct way to you, but you’ve got to fight through adversity and keep focused on the biggest prize,” he said this week after a practice here. Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry 

The Toronto Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in March. Valanciunas ranked first among Eastern Conference rookies in rebounds (7.3 rpg), blocks (1.07 bpg), and field goal percentage (.620). He also ranked second in free throw percentage (.822) and fourth in scoring (11.4 ppg), reaching double figures in points in 11 of his last 12 games (March 6-31). Valanciunas is one of only two rookies (New Orleans’ Anthony Davis) in the NBA averaging at least 8.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the floor this season. CSNNW.com

Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, Jonas Valanciunas, Damian Lillard 

Returning to Toronto for the first time since he was traded on Jan. 30, Calderon was honored with a standing ovation during pregame introductions and a special video tribute during a first quarter timeout. "It felt great," Calderon said. "It's got to be one of the better moments in my career, for sure." ESPN.com

Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Jose Manuel Calderon 

Proving that old habits die hard, Calderon mistakenly started walking toward the Raptors' locker room at the half, laughing when he realized his error. "They called me back really quick," he said. "It was just three or four steps." Calderon acknowledged that it was "a weird feeling" to play as a visitor in Toronto. He said he'd struggled with his emotions all day, no more so than during his video tribute. "It was emotional," he said. "No tear was out but I was close." ESPN.com

Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Jose Manuel Calderon 

Back to the Rudy Gay trade: Were you informed every step of the way? Or did you just generally know this was happening? Lionel Hollins: Of course, of course. People made it seem like I didn't know, or that I was upset. I wasn't upset. Somebody asked me a question: "Would you want to do the trade or not?" And I said I would not. But I also voiced that to management before the trade was even made, because they asked me. They asked about the specific package — Davis and Prince? Lionel Hollins: Oh, yeah. On every package. Grantland

Memphis Grizzlies, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Rudy Gay, Lionel Hollins 

But before anyone gets too excited about the part of the story where he talks about the door being open to a return, a few words of caution. There will not be much money to spend and it’s obvious that Bryan and the upper management have thrown their hats in the ring with Kyle Lowry and for them to back off on that commitment after just one year would be a huge reversal of form. Toronto Star

Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Free Agency, Jose Manuel Calderon 

But even with all that—the uncertainty that it brought and the angst it may have created—when the end finally came, it came as something of a surprise. “It was hard, yes, very hard,” Calderon said Thursday in his first Toronto interview since his trade from the Raptors to the Detroit Pistons via the Memphis Grizzlies in early February. “Even if you knew it was coming because of the expiring contract and all the rumours the last couple of years—I never got the whole, 100 per cent confidence that ‘hey, you are our point guard, you are our guy’—I always put that aside and I was always like, ‘this is my home.’ “I was playing good, we were playing better, I think it happened when I least expected it. It was like, ‘now it’s happening after all those rumours?’ ” Toronto Star

Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon 

He was traded when the team was on the road. He hasn’t had a chance to get back to the Air Canada Centre since, he hasn’t had a chance to say thank you. “It’s so quick sometimes, you don’t realize how many people you leave behind without saying goodbye,” he said after the Pistons practised here. “You don’t have the chance to say thank you. There are so many people who helped me during all those years in Toronto for everything. Not just about basketball, it’s everything. Like life, with my family. Everything.” Toronto Star

Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Trade, Jose Manuel Calderon 

Calderon isn’t committing to anything past the end of this season. And while the economics, and optics, make a return to Toronto highly unlikely, it’s something he would consider. “Why am I going to close that door? I was there a great seven and a half years . . . for sure you have to talk and see what they’re looking for, what they want, how they want it and . . . communication is really important sometimes,” he said. “I was perfectly happy and that’s why the door is wide open for Toronto; if not, I would say right now, ‘no way, I am not going back to Toronto.’ ” Toronto Star

Toronto Raptors, Jose Manuel Calderon