Former Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo addressed his tanking comments made at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference in Toronto on
Friday and admitted it was merely a poor choice of words.
Daley Blind Manchester Jersey . Speaking on TSN Radio 1050s TSN Drive with Dave Naylor on Monday, Colangelo said he had no
intention of tanking the shortened 2011-12 season, but definitely wanted a high
pick in the draft. "I wish that word wasnt used for headline reasons," said
Colangelo, "but the story behind it was: how can we fix the system? How can we
tweak the system to make it less likely that teams are rewarded for losing
records? "I do believe that if youre as transparent as we were at the time -
with our season seat holders, our fans, the market place and the media -
everybody knew what the plan was and what we were going through. It didnt make
it easy to lose games but there was anticipation that games would be lost. With
that comes curtain rewards and in the system that we currently play under, the
team with the worst record gets the greatest odds and a non-playoff team is in a
lottery that can ultimately lead to them getting top-notch talent coming to
their team." Colangelo said the team was happy getting Terrence Ross in the
first round (8th overall) of the 2012 draft and would never tell a coach to lose
games since it can only have negative long-term effects. "Coach was doing such a
fabulous job with the group that there certainly was no intentional losing going
on because we won far too many games than anyone anticipated and it put us in a
position to still get a nice draft pick in Terrance Ross," said Colangelo. "But
it certainly decreased our odds of getting the top choice, which was a franchise
centre in Anthony Davis." Colangelo talked about when the team faced heavy
scrutiny when they picked Jonas Valanciunas, who was selected in the first round
(5th overall) in 2011. "We got booed off the stage when the announcement was
made but that was the right pick for this organization. It was not an easy one
to make knowing that Jonas would not be made available for at least a year and
maybe more if the buyout hadnt been successfully negotiated. We knew it was
going to be a tough scenario going into a new year without the inclusion of a
top draft pick but the following season we also knew that not only would Jonas
be coming but another fairly high-value draft selection - unknown at the time -
would be helping us as well. Not to mention we would have cap space and greater
developed players at that point." The Raptors finished the 2011-12 season with a
23-43 record, good for 11th in the Eastern Conference, 12 games behind the
Philadelphia 76ers for the final playoff spot in the East, and the eighth-worst
record in the NBA. The team neither rose nor fell in the lottery, receiving the
eighth-overall pick in the 2012 draft where they selected Ross out of the
University of Washington. The 2007 NBA Executive of the Year (with the Phoenix
Suns) was speaking at the MIT Sports Analytics Conference on a proposal
currently in front of the NBA Board of Governors which would see the draft
lottery and any incentive to bottom out eliminated. "Admittedly, I will say, I
tried to tank a couple years ago," said Colangelo to the conference. "And I
didnt come out and say, Coach (Dwane Casey), youve got to lose games. I never
said that. I wanted to have him establish a winning tradition and a culture and
all of that, but I wanted to do it in the framework of playing and developing
young players, and with that comes losing. Theres just no way to avoid that, but
I never once said, Youve got to lose this game." Colangelo was relieved of his
general manager position last May in favour of Masai Ujiri and eventually
resigned his post as Raptors president the following month.
Adnan Januzaj Jersey . Braves reliever David Carpenter was also fined for throwing at Rockies outfielder
Corey Dickerson in the same game, which featured several ejections, including
Colorado manager Walt Weiss.
Bastian Schweinsteiger Manchester Jersey . Various media outlets, including the Detroit Free Press, indicate a deal is
close, while USA Today cited an unidentified person directly involved with the
negotiations as saying the pact is for two years.Coral Gables, FL
(SportsNetwork.com) - The third-ranked Virginia Cavaliers hit the road for the
first time since early December, as they open up ACC play on Saturday evening at
the BankUnited Center against the Miami Hurricanes. Tony Bennetts Cavaliers
asserted themselves as the team to beat last year after capturing both the ACC
regular season and tournament titles. Virginia has certainly built on that
momentum by winning all 12 of its games thus far to ascend to the third overall
spot in the Top-25. It has been stifling defensive play that has fueled the
teams success, but on Tuesday, the team showed some offensive punch in an 83-72
win over Davidson. Jim Larranagas Hurricanes arent that far removed from their
own ACC crown, earned two years ago. The team forged its way into the Top-25
with wins in its first eight games of this season. However, Miami has hit a wall
of late with losses in three of the last five games. The Hurricanes did end
non-conference play on a winning note though, blowing out College of Charleston
on Dec. 30, 67-40, to move to 8-3 on the season. Miami holds a 10-6 series
advantage against Virginia and are 6-0 in this series at home. Virginia won the
last meeting however, a 65-40 decision in February of last year. The Cavaliers
had a rare defensive lapse against the explosive Wildcats to close out the
calendar year, but were able to fend off Davidson and remain undefeated on the
season. The Wildcats shot .482 from the floor against Virginia, but the Cavs
used a .567 clip in the second half to come-from-behind and get the win. Anthony
Gill was sensational in the victory, recording a double-double with aa
career-high 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Ander Herrera Manchester Jersey. Malcolm Brogdon poured in 16 points, Justin Anderson finished with 14 points and Darion
Atkins posted his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in
just 18 minutes of work off the bench. The Cavaliers arent nearly as explosive
offensively as they showed against Davidson. The team is getting it done with
some of the best defensive play in the nation, holding foes to just 48.3 ppg on
.326 shooting. The also boasts of a strong +14.4 rebounding margin. Anderson
headlines a trio of double-digit scoring averages with his 15.0 ppg. Brogdon is
next in line at 13.3 ppg, followed closely by Gills 13.2 ppg. A 6-foot-8 junior,
Gill is tops on the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg). Miami plays a tough brand of
basketball as well, with defense being the driving force. The Hurricanes are
limiting the opposition this season to just 59.7 ppg, while allowing just .401
shooting overall. The team is led by a pair of transfers in guards Sheldon
McCLellan (Texas) and Angel Rodriguez (Kansas State). McClellen is shooting a
stout .550 from the floor and paces the team with 15.7 ppg. Rodriguez is second
in scoring (13.6 ppg) and first in both assists (54) and steals (30). Manu
Lecomte (10.2 ppg) completes a deep backcourt. The Hurricanes turned up the heat
defensively on the Cougars earlier in the week as the College of Charleston
managed to shoot just .296 from the floor overall, including a meager 2-of-14
effort from behind the arc. It was once again Miamis dynamic duo that led the
charge, as Rodriguez posted a team-high 15 points, while McClellan finished with
11.
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