Those who write a Toronto Raptors blog probably have a lot of time on their hands in the face of the NBA lockout, for which there is no end in sight after some meetings last week, and the loss of the entire season is not only possible, it’s probable at this point.

The preseason and the first two weeks of the season were lost, but even some who make NFL picks were hoping that the two sides could close the gap on their differences. After meeting with a mediator last week, the owners and players weren’t able to come to any agreement and commissioner David Stern has cancelled two more weeks. This means that 102 games have been cancelled in total and the calendar is empty until at least November 28th. There have been no meetings scheduled between the two sides, and right now, the Christmas Day schedule is in real danger of being wiped out. This means price per head services on Christmas Day will be a lot less busy as the NBA’s slate of games on that holiday is an annual tradition and the league’s biggest stars are usually in action.

Both sides are to blame for the probability of a cancelled season as it seems that is now down to a matter of stubbornness. Neither team is winning the battle for public relations as the fans are basically seeing two wealthy sides arguing over how to split it, and in this day and age of another possible research, the owners and players are really playing with fire. Price per head sports fans will tell you that the NBA doesn’t have the luxury that the NFL has; fans would have gone hysterical without football. But right now, fans have the NFL, college football, the NHL is starting and the World Series is winding to a close. They’ll find something to watch, but can they get those fans back when they resume?

Players have been setting up charity games to try and stay active, as well as to attempt to sway the public, which may work in the short run among those who are watching the game, but these games aren’t being televised, so the public is still largely against the players, although as we said before, both sides are to blame. A lack of urgency is apparent in both sides as they should have been negotiating this during the last season; instead, they decided to wait and not take light off the spectacular NBA season that was going on, but they now they risk losing all the momentum from one of the most fascinating campaigns in the history of the league, and the big losers in all this are the fans, from casual fans to online betting players.

With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, and the livelihoods of not only those that play the game but those that are part of the game up in the air, the ongoing NBA labor negotiations have really hit hard as an absolute disgrace to professional sports. This isn’t the first time that a labor stoppage has taken its toll on the sports betting landscape, but in the wake of economic unrest and in a day where thousands are fighting off pink slips, there is a certain disturbing vanity that has become that much more apparent as the NBA owners and players prepare for the possibility of more games being cancelled. The two sides have now turned to notable mediator George Cohen in hopes that he can help move the process along, but with such a wide gap between the owners and players the likelihood of establishing any significant ground still appears to be some time away.

The fact that it has gotten to this pay head point before a mediator has stepped in is perhaps the most troubling part of the entire process, as both sides seemed far too content to allow the lockout to have an effect on the season. Unlike in the NFL where the union and owners both made significant concessions and remain united throughout the process, the players and owners have each taken significant missteps that have shone a light on their respective selfishness. There is a certain amount of ignorance and greed that comes with the idea of Kobe Bryant making millions of dollars in Italy while his former teammates and Staples Center employees remain desperate for work, yet when he is approached by the idea he will blame the owners. In response, the owners keep talking about their desire for a fair deal, when it was them and the predecessors that arranged for the current deal, and their own ineptitude that led to the massive amounts of money that they lost. The only people that are really hurt are the ones with no say in the matter, which reaches beyond the fans to those that work behind the scenes at arenas and on the road with the teams. The owners and prominent players remain content with playing the blame game and relying on the millions of bookie software dollars they have made over the years, while the rest suffer.

On the 110th day of the NBA lockout, the sides remained locked in on the 53-percent revenue slice that they want and the opposing salary cap systems, with commissioner David Stern threatening to cancel games leading up to the new year. The first two weeks of the regular season have already been gassed, and it won’t come as a surprise when more cancellations are announced. The NBA owners and players have shown an extreme lack of conscious and regard in their intertops discussions to this point, and the result has been an absolute disgrace to professional sports.

If you’re writing a Toronto Raptors blog, you probably have a little more time on your hands than you would at this time of the year and it doesn’t look like business will pick up anytime soon. The first two weeks of the regular season have gone down the drain, and it doesn’t look promising that the two sides are any closer to a solution; they may be further away.

