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The Raptors are almost assuredly NOT trading Jose Calderon. Theyve got Dwane Casey swearing up and down that he isnt available or, at least, that the team strongly prefers to keep him. That basically means hes gone, right? Look, Caseys effusive praise for Calderon recently is no doubt genuine. Hes had a very strong season, particularly in racking up impressive assist numbers considering the lack of scorers surrounding him, and its appropriate that his coach is making sure people know its appreciated. However, making a point of talking about the competition out there for his services, to go along with the standard line about the team probably not doing anything with him at the deadline, are classic value boosting moves from the trade deadline handbook. Clearly opposing teams in need of a steady point guard have taken notice of Calderons productivity, and clearly he could help a lot of them get better, so it only makes sense that Toronto gets the word out loud and clear that they are no longer in a mood to just give him away like they may have been two years ago. If you want him, you have to convince us to part with him seems to be the party line of this front. This is exactly what they should be doing, too. Consider the teams that are or should be looking for strong, pass-first veteran leadership at point guard: Indiana, Portland, Sacramento, Utah, Milwaukee and the Lakers, just to name a few. There are some more-than-reasonable trades that could benefit both sides of a deal if Calderon were sent to one of those locales. Indiana could send back Darren Collison and Dahntay Jones. Portland could send back Ray Feltons expiring deal, with a possible Ed Davis/Wes Matthews side deal. Utah could return Devin Harris and perhaps the right to swap picks. Milwaukee could send Brandon Jennings if Toronto agrees to take on Stephen Jackson (who theyd buy out). The Lakers dont actually have a deal that makes sense, but like with any of these scenarios a third team could be brought in to make the money and the assets work for all involved. The idea is that if the Raptors could get a good (even if not great) young point guard in return they should seriously consider moving Calderon. If they can get cap space without having to waste their amnesty on Calderon, they should consider it. If they can improve their draft position or acquire a top-20 pick, they have to at least take the offer seriously. The point of the recent posturing is to see if the Raptors can shake loose the kind of assets that they would want from a team looking to acquire Calderon. If they can, then great for them. If the cannot then they can act as though they were never considering moving him, keep him feeling loved and respected in the locker room, and know that they did their due diligence on his market value and couldnt get anything done. It happens. It bears mentioning, of course, that the idea of trading Calderon just to trade him is not what were talking about here. With each day that goes by his contract gets less and less onerous as it inches towards completion, which makes his trade value all the more potent. His value to the club, as stated by Casey and as evidenced by watching him play, is real and should not be taken for granted. Also, there may be one huge reason to keep him around for not only this year but all of next year as well, and his name is Jonas Valanciunas. The Raptors have so much invested in Valanciunas that they are going to do whatever they can to ease his transition to the team and the NBA next season. One easy way to do that? Exploit the things he can already do well while you try and teach him all of the things that he cant yet do at the NBA level. That means taking his stellar pick-and-roll abilities and pairing them with one of the best pick-and-roll point guards in the NBA. You know how Calderon makes Amir Johnson look like a passable offensive player by running the pick-and-roll with him? Imagine that play run exponentially more effectively with Valanciunas and you get an idea of how valuable Calderon could be to Valanciunas transition next season. So there is one tantalizing reason to keep Calderon around. There are more, too. Heck, considering how hard it is to pull of trades in the NBA dont be surprised to see him suiting up for Toronto on March 16 against the Grizzlies. Just dont buy the line the team is selling about his availability. They are doing exactly what they should be doing, playing the trade deadline game exactly like it should be played, and if a deal comes around that makes sense for the team to execute, theyre going to execute it. Its impossible to assess the advisability of any potential move without knowing all the factors involved, but know that the team is as aware of what Calderon offers as any team in the NBA and they are thus uniquely positioned to measure him relative to their own future as well as to potential trade offers. If a team is screaming that they arent trading someone then it almost always means they are looking into it. Whether that means said player gets traded...well, we wont know for another two-and-a-half weeks about that one. Kendall Langford Womens Jersey . 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Liverpool has won all three of its games 1-0 and Sturridge is providing the cutting edge in the continued absence of suspended Luis Suarez. Stanley Havili Womens Jersey . PAUL, Minn. EDMONTON -- Wanting more wins out of their young talent, the Edmonton Oilers wont renew the contract of head coach Tom Renney after two seasons in the NHLs cellar. "Were entering a new phase of our hockey club," general manager Steve Tambellini said Thursday. Renney joined the team for the 2010-11 season and finished with an NHL-worst 25-45-12 record. The team improved marginally this season with a 32-40-10 record for second-last in the league. The Oilers have a stable of high draft picks, including forwards Taylor Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who were taken first overall in the last two drafts respectively. The Oilers are banking on them and forwards Sam Gagner and Jordan Eberle, both 22, and 21-year-old Magnus Paajarvi to drive them back into playoff contention. "We need to get to a different level of compete, a different level of competing for playoff spots," Tambellini said. "Weve had some young people now who have been here through a couple of years. Weve had some veterans who have underachieved for whatever reason and expectations will increase, as they should." The move indicates the Oilers patience with their young club has its limits. "Were starting to get to a spot where their expectations should be higher too," Tambellini said. "We expect better performances from a player like Ales Hemsky on a more consistent basis. We expect better goaltending on a consistent basis from Devan (Dubnyk) and Nik (Khabibulin). "The people that are here right now need to be a lot better on a consistent basis." Tambellini said he spent nine days at the world hockey championship in Finland and Sweden before flying to Castlegar, B..ddddddddddddC., on Thursday and informing Renney of the teams decision. The timing of the announcement prompted speculation that ex-Calgary Flames head coach Brent Sutter is in line to replace Renney. Sutter coached Canada at the world championship and they were eliminated in the quarter-finals Thursday. Tambellini said Edmontons announcement on the same day was a coincidence. "As far as guys who are candidates out there, theres going to be a lot of speculation," Tambellini said. "Brent, hes a good coach, theres no question about that, but let us go through the process and just get it right." Sutters contract was not renewed by the Flames after three seasons of missing the playoffs. Tambellini said hed like to have a new coach in place by the NHL draft June 22-23 in Pittsburgh, but he wasnt certain the hiring would happen by then. Renney came to Edmonton having previously served as head coach with the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He replaced Pat Quinn after the 2009-10 season. "Im not going to dissect Tom as a coach. Hes a good man, a good coach," Tambellini said. "Im sure again hell work again as a head coach soon." The 57-year-old was fired from the Rangers in February 2009 after 61 games, following three full seasons and 20 games in another when he took over from Glen Sather, who remained as general manager. Renney was also fired in Vancouver in 1997-98 after his first full season with the club. "Obviously, its about wins and losses," Renney said at the end of this season. "I try to work hard. I try to be the good soldier in what the organization requires of me. I do try to let my body of work speak for itself." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys from china ' ' '
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