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While the young Toronto Raptors still struggle to find consistent victories, one of the oldest players on the team has the patience to wait for better days.
The 29-year-old Jose Calderon, who currently has a PER of 16.7 and averages 11.4 points and 10.5 assists per 36 minutes, already knew that it wouldn't be easy following the departure of Chris Bosh and the only way get through it is to keep working.
RealGM sat down with Calderon to talk about the Raptors, his Spanish national team and EuroBasket 2011 this summer.
RealGM: First of all, did you expect that this rebuilding year would be so tough?
Calderon: No, it’s not tough. We are losing some games, but we knew that it’s going to be hard. Still, we had some injuries like (Linas) Kleiza and Reggie Evans at the beginning and also (Leandro) Barbosa was out for month. We could have more wins, but still we have to keep working.
RealGM: After the draw of EuroBasket 2011, it became known that your NT will have to face teams like Lithuania, Turkey and Great Britain. How do you evaluate your group in EuroBasket?
Calderon: I don’t like to talk about it as there is plenty of time until EuroBasket starts. It’s going to be a tough group, that’s for sure but EuroBasket is always tough. There are more teams to play [this year]. You never know what is better, to have a tough group in the beginning and maybe later it will be a little bit easier, but there’s nothing easy anymore. We will be ready for that and I think it’s going to be fun to play in Lithuania, especially with what they did last year in the Worlds. I hope everybody will have fun and will be excited.
RealGM: Do you think EuroBasket home team Lithuania is still dangerous even without their leader Linas Kleiza?
Calderon: Yeah, for sure. They play at home. You always have more chances to win when you play at home.
RealGM: Do you keep in touch and talk about the national team with other Spanish NBA players?
Calderon: Not really. It’s still a long way to go. It’s tough for us in the NBA because maybe we’ll have a lockout. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We wait and concentrate on our seasons. We don’t think about Spanish basketball, but I think everybody will there.
RealGM: Talk about Spanish national team goals in EuroBasket, is it the same goal as always - winning the gold?
Calderon: Why not? I think every team plays only for cup. I think Lithuania when they will start the championship they will play for gold. If you come and don’t play for gold, there’s no sense like “OK, I’m going to play for being in Top 8”. Last year we couldn’t go all the way and hopefully this year we can do it. There are a lot of good teams and everybody can beat you in EuroBasket, there are no easy games. But we are going to go out there and see what we can do.
RealGM: How difficult is it to play in the NBA and international tournament in the same season? You don’t have any time to rest.
Calderon: I know, that is the tough part. After you finish EuroBasket you have to go back again to the NBA and that’s why some of the guys sometimes needs to get some rest during the summer. Their body cannot hold so many games. Anyway, I think that you still have some time to rest and take care of your body. We’ll be OK and we’ll be there for EuroBasket.
RealGM: The Raptors have a lot of international players on their roster. Do you think it affects the team’s results as they come to training camp already tired?
Calderon: No, I don’t think so. You have training camp and you are ready. I’ve been doing it for six seasons.
RealGM: What about the lockout possibility, is there any chance to see you next year in Europe?
Calderon: We’ll see what happens. There still is no lockout yet. We’ll have to wait until July and hopefully the agreement will be reached. It’s not good to make any decisions right now. Now, I’m only thinking about the Raptors.
The 29-year-old Jose Calderon, who currently has a PER of 16.7 and averages 11.4 points and 10.5 assists per 36 minutes, already knew that it wouldn't be easy following the departure of Chris Bosh and the only way get through it is to keep working.
RealGM sat down with Calderon to talk about the Raptors, his Spanish national team and EuroBasket 2011 this summer.
RealGM: First of all, did you expect that this rebuilding year would be so tough?
Calderon: No, it’s not tough. We are losing some games, but we knew that it’s going to be hard. Still, we had some injuries like (Linas) Kleiza and Reggie Evans at the beginning and also (Leandro) Barbosa was out for month. We could have more wins, but still we have to keep working.
RealGM: After the draw of EuroBasket 2011, it became known that your NT will have to face teams like Lithuania, Turkey and Great Britain. How do you evaluate your group in EuroBasket?
Calderon: I don’t like to talk about it as there is plenty of time until EuroBasket starts. It’s going to be a tough group, that’s for sure but EuroBasket is always tough. There are more teams to play [this year]. You never know what is better, to have a tough group in the beginning and maybe later it will be a little bit easier, but there’s nothing easy anymore. We will be ready for that and I think it’s going to be fun to play in Lithuania, especially with what they did last year in the Worlds. I hope everybody will have fun and will be excited.
RealGM: Do you think EuroBasket home team Lithuania is still dangerous even without their leader Linas Kleiza?
Calderon: Yeah, for sure. They play at home. You always have more chances to win when you play at home.
RealGM: Do you keep in touch and talk about the national team with other Spanish NBA players?
Calderon: Not really. It’s still a long way to go. It’s tough for us in the NBA because maybe we’ll have a lockout. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We wait and concentrate on our seasons. We don’t think about Spanish basketball, but I think everybody will there.
RealGM: Talk about Spanish national team goals in EuroBasket, is it the same goal as always - winning the gold?
Calderon: Why not? I think every team plays only for cup. I think Lithuania when they will start the championship they will play for gold. If you come and don’t play for gold, there’s no sense like “OK, I’m going to play for being in Top 8”. Last year we couldn’t go all the way and hopefully this year we can do it. There are a lot of good teams and everybody can beat you in EuroBasket, there are no easy games. But we are going to go out there and see what we can do.
RealGM: How difficult is it to play in the NBA and international tournament in the same season? You don’t have any time to rest.
Calderon: I know, that is the tough part. After you finish EuroBasket you have to go back again to the NBA and that’s why some of the guys sometimes needs to get some rest during the summer. Their body cannot hold so many games. Anyway, I think that you still have some time to rest and take care of your body. We’ll be OK and we’ll be there for EuroBasket.
RealGM: The Raptors have a lot of international players on their roster. Do you think it affects the team’s results as they come to training camp already tired?
Calderon: No, I don’t think so. You have training camp and you are ready. I’ve been doing it for six seasons.
RealGM: What about the lockout possibility, is there any chance to see you next year in Europe?
Calderon: We’ll see what happens. There still is no lockout yet. We’ll have to wait until July and hopefully the agreement will be reached. It’s not good to make any decisions right now. Now, I’m only thinking about the Raptors.
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