Commissioner David Stern announced on Tuesday that the first two weeks of the schedule has been wiped clean, claiming that 13 hours of negotiations between the two sides failed to stir up any answers or even optimism. There is a solid chance that you won’t be seeing any BetOnline reviews when it comes to the NBA all season, because Stern said that there is a very good chance that the entire campaign is in real danger of being scrapped. Union leader Billy Hunter claims that the owners have been planning this all along and that the union is still together in their willingness to improve their deal. The stubbornness of both sides make the pay per head odds of actually having a regular season to be slim, and some are even saying none at all.

At the heart of it is the luxury-tax system, which the players see as a hard cap, while the owners are claiming that their concession of an actual hard cap shows that they’re willing to give things up. Another sticking point is how the two sides will split up basketball-related income (BRI); the players were at 57% in the old deal and are willing to scale it back to 53%, while the owners threw a 50/50 split on the table, but have since reverted to their first offer of 47%. Between these two aspects of the negotiations, it is highly unlikely that we see NBA basketball before January at the earliest.

So what should you do as a price per head sports fan? Check out the NCAA basketball slate, so you can at least be knowledgeable about the next generation of stars who will eventually find themselves in the NBA. While everyone is waiting for North Carolina-Kentucky on December 3rd, there is also North Carolina-Michigan State on November 11th (on an aircraft carrier, no less), Kansas-Kentucky, Florida-Ohio State and Duke-Michigan State on November 15th, Duke-Ohio State on November 29th, and Ohio State-Kansas on December 10th. This is just a few of a solid number of non-conference games to take you up until New Year’s, when Louisville and Kentucky stage another edition of their legendary rivalry. Don’t worry, hoops fans: there is still plenty of basketball left to wager on when you’re sports betting online.

NBA players could be looking at fishing maps and starting to plan trips, because it doesn’t look likely that a season will be played this year, and in fact, it seems like each time the two sides get together, they get further apart, and that is awful news for professional hoops fans.

Both sides have come out and claimed to be united as the NBPA revealed that they thought there was a rift between the owners, while the owners said the same about the players. It still appears that the major issue is a hard salary cap, but there are conflicting reports that the two sides are between $800 million and $1.2 billion apart when it comes to sharing revenues, and it keeps going up. The best sports betting sites in the industry still have odds up for the NBA season, but the odds of there actually being a season are getting worse with each passing day.

So, more players are making their way overseas, such as Denver’s J.R. Smith, who will be playing in China and he’ll be playing the entire season as his contract won’t allow him to return to the United States if the lockout ends before his contract does. You’ll likely see more players making their way overseas, but in North America, betting players should focus on the college game so they can get a headstart on the 2012 draft. Don’t expect to see any actual NBA game matchups for a while in your online sports betting book.

Even those who play shark fishing games have been paying attention to the lockout in the NBA, and it’s probably not going to be settled anytime soon as the two sides have even gone to the bargaining table just once or twice since the work stoppage began on July 1st. So how will sports betting players who follow the NBA turn to?

Some may choose to play poker online, but if you still want to watch some hoops, turn to the NCAA, where you will get a jump on seeing who will be the top picks in the next draft. While the quality of basketball is obviously not as good as the NBA (people have even argued that the one-and-done era has diluted the league), you will not get the passion from the NBA that you get from the NCAA. Most of these players will never play basketball professionally and they leave it all out on the floor every single night.

Then you head into the NCAA Tournament, which is, hands down, the best tournament in all of sports. The only event that comes close is the World Cup, but that’s every four years. In terms of North American sports, the Tournament is fantastic to watch, although it can be a headache for betting players due to all of the upsets in the early rounds. But if you want to scratch your hoops itch, college basketball is the best play at your favorite sports betting sites.

MLB baseball betting players know how much a lockout can affect a sport, and the NBA is in real danger of losing a large portion of their fanbase because of this lockout that doesn’t even look like it’s going to end any time soon. NBA players have to start searching for other avenues to continue their careers, and the most popular option could be to go overseas, where they’ll surely raise the status of basketball among sports betting players.

Deron Williams started the exodus when he signed a deal to play in Turkey during the lockout, and he has stipulations in his contract that states he can go back to the NBA when the lockout ends. Now, you have players like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Durant and many others who are looking into the possibility of heading overseas while the work stoppage is going on, and they’ll likely hope to get similar deals to Williams that allows them to leave and head back to the NBA.

