Tag Archives: jose calderon

If Team USA Doesn’t Win Worlds, Qualifying for 2012 Olympics Not a Lock

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ISTANBUL — At a Team USA scrimmage two weeks ago at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul talked about how excited they are to play in the 2012 Olympics.

Let’s hope they have a team for which to play.

While it’s a long shot, it’s not out of the possibility Team USA might not even qualify for the 2012 Games in London.

If the Americans don’t win the World Championship, in which they face Croatia on Saturday’s opening day, they won’t get an automatic bid to the 2012 Olympics. That means they would have to go through a qualifying tournament in 2011.

No big deal, right? Team USA often has had to go through qualifying tournaments to make the Olympic field, most recently in 2007.

But there could be one big difference next summer if the Americans don’t take care of business this summer in Istanbul. An NBA lockout is very possible starting July 1, 2011. If such a lockout lingers, players under contract most likely wouldn’t be able to play in international events.

 

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Jose Calderon Injured, Will Miss FIBA Worlds

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Jose CalderonThe long list of NBA players exiting the 2010 FIBA World Championship before it even begins continues to grow, as Spanish point guard Jose Calderon, a Raptor, has been ruled out after being injured in Sunday’s warm-up match against the United States.

Calderon tore an unspecified muscle in his leg late in the game. Honestly, it’s a surprise Calderon started over Ricky Rubio against Team USA in the first place; Rubio started the second half, and had a strong match. He’ll be expected to take the reins in Calderon’s absence, and will likely play huge minutes in the tournament, which begins Aug. 28.

Team USA nudged Spain by one point in the warm-up. Spain had trailed by 12 in the fourth quarter before waging a comeback lead largely by Juan Carlos Navarro and Rubio.

The Raptors — or whatever teams ends up with the trade-bait Calderon, who was nearly moved to Charlotte early this summer — need not worry, as the Spanish team reports Calderon needs only four weeks to recover from the injury.

The Raptors have had issues with the Spanish team before, threatening a lawsuit regarding the injury of Jorge Garbajosa in 2007. Garbajosa and the Raptors had a dramatic battle over the player’s availability in that summer’s EuroBasket tournament after the forward suffered a gruesome ankle injury during the NBA season. A deal was eventually worked out, but Garbajosa’s 2007-08 NBA season was cut severely short because, the Raptors argue, his injury had not been left to heal. Garbajosa later left the Raptors to return to the Spanish league.

 

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DeMar DeRozan Turns Heads as Raptors Turn Over Roster

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DeMar Derozan Summer LeagueLAS VEGAS — The Toronto Raptors are in the middle of a quick and drastic makeover, after losing Chris Bosh to the Heat and dealing Hedo Turkoglu to the Suns. Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans are technically still on the team, but they nearly joined the Bobcats earlier this week, before Michael Jordan squashed the potential trade.

Amidst all the turnover, second-year swingman DeMar DeRozan is turning heads in Las Vegas, leading the Raptors’ summer league squad to a flawless 3-0 record, while averaging an ultra-efficient 20.6 points on 60.5 percent shooting in just 23 minutes a game. Coming off a rookie season in which he averaged just 8.6 points in 21.6 minutes, DeRozan has a chance to be among the league’s most improved players in 2010-11, both due to natural development and increased opportunity.

After Wednesday’s game — a 102-89 win over the Knicks, in which he scored 23 points while making several breathtaking moves to the rim — DeRozan spoke about the difference a year makes in his preparation for this season compared to his rookie year.

 

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Jordan ‘Having Second Thoughts’ About Dealing Chandler, Diaw

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Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has reportedly denied the proposed trade with the Toronto Raptors which would have sent center Tyson Chandler and forward Boris Diaw to the Raptors for point guard Jose Calderon and power forward Reggie Evans. Dealing Chandler and his $12.75 million salary would instantly give Jordan and the Bobcats a ton of cap space.

The proposed trade was first reported on Monday, but Yahoo! Sports now has a source quoted as saying, “Right now, Michael is having second thoughts.”

Jordan was reportedly hesitant to deal Chandler, the talented albeit often enigmatic 7-footer with a propensity for both blocking shots and getting in foul trouble. They had been scheduled today to meet with the intention of completing the trade.

Even so, the Raptors are not finished making moves. The Toronto Star is reporting that their trade with the Phoenix Suns, which would send Hedo Turkoglu to the Suns and Leandro Barbosa to Toronto is still going to happen.

 

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Raptors Unload More Salary, Shipping Jose Calderon to Bobcats

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Jose CalderonIf any two Raptors could be blamed for last season’s meltdown, Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon would draw plenty of votes. The 28-year-old Calderon, a five-year veteran out of Spain, watched his numbers fall dramatically as coach Jay Triano turned more frequently to Jarrett Jack, a better defender at the point guard position. Calderon is two disappointing seasons into a five-year, $38 million deal, fitting (with Turkoglu) the apparent post-Bosh mold of middling players making massive salaries.

It didn’t take long for Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo to reverse that trend, though. Turkoglu, as reported Sunday, is off to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa, while Calderon and roleplaying big man Reggie Evans will be moved to Charlotte for forward Boris Diaw and center Tyson Chandler. The contracts of Barbosa and Diaw expire in 2012. Chandler and Evans have contracts which expire next summer.

In the moves, Colangelo managed to knock out almost $33 million in total future commitments. And with Diaw able to fill Turkoglu’s small forward position, Chandler likely to team with Andrea Bargnani up front and Jack ready to take over for Calderon, it’s hard to argue Toronto got much worse with this new set of trades.

Certainly, the new Raptors are much better suited to play defense than the last collection was. Ironic, considering recently departed star Chris Bosh always whined about needing tougher teammates. Chandler is precisely the sort of frontcourt mate Bosh always wanted; instead, Bargnani gets him for dirty work duties.

But the key here is in cleaning up the mess Colangelo created over the last few years, and kudos on that. Diaw and Barbosa as assets are imminently more desirable than Turkoglu or Calderon; should the talent mix not work out this season, Colangelo could be playing the summer market again.

 

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Healthy Fernandez Committed to Spain for World Championships

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Rudy Fernandez Spain The last time Team USA ran into Rudy Fernandez, he scored 22 points in the 2008 Olympic gold-medal game and kept upset-minded Spain alive with a series of spectacular plays in a scintillating 118-107 loss.

The Americans are in line to see him again this summer.

The Portland guard said in an interview with FanHouse that Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo recently called him. Fernandez told him his health is doing well and he’s committed to play in the World Championships, Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.

Fernandez had wondered if his health might keep him from playing when he missed 19 straight games in December and January due to back surgery. But Fernandez, who had a microdiscectomy to relieve pressure from a nerve root, has returned to play in the past 26 games.

“Right now, I feel good,” said Fernandez, averaging 8.9 points. “I don’t have any pain in my back after the surgery. I feel great.”

 

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