Toronto Raptors

So, what next? Well, I hear were going to get the full gory details of whatever new role Bryan Colangelo has coming to him sometime this morning – was still no official word on what precisely it was when a long day came to end last night – but that’s about it. No new president, no new general manager, I’m not hearing about any shuffling of any hands at the moment. The Flavour of the Month, Masai Ujiri, isn’t going to talk to Tim Leiweke before Wednesday or so people who would know are telling me so we can put that one away to rest for 48 hours or so. And who knows if it works out anyway, not sure Denver won’t come back with some equally-lucrative offer to keep their top executive. Masai’s repatriation is not slam dunk at all, at least that’s what I’m hearing in the last 24 hours or so. But as I’m thinking yesterday – and it was actually a long day of thinking and typing and being like a constant alarm clock (Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!) to some people – whatever happened to the concept of hitting a home run with whatever new guy comes on board? Some big name that’ll catch everyone’s attention; that idea seems to have drifted away in the weeks since Tim Leiweke first came on board and everyone got in a kerfuffle because he knows Phil Jackson. Well, here’s one for a home run that makes so much sense it doesn’t have a chance at happening. If I’m Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, I’d certainly give it my best shot to convince Wayne Embry to become the team’s president, let he and Ed Stefanski run the show with Dwane Casey and see where we go. You cannot imagine the respect with which Wayne is regarded around the NBA; he is an icon and a legend and has done everything imaginable in the game. Cannot be understated. I know for a fact he loves Toronto – he once told me that outside of championship seasons in Boston this has been the most enjoyable stop of his long and illustrious career – and in eight years here he knows where all the bodies have buried and has walked many a minefield. He massaged the Rob Babcock-Sam Mitchell relationship, he’s been a sage to everyone who works at the joint for the past half decade and when this thing was headed entirely off the rails last December, you know who was here to have meetings and private conversations? Wayne. He knows the game, the people in the game, he knows people and how to get the most of out them, how to make diverse personalities work for a common cause while putting aside any differences of opinion. He’s a presence. I don’t know who is going to be hurt the most in this changeover, how it shakes out cannot be even guessed at for certain right now, but if Tim Leiweke has a brain in his head, he will not – cannot – let a valuable resource and a great man like Wayne Embry get away. And if the board and ownership and whoever take the time to try to convince Embry to take on an even more significant role right now, that will be the best time they can spend. (Yes, I floated the name – entirely off the top of my head and a thought that came right of nowhere – of Russ Granik on the radio yesterday but that was just silly and should be taken as the rambling of a madman) - Ray Manzarek? Yeah, he had some music chops. RIP I know more than a few people were stung by the news of his passing yesterday. - Here’s a Did You Know. Did you know that if you settle on the deck to start typing about 10:30 in the morning that you have to shift around the table three times before 7:30 p.m. to make sure the sun doesn’t shine in either your eyes or on your screen. Not that I’d want to do that more than, say, once a year, but at least now we know. - I’ve got a thing this afternoon that means I can’t drink coffee this morning and you know those people to say they get grumpy when they don’t have their morning coffee? They’re 1,000,000 per cent right. - Super Dog digression; and a reason why this little Boston is among the

Let’s say you go to the doctor. He says to you, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the deadly disease you had seems to be gone. The bad news is that it’s left you completely impotent and unable to care for yourself.” How do you think that would make you feel? So MLSE has decided to ask Colangelo back….in a corporate capacity. If you’re a fan of Colangelo and think he’s done a good job, it’s obviously good news he’s staying, but bad news he’s not running the basketball side anymore. If you, like me, think he’s done a poor job building the team, you’re happy he’s no longer making any more basketball decisions, but him staying on will most likely have dire consequences on the basketball side. Now, on it’s own, the decision to ask Colangelo to stay on in a corporate capacity is a smart one, because, while I don’t think he has a good enough basketball mind to build a contender, he’s shown to be VERY adept at the business side of his job. The Raptors have remained profitable, even while losing, and he’s got all the corporate-speak down to be able to survive in the boardroom indefinitely. But let’s say MLSE is able to lure Ujiri away. Let’s say he decides he wants to make some changes. With Colangelo looking over his shoulder from the corporate side, how comfortable do you think he’ll be making those decisions? I’ll be on PhDSteve’s podcast, this week, where we’ll get into this and a whole lot of other topics, so be sure not to miss it!

