Hooped Up

Hopefully, the Raptors come to their senses and 86 the inconsistent Andrea Bargnani.

The New Jersey Nets appear to be active on the rumor mill, with GM Ron Thorn believed to be in discussions with many teams, the Newark Star-Ledger is reporting.

According to columnist Dave D’Alessandro, the Nets have made some cursory inquiries with Phoenix (about Boris Diaw and Leandro Barboso), more substantive discussions with Toronto (about Andrea Bargnani), and there has been some dialogue with Denver about Carmelo Anthony.

Newark Star-Ledger

Could Carter come back to Toronto on this one?

How good does Charlie Villanueva look now to the Raptors? After trading for TJ Ford, who looks to be on the block for anybody interested in a deal and is probably on his way out this summer. Charlie V is the player the Raptors wish Andrea Bargnani was, and Bosh finally spoke out about Bargnani’s regression.

In a long session in front of the media, Chris Bosh didn’t hide his feelings that Andrea Bargnani had taken a big step back. Other players said that the team needed more scoring to help out Bosh, who on too many nights was the lone Raptor player to perform at the star level. If not a scoring boost, the team at least needed to play a tougher defensive game to shut down opponents and keep the Raptors in the match.

Globe and Mail

Granted the Raptors are playing Andrea out of position, but things are shaping up to be Sam Bowie-ish in Toronto with this draft pick.