Here's a recap of his interview today:
In regards to Bargnani's recent statement:
Apollo: I personally think this makes a lot of sense. Regardless of this, most of the fans seemed to have wanted the guy gone before a misquote took place. I don't think his statments changed anything to begin with.
CBA/FA:
Apollo: Nothing new here but nice to hear again I guess.
Draft
Apollo: So to recap he likes Irving, Walker, Knight, Kanter, Valanciunas, Biyombo, Derrick Williams, Vesely, Leonard and Thompson. That seems to be the list right now.
Coaching Sitaution
Apollo: My thoughts are that he likes what Jay did for the past situation but I get this feeling they're going to turn the page and they're entering into a new situation now.
Source: http://radio.thescore.com/
In regards to Bargnani's recent statement:
- What Dave wrote was inaccurate. What Andrea said was not meant to be harmful to the organization, All he said was he needs to get better and if he gets traded he would like it be to a hot climate location.
- Bargnani was upset about the translation and he did not mean to hurt anyone.
- He did not request a trade.
- The translation was inaccurate. Maurizio confirmed that.
- Bargnani actually appreciated the criticisms by Bryan. He has no issues with Bryan and realizes the criticism is meant to generate a positive outcome.
Apollo: I personally think this makes a lot of sense. Regardless of this, most of the fans seemed to have wanted the guy gone before a misquote took place. I don't think his statments changed anything to begin with.
CBA/FA:
- He thinks that whether they have $7M in cap space or $17M in cap space, the Raptors will be one of the best situated teams. They're well prepared for this and their preparation will place them in a nice place to be come free agency.
- This will be his fourth time around dealing with CBA changes.
Apollo: Nothing new here but nice to hear again I guess.
Draft
- He's comfortable where they are. Less of a cap hit, so more flexibility.
- Similar talent at five as three.
- One of Irving, Walker and Knight will certainly be there at #5. Irving might be the 1st overall selection.
- In terms of bigs, Kanter, Val and Biyombo all look like options.
- At the forward spots Vesely and Derrick Williams are options.
- Leonard and Bioyombo are their sleepers.
- Leonard is a Ron Artest intensity type player. He addresses a lot of what they need.
- He's really impressed with Tristan Thompson. Great interview. Did well in workouts. Probably a little of a duplication to Ed but they will take the best guy available.
- He's impressed with Kemba Walker. It's a guard driven league right now. He's not a big strong guard who can defend with strength but he can defend with quickness; sort of like how Brooks did Houston when he was playing well. He can score at will, scores when he needs to. A little streaky but can will his team to win. Time will tell if he's a PG or a combo but he will be a good NBA player. Kemba is a winner, they've seen a lot of him and he will be a high pick.
- The guys they get the best read on are guys who they can watch at an early age on. The McDonald's game is huge for them when initially targeting guys and watching them grow. It's where he first saw Amare Stoudemire(drafted by B.C.).
Apollo: So to recap he likes Irving, Walker, Knight, Kanter, Valanciunas, Biyombo, Derrick Williams, Vesely, Leonard and Thompson. That seems to be the list right now.
Coaching Sitaution
- Jay has done a great job.
- He's done everything they've asked him to do: playing young guys and developing them. Ed, Amir and DeMar are prime examples.
- Defense needs to be fixed.
- Ball movement and efficiency are problems.
- They need to meet, work through a lot of positives and negatives and decide in a couple weeks on where the team is heading with the head coach spot.
Apollo: My thoughts are that he likes what Jay did for the past situation but I get this feeling they're going to turn the page and they're entering into a new situation now.
Source: http://radio.thescore.com/
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