After weeks of virtually nothing happening, the Bryan Colangelo saga and ensuing search for a possible replacement has really ramped up this long weekend. With today being the deadline for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to make a decision on Colangelo, we seem to be reaching a climax… The MLSE had been negotiating with Raptors president Bryan Colangelo over weekend on a return in a “significant” capacity, sources tell Y! — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013 The MLSE remains in full pursuit of Denver GM Masai Ujiri to assume full control of Raptors, sources tell Y! — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013 Colangelo’s finalizing agreement to move over to business side, leaving basketball ops. Ownership preparing major financial offer for Ujiri. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 20, 2013 (My favourite part of this is Woj referring to MLSE as “The” MLSE like The Iron Sheik would) The obvious questions we all have would revolve around just what exactly Colangelo’s new “significant” business role within the organization would be and what kind of terms he would be under. Is Leiweke looking to sign Colangelo to an extension to put him on the corporate side, or is this merely an example of MLSE just finding a job that Colangelo can fill on the option year and final year of his contract before he eventually moves on? In addition, even if Colangelo were to be offered a high paying job on the business side of the Raptors, would that really satisfy him? No matter what you think of B.C., he’s a super competitive guy who enjoys putting his stamp on basketball teams, and whether it’s Ujiri or someone else who comes in to replace him as General Manager in Toronto, note that Wojnarowski mentions that person having “full control.” On to Ujiri. We know from previous Wojnarowski reports that his contract in Denver expires this summer and that he’s currently one of the lower paid GM’s in the NBA. But just how major would that “major financial offer” from the Raptors have to be to pry him away from a young Nuggets team that he has quickly built into a quasi-contender out West? The Raps have some nice young pieces and building blocks and they can offer the global metropolis of Toronto (no offence, Denver), but Ujiri would be taking a significant step back in terms of how immediately competitive his team is. And while many assume that MLSE can make a financial offer that would blow any executive away, keep in mind that Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke, who is a big supporter of Ujiri, is worth an estimated $5 billion as one of the 100 richest people in the States (according to Forbes). Can MLSE make Ujiri a mind blowing offer? Of course, and they probably will. But just don’t assume that Kroenke won’t be right there to make an incredibly lucrative offer of his own. Lastly, there are still questions to be answered about the status of Ed Stefanski, who has one year left on his contract, Dwane Casey, who also has one year remaining on his deal, and the rest of the coaching staff, who are all on contracts reportedly set to expire. We should finally begin to have those questions answered sooner rather than later, and we’ll no doubt have more questions to ask as this process moves on. For now, the gist of it is that the Raptors are trying to replace Bryan Colangelo with Masai Ujiri, and that’s quite alright with me.

Today? Who knows? When I first heard last week in Chicago that May 20 was the contractual deadline to deal with the option year on Bryan Colangelo’s contract, it sure sounded like it’d be a busy weekend culminating in something newsworthy. As the day arrives and after talking most of the weekend with a whole bunch of people, I now fear we’ll be sitting around waiting for nothing today and perhaps for the next little while. (Yes, that’s entirely me trying to jinx it so that news breaks later this morning and we can get it over and done with). But, really, if they’ve gone this long trying to find some amenable resolution to all, why wouldn’t they just take their sweet time. All kinds of theories are being kicked around in conversations (a couple of them are laid out in Sunday’s make-work story) and I think the one that makes perhaps the most sense is that they’re trying to find a way to add to the front office staff, perhaps shift some responsibilities while keeping things as intact as they can. That’s not a hard and fast fact but it would make some sense, wouldn’t it? But here’s one key point to consider when all of this shakes out, and don’t diminish it at all: No one wants anyone get hurt in all of this; these are all honourable men