This would be major for a couple of reasons: one, it would raise the profile of basketball even more outside of the United States, although it is already at an all-time high, but it wouldn’t hurt, especially with Yao Ming (one of the largest global icons outside of North America) retiring in the offseason. Also, it would help the athletes raise their profile in other countries, which would open up different financial opportunities for them. Watching where some of these big names wind up may be more entertaining than actually betting on the games.

Scouts had been warning for months that the 2011 NBA Draft wasn’t exactly going to set the world on fire. A limited talent pool only got weaker when underclassmen like Jared Sullinger, Harrison Barnes and Perry Jones all decided to return to school, leaving Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams, probably top-10 guys in most drafts, as the consensus top two picks. Some columnists tried to stir up excitement by firing up trade rumours, but even those failed to materialize – the most interesting name to get traded was probably Raymond Felton.

The draft amounted to little more than a couple of hours of Jay Bilas talking about long arms, Jay Bilas uttering the sentence “he needs to learn how to play and how to score,” and awkward interviews with parents. Approximately 80% of the draft’s entertainment value came from Jan Vesely alone.

As disappointing as it may have been, several teams helped themselves, adding useful pieces, just not future All-Stars.

Let’s quickly run down the first round in this mediocre draft.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke – A safe, if uninspired pick, Irving should be a solid starter at the point from Day 1 and quarterback Cleveland’s offence for a decade. A solid all-around player without any real holes in his game. Grade: A-

2. Minnesota Timberwolves: Derrick Williams, F, Arizona – The Wolves have a logjam at forward with Michael Beasley and Kevin Love, but Williams was clearly the best player available. He scores as easily as any player in this draft and has borderline All-Star potential. Grade: A-

3. Utah Jazz: Enes Kanter, C, Turkey – Kanter is a bit of an unknown, as he hasn’t played competitively in a year now, but he’s known for playing a gritty interior game and having the skill to step out and hit some mid-range shots. He could form a nice front-line with Derrick Favors in a couple of years. Grade: B+

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: Tristan Thompson, F, Texas – The highest-drafted Canadian player ever, Thompson had been rapidly climbing draft boards in the week before the draft, but still came as a bit of a surprise at fourth overall. The Cavaliers, clearly a long ways from making the playoffs, could have waited a year for Jonas Valanciunas, but opted for the athletic, hard-working Toronto native. He doesn’t have much of an offensive game, but is a terrific rebounder. Grade: B-

5. Toronto Raptors: Jonas Valanciunas, F, Lithuania – As many groans as this choice may have elicited amongst Raptors fans, who have grown tired of GM Bryan Colangelo’s attempts to build a Eurocentric team, it could pay significant dividends. Valanciunas won’t play in the NBA this year, which should keep the Raps near the bottom of the NBA standings once again. That should leave them in good position for a high pick in the 2012 draft, which looks significantly better. Adding next year’s pick and Valanciunas – who some feel could become the best player in this draft – should give the Raptors a nice foundation. Grade: B

6. Washington Wizards: Jan Vesely, F, Czech Republic – The Dunking Ninja arrives in the NBA! With an extremely tall/hot girlfriend! And calling out Blake Griffin! And allowing ESPN’s booth to make tall white guy comparisons to Tom Chambers! What fun. Basketball Grade: A- Entertainment Grade: A++

7. Charlotte Bobcats (from Sacramento): Bismack Biyombo, F, Congo – Having woo’d scouts with his multilingual charm and “amazing body,” Biyombo worked his way into the top 10 and should immediately improve the Bobcats interior defence. If coach Paul Silas could find a way to sneak him off the court when they get the ball, they’d be in even better shape. Grade: B

8. Detroit Pistons: Brandon Knight, G, Kentucky – The Pistons already have two score-first combo guards on the roster in Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey, but Knight is better than both and had been projected as high as the third overall pick. He’s a good value at eight, and judging by the look on his face as he slid down the draft, he’s entering the league with a sizable chip on his shoulder. Grade: A-

9. Charlotte Bobcats: Kemba Walker, G, Conneticut – Throughout the night, Jay Bilas kept using D.J. Augustin as an example of how a guard of Walker’s stature can become a successful starter in the Association. So, naturally he’s drafted by the team that already employs D.J. Augustin. Grade: C+

10. Sacramento Kings: Jimmer Fredette, G, BYU – Drafting for redundancy seems to have replaced drafting for need. Tyreke Evans is a talented, scoring combo guard. So is Jimmer. And so is John Salmons, who the Kings inexplicably re-acquired to make this mess worse. Oh, and the coaching staff doesn’t like the pick either. Grade: D