who have given their best efforts in whatever jobs they’ve had or have. They have families and lives and are owed a measure of respect for what they’ve done and soft landing if that’s the case and that has to be among the biggest of considerations. There are relationships that have been built over years, loyalties that have developed and making sure you do the right thing by people you know, like and respect has to be one of the things at the forefront of minds. Sports – and big business smart HR Ladies will tell you – can be a bit of a ruthless world sometimes and I get it has to be at some level. But these are also men of great character we’re talking about in this situations and in one of my conversations with a man a greatly respect over the weekend, one phrase came up that cannot be lost: This is a “human issue” not just sports and people need to remember that. It’s all well and good for someone to say, “oh, that guy should be fired, that guy should be gone” and it’s another thing entirely when you look at the totality of the situation. I’m not suggesting change should never be made, that’s ridiculous; I am saying that if change is made, it should be made in respectful, well-managed ways that takes everything into consideration. - Have no idea where I heard this but heard this is Joe Cocker’s birthday. Dude’s pretty good, no? - It was only one game and there’s still lots of time left and adjustments to be made but, man, did the Spurs ever look good yesterday. Yes, the Red Mamba went crazy (x three pointers in that cool over-the-shoulder form) but the thing that impressed me was the way San Antonio absolutely took Memphis’s big men out of the game. And if the Grizzlies don’t find someone who can make perimeter shots with regularity, all San Antonio will keep doing is packing the paint and daring them to shoot and this one might not be as a competitive as we thought. - I know it’s Victoria Day and the May 2-4 weekend and the first one of the summer and there’s all kinds of reasons to think it’s the most special of times. Good friends, good times, old stories, barbecues; what’s not to like? Oh, and the day off work – unless you have a lot to do and spend a bunch of the day in the backyard with a computer doing it – is pretty nice. But if you’re ranking them, like we are here, here’s how it goes: Canada Day Don’t care that it’s one day perhaps stuck in the middle of the week; part of the reason we have holidays is to celebrate stuff and what’s better to celebrate than the country? Besides, isn’t it cool to have a day off in the middle of some week? Victoria Day No, I don’t do cottages and that migh

Okay, let’s get this out of the way before the deluge of “what’s going on with the Raptors” calls, e-mails and texts begin. Have fun. - Q: Greetings, Mr. Smith. How long do you think it will take for the NBA to dub Toronto's/Texas's big Myck "El Kabongo"? Or maybe just "Quickdraw"? "Baba Louie"? Maybe a Top Five list of your all-time coolest NBA nicknames? Thanks for the great blog! David M., Ottawa A: Wow, so many to choose from, it’s virtually impossible. But I’ll do it because that’s what we do, with one codicil: Nothing with “Big” in it can count, those are simply too easy; if we had to pick just one I’m going with The Big Dipper because, well, because it’s Wilt. So here are five and you Irregulars go at the others: Chocolate Thunder Darryl Dawkins. Magic Johnson. Pistol Pete Maravich. Clyde The Glide Drexler And how about Dollar Bill Bradley? Yeah, I can live with that as an interesting list off the top of my head. - Q: Hi Doug, I know you're often trying to highlight women's sports (which is a very good idea, at least in my estimation), so have you seen this? Andrea Blackwell is a family friend, and quite an amazing athlete (she'd kick our butts on the golf course, for example). Did you ever get to see Andrea play? Ken M A: I had the pleasure of seeing Andrea play for Canada at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, a disappointing tournament for a lot of reasons (and I believe you’re quite familiar with all of that) and since I was actually on the voting panel for induction into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame this year, I’m quite glad she made it. And think any Canadian athlete – female or male – whose Olympic appearances span the era from 1984 in L.A. to 1996 in Atlanta – deserves every honour she or he can get. It’s just truly too bad that the Canadian women’s team, ranked third in the world I believe, didn’t get to Seoul; that group could very well have won a medal. A true regret. - Q: Hello Doug, Since you are watching drills at the combine, I thought I would ask if anyone really turned your head at one of these events. Is there an opportunity for someone to really stand out? Thanks, Niels. A: I didn’t sit and watch the five hours of workouts each of the two days, unfortunately, because I needed time to do interviews for the Olynyk and Kabongo pieces as well as shmooze some NBA types and some sources for the Raptors story that came out of there. But two names I did hear an awful lot were Shane Larkin and Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Cody Zeller caught some eyes as well. - Q: I asked a similar question last week but it didn't make the cut. In light of Wiggins' comment about T-Mac in his prime being a better player than Vince, I've decided to re-phrase the question and ask it again. Who is the best player to ever wear a Raptors Jersey regardless of when and where they played their best years Who is the best player to play his best years in a Raptors Jersey. Who is the best "Leader" the Raptors have ever had. Who is the best player on the Raptors right now. Thanks! Jeff, Saint John A: Hakeem Olajuwon, Alvin Williams, Charles Oakley and probably, today, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan would be tied. -   Doug I do not want to rewrite history so correct me if I am wrong (probable) but wasn't there some talk in BC’s first year, (fairly decent) that this wasn't Colangelo’s team but it belonged to the previous GM. If the Raps hire a new GM and have a successful season, we will have that all over again I believe. I guess I am just saying that for a new GM, if the team is successful - it was Bryan’s team. If they are not successful, then new GM will get the "lousy manager" treatment. If I were an established GM, I would say no. This is too much of a lose/lose situation. They don't have much cap room to go looking for FAs and they have a re

On Friday we learned from Doug Smith that the Raptors have until Monday to decide whether or not to pick up Bryan Colangelo’s option for next season. Smith also reported that Tim Leiweke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have hired a search firm to narrow down a list of potential Colangelo successors. Two names mentioned in that report were Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard and Thunder Vice President and Assistant GM Troy Weaver. Saturday morning, Adrian Wojnarowski hit us with something that most Raptors fans surely considered once or twice when news emerged that Colangelo’s days may be numbered, and that’s that Toronto is reportedly targeting Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri. As most of you are probably aware, Ujiri spent three years working under Colangelo in Toronto before being hired by the Nuggets, where he went on to handle the Carmelo Anthony situation better than Colangelo handled the Chris Bosh situation, to oversee a 50+ win team, and eventually took home the NBA’s Executive Of the Year award for this season’s performance. I’d argue that Ujiri winning the award had more to do with his first two years on the job than this year, but nonetheless, we’re talking about a young basketball executive who has enjoyed nothing but success in his first three years on the job. Wojnarowski, citing league sources, writes that Ujiri is the top choice of executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, who MLSE hired to conduct the search. The 42-year-old, who became the first African-born General Manager in North American professional sports when Denver hired him in 2010, will see his current contract with the Nuggets expire this summer. According to Woj, Ujiri turned down the 76ers job last year and he’s “one of the NBA’s lower paid GMs,” but he also mentions that “Tim Leiweke has expressed a desire to make a serious financial and organizational commitment to an elite executive to turn around the franchise.” While I can definitely understand why it would be tough for Ujiri to leave Denver when the Nuggets are much closer to contention than the Raptors are, you’d have to think that between his familiarity with Toronto and the Raptors, and the potential for a raise, MLSE would be one of the organizations that could at least make him consider a move. On a final note from the Wojnarowski report, the Yahoo! Sports writer states that Colangelo “could stay with the franchise under a new top basketball official.” I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Colangelo wouldn’t stick around to take the ego hit of working under his former Assistant GM, but that’s just me.

This according to Adrian Wojnarowski. Ujiri’s contract expires this summer in Denver and apparently Leiweke has expressed interested in bringing him back to Toronto. Thoughts?