11. Golden State: Klay Thompson, SG, Washington State – Same story. The Warriors already have Steph Curry and Monta Ellis to do the scoring. Thompson is a very good player, a great shooter with good size and a well-rounded game, but it’s hard to figure where he fits in G-State. The writing might be on the wall for Monta, who’s been involved in a few trade rumours in the last month or so. Grade: C+ (but could be higher if they get good value for Ellis)

12. Utah Jazz: Alec Burks, SG, Colorado – Burks is another nice pick for the Jazz, who have quickly re-tooled for the post-Williams/Boozer Era. He can’t shoot, but does everything else well. If his jumper comes around, he could be an excellent, Eric Gordon-esque two-guard.

13. Phoenix Suns: Markieff Morris, PF, Kansas – The Suns have a defensive-minded, hard-working big man whose twin brother plays in the NBA. His name is Robin Lopez. Now they have another. Grade: C+

14. Houston Rockets: Marcus Morris, PF, Kansas – Marcus is a more perimeter-oriented player than his brother, but it’s unclear what position he’ll play in the pros. He’s a bit undersized at 6-9. Grade: B-

15. San Antonio Spurs (from Indiana): Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Diego State – Leonard is an absolute steal at 15, a defensive stopper who will outwork everybody on the floor and could develop into a contributor on offence as well. A typically brilliant move by Spurs GM R.C. Buford. Grade: A

16. Philadelphia 76ers: Nikola Vucevic, C, USC – With great size and a decent skill set, Vucevic should be a reliable contributor at a premium position. Grade: B

17. New York Knicks: Iman Shumpert, G, Georgia Tech – And cue the annual booing of the Knicks pick. With defensive ace Chris Singleton still available, Shumpert is a strange pick. He has good upside, but hasn’t emerged as the player the Yellow Jackets hoped he’d be. Grade: C+

18. Washington Wizards: Chris Singleton, SF, Florida State – Another nice pick for the Wizards. Singleton is simply the best defensive player in this draft, and should be an excellent situational player from Day 1. Grade: A-

19. Milwaukee Bucks: Tobias Harris, PF, Tennessee – Harris is an incredibly intelligent player, despite being only 18 years old. He should be a nice, versatile piece on a young Bucks team. Grade: A-

20. Houston Rockets: Donatas Motiejunas, PF, Lithuania – Houston has plenty of rebounders on the roster, which should help compensate for Motiejunas’ all-encompassing reluctance to make physical contact with other basketball players. Grade: B-

21. Portland Trail Blazers: Nolan Smith, G, Duke – In most drafts, picking a guy who will be a sixth man – at best – with the 21st overall pick would be a reach. In this draft, it’s almost savvy. Grade: B

22. Denver Nuggets: Kenneth Faried, PF, Morehead State – Thank you, Mr. Faried, for making Stu Scott yell “Brick City, stand up!” Grade: A-

23. Chicago Bulls: Nikola Mirotic, SF, Serbia – Mirotic won’t come over from Europe for a few years, but he’s arguably the best European player in this draft. The Bulls can wait for him., keeping a valuable asset in their back pocket. Grade: A

24. Oklahoma City Thunder: Reggie Jackson, G, Boston College – Eric Maynor has been a nice third guard for the Thunder, but apparently they wanted an upgrade. Few teams were as high on Jackson as Oklahoma City, but Sam Presti has to get the benefit of the doubt here. Grade: B

25. New Jersey: Marshon Brooks, SG, Providence – Brooks takes some bad shots, but has great upside as big-time scorer at the two. Very good value this far into the first round. Grade: A

26. Denver Nuggets: Jordan Hamilton, SF, Texas – It’s hard to see where Hamilton fits on the Nuggets, with Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler already on board. Still, he’s a phenomenal value at this point and could be a useful trade asset. Grade: B+

27. Boston Celtics: JaJuan Johnson, PF, Purdue – Another good value in the late first round, Johnson is a long and athletic four who could learn from watching Kevin Garnett for a year or two. Grade: B+

28. Miami Heat: Norris Cole, PG, Cleveland St. – And for the second time in a year, a Cleveland star departs for Miami. Just devastating. Grade: B+

29. San Antonio Spurs: Cory Joseph, PG, Texas – With George Hill traded to Indiana for Kawhi Leonard, Joseph looks set to step in as Tony Parker’s primary back-up. Another Canadian drafted in the first-round. Grade: B

30. Chicago Bulls: Jimmy Butler, SF, Marquette – A hard-working swingman who can guard multiple positions, Butler should stick in the league as a strong role player off the bench. Grade: A-

The 2011 NBA Draft is only hours away, so the trade rumours are flying fast and furious. Some suggest that Lamar Odom might get shipped away from the beach, others hint that the Cavaliers might make a play for three lottery picks.