Looks like it’s going to be a nice day in these parts for the long weekend, hope it is wherever you’re going to be. Here’s some stuff to get you started, there’s a bit more for tomorrow (you can still get in on the fun if you want) and I’ll have some time after Mighty Navy Tigers practice and a couple of NBA West preview things get written to putter around so feel free to send some more. - Q: I was reading a Raps article that had various clips of turning points in the season...While watching the Bobcat's clip from early in the season I was struck, not by the non-called foul, but how quickly Bargnani's star has fallen. I mean here he was, early in the season, the go to guy for the last second shot. Last season he averaged something crazy like 26 points a game before getting injured. He had plays called for him every time down the floor. I'm wondering at which point in the last two seasons did Bargnani's stock start to fall... was it after his injury last year? This year? After his second injury this year? I know BC has said he has value, and I'm not getting into the Amnesty debate.... but there has been an obvious drop from Star and game closer to "Boo'ed at home/non-option on offense" Any thoughts on when this declined started and why his star fell so quickly? Jeff A: Well, he got hurt and came back to pretty much a different team with his role changed and it took some getting used to. And when he did – or at least did a bit – he got hurt again and then Rudy Gay arrived and things changed all over again. It was a different team and he was asked to do different things; not sure “star has fallen” is the right phrase, “things changed” might be more apt. - Q: Hi Doug...Why do so many fans spend ridiculous sums to wear the uniform of some conglomerate's team? Wouldn't a cheap hat do the trick? How about a small pin with the team logo? Remember Bill, the spaceman, Lee's theory about the great snow ball? 100,000 years from now ( or maybe 10) when the earth is a great snowball hurtling through space, who gives a rats' tail about all those "little things" that we presently consider so important. ( Like the Leafs latest loss) Carpe Diem Bob E, Kanata A: I can honestly say I don't believe I have ever purchased a jersey of any player or team in any sport for myself so I don't get it myself. I'd go for hats, though. And I seldom sweat the small stuff, hardly worth it. - Q: Hi Doug, I've been thinking about Ed Davis. Given what you know of him, do you think he's happy to be a bit player on a team doing so well? Or do you think he just wishes he got more playing time? It's been a shame to hear that he's riding the pine in Memphis -- that's got to slow his development. At the same time, it's got to feel good to be doing so well in the playoffs. And another thing: it sure seems like the Grizzlies are better off without Rudy Gay. Were they just using him wrong? Do you think the Raptors will be able to plug him into their system a little better and reap the benefits? Thanks, and keep up the hard work! Tim A: I'm sure he'd want to be playing more, if he didn't he wouldn't be normal. But at some point when he gets a playoff cheque he'll feel all right. I guess you could say they're better off because of where they are but if Russell Westbrook doesn't get hurt and the Thunder knock off the Grizzlies, we're not having this conversation, are we? - Q: Hello Doug! Well, it's that time of year again - no, not a certain someone's Birth Month. And seriously, it requires an entire month to celebrate you??? I'll bet once upon a time it was a single day. And, I remember when it was a week. Now, an entire month is required to glorify Our Favourite Beat Grunt? Wow. Soon you'll be demanding an extension to a full year and then it'll jus

We’ve been waiting for what we thought was imminent news on the job status of Bryan Colangelo for a couple of weeks now, and on Friday afternoon, some finally trickled through. First, citing multiple NBA sources, Doug Smith reported in the Toronto Star that Tim Leiweke and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have “hired a head-hunting firm to whittle down a list of possible replacements” for Colangelo. In addition, Smith reports that the Raptors have until Monday to decide whether or not to pick up the 2013-14 option year on Colangelo’s contract. Later on Friday, Michael Grange confirmed the news… As per @smithraps I can confirm MLSE has engaged search firm for GM hunt and has until Monday to pick up option on Colangelo’s option — Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) May 17, 2013 So there you have it. Whether it’s a deadline date that was already in the contract, a drop dead date that Leiweke came up with or Colangelo has asked for, or one that both parties have agreed to, Bryan’s fate will be decided by Monday one way or another. I’ve held firm that Colangelo’s failures (a five-year playoff drought without cap space or a 2013 lottery pick to show for it) simply would have made it ridiculous to extend him, but I did think that from a stability standpoint and the fact that an incoming GM would have his hands tied by the current salary cap situation, Bryan’s option would be picked up and 2013-14 would serve as a make or break year for he and Dwane Casey. Then, if Leiweke and the board wanted to go in another direction at this time next year, the next general manager would have a little more flexibility in initiating change. With these latest developments, however, it’s hard to imagine Colangelo being back for another stab in the dark. I suppose it’s possible that MLSE concludes Colangelo is still the best option after conducting a search, but it seems unlikely, doesn’t it? Between the initial Phil Jackson rumours, the