Regardless of how things get shaken up, here’s one man’s best guess as to how the top picks will play out in Newark.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers – Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke

Since the Cavs won the lottery a month ago, all signs have pointed to Cleveland drafting the highly-skilled Dukie at number one as they begin their climb out of the bottom of the NBA standings. He might not make an All-Star team in today’s point-guard rich NBA, but should be a solid playmaker for a decade.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves – Derrick Williams, F, Arizona

With Irving off the board, Minnesota GM David Kahn is robbed of the opportunity to draft another point guard in the top six picks. Instead, he’ll grab an explosive tweener-forward who’s a bit too short to play his natural position of power forward. Just like two other guys already on the team (Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson). Regardless of how redundant he would be on the Wolves, Williams is NBA-ready and scores like no other player in this draft.

3. Utah Jazz – Brandon Knight, PG, Kentucky

The Jazz are hard to predict, as they could use help at almost any spot besides power forward. Enes Kanter could give them a formidable young front-court, but Knight could become a star in the Jazz backcourt in a few years. He also has the character and work ethic to be very popular with the Jazz faithful.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers – Jonas Valanciunas, C, Lithuania

The Cavaliers have leaked that they’ll be pick the big, tough Lithuanian centre with their second lottery pick, despite the fact contract issues will likely keep him in Europe for a couple of years. If he can gain strength over that time, he could emerge as the best player in the draft – he has a nice touch inside, rebounds well and can run the floor. This would be a patient, forward-thinking pick if they make it.

5. Toronto Raptors – Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Diego State

This might be wishful thinking, as Enes Kanter, Bismack Biyombo or Jan Vesely are all reasonable picks here, but Leonard would fit new coach Dwayne Casey’s vision of a defensive-oriented Raptors team. He needs to learn to shoot, but he’s a psychotically hard worker who can be extremely disruptive on defence and fly up and down the court. With DeMar DeRozan, Leonard, and Ed Davis, the Raptors would have an intriguing group of young, athletic players at the 2, 3, and 4-spots.

It was as memorable an NBA Finals as you could ask for, with nearly every game decided in the final minutes.

Yet two days after the Dallas Mavericks captured the first championship in franchise history, all the talk isn’t about who won, but who lost.

Namely, LeBron James.

Ever since James and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami with Dwyane Wade, their every move has made NBA news headlines, been studied, scrutinized and dissected. The media did their best to turn the Heat into WWE-style heels, with several columnists openly rooting for their failure, as it would somehow validate purists who believe you can’t win an NBA championship with only three players.

But despite a rocky start, the Heat were right there near the top of the NBA standings at the end of the year, and made mincemeat of the 76ers, Celtics and Bulls on their way to the NBA finals. Suddenly The Decision, the welcome party they threw for themselves, and the talk of a dynasty all seemed on the verge of being forgiven. Only an old Mavs team many wrote off before the first round of the playoffs stood in the way of the Heat becoming maybe the most divisive champions the Association has ever seen.

Only the Mavs, or a bizarre disappearing act from the best basketball player on Earth.

LeBron looked good through the first three rounds of the playoffs, playing excellent defence while facilitating and scoring in equal measure on the other end. Wade and Bosh each carried the Heat offensively at times, but LeBron was their best all-around player.

But there he was after Game 3 of the Finals, sitting beside Wade for their usual tag-team press conference, deflecting questions about “shrinking,” not being a true superstar. And there he was two days later, scoring only eight points while a flu-ridden Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas to a dramatic late victory. Two days later he posted the least impressive playoff triple-double in history, faltering again in the fourth quarter of a crucial Game 5.

He put the finishing touches on his magnum opus of mediocrity in the deciding Game 