length of time it has taken for Leiweke to make a decision on Colangelo and the fact that MLSE is apparently already looking for a possible replacement, Bryan’s time in Toronto appears to be reaching its end. Many Raptors fans will likely be encouraged by the potential change in direction, and that’s fair, but a word of caution I’d give you is that there’s no guarantee a Colangelo replacement would like/keep the same current Raptors you like or that he would look to move the current Raptors you assume anybody other than B.C. would move. In addition, while I do have a significant amount of blind faith in Tim Leiweke, this is still the Raptors we’re talking about, so until something actually does happen, don’t just assume it will. For now, we wait…again. I’ll be around to write about and react to any breaking Colangelo news over the next few days. Until then, enjoy the long weekend. *** UPDATE: One thing I failed to mention above is that Smith wrote in his report that “Two names being tossed around NBA circles” are Kevin Pritchard and Troy Weaver. Pritchard is the current General Manager of the Pacers (since last June) and served as Trail Blazers GM from 2007 until 2010, while Weaver is the current Vice President and Assistant GM of the Thunder, where he has worked under Sam Presti for five years. We’re still too early in the process to know enough (and really, we don’t even know that Colangelo is finished yet), but at first glance, if those were the two names out there, I’d prefer Weaver. I’m not knocking Pritchard, saying that the Raptors have to hire a first time GM or saying that they should hire a younger guy, but I do think this perceived need for a “proven” NBA executive is wildly exaggerated. Do Masai Ujiri, Sam Presti or Daryl Morey look lost to you in their first full fledged GM jobs? Exactly. It’s time to think outside of the b

Our usual Friday of little things that may or may not matter and sorry we’re a bit late, sleep got in the way until 7 a.m. my time. - So what’s this draft combine like? Well, we finally got to find out first hand and it’s like a festival of basketball and front office schmoozefest. For the past few years, the prying eyes of the media were shut out of the actual workouts, the facility wasn’t big enough to hold us all, the teams and front office personnel wanted some privacy and we’d all wait at a hotel for the players to come back to do media interviews in some stuffy ballroom. Not any more. The gym’s huge – three full courts – and the players are broken up into five groups of about 10. Each group goes through about an hour of workouts – shooting drills, sprints, rebounding drills, agility tests – and then we get them for 20 minutes or so in a backroom; has to be about 150 credentialed media here so it’s a real circus, everyone’s trying to talk to their locals or the guys their teams might draft so getting private time with any of the athletes is basically impossible. That’s the toughest part of it, if you’re in a group of 10 writers or broadcasters talking to a player, you really have to work to get your questions answered, knowing full well that the stuff you’re seeking will end up in someone else’s story or report. That seems to be the way the business is going, unfortunately, and you really have to put in time to get to know people so that maybe – maybe – you can get a private moment walking out of a gym if you need it for a specific question you want answered. The chance for one-on-ones runs from slim to none, which is why a lot of the stuff you’ll read will sound eerily similar. - Oh yeah, the best part of the day? The wandering around amid 100 or so NBA executives, coaches and scouts, stopping here for a minute and there for a minute and catching any little piece of gossip you can. And, believe me, the HOTH are right at the front of everyone’s mind given the uncertainty surrounding the team. Off the top of my head, there were half a dozen GMs and a more than a dozen other front office types who sought me out to try and find out what was going on. The overwhelming sentiment? Bryan should be treated a bit better, some decisions should have been made before this camp began and it’s a tough situation for all. - I have no idea precisely why this came into my head this morning but it did. Gotta make some of you happy, I hope. - Oh, who’s here for the Raptors? Don’t think I missed anyone and saw Bryan, Ed Stefanski, Wayne Embry, Marc Eversley, Alex McKechnie and my man Alvin Williams, all huddled on the sideline scoping things out. No one from the coaching staff, which isn’t unusual for a team without a pick and, actually, the only coach I saw was Mike D’Antoni. - Gotta love guys who can bluff. On a stool in the lobby down from three guys who are watching late afternoon TV when ESPN shows the story about David Beckham retires. There’s a line about the number of caps Beckham’s won and one guy has no clue what that means and asks his buddies. The guy at the end of the table, sounding like Sammy Soccer who knows everything immediately pipes up, with absolute authority: “It’s the number of playoff games he’s been in, championships and playoff games. Games for England.” The guy who didn’t know nods, “ah, okay, that’s what I thought.” I order another. - Mail? Kind of lost a bunch of yesterday hanging around with cronies so I’m a little bit behind but here’s a last call to get me through the weekend. You know the drill, it’s askdoug@thestar.ca and we’re open for business. - So in the run of business at this combine, teams go through an interview process with a handful of players they fancy. They have their psychologists and doctors and front office personnel around to chat, ask questions, poke and probe physically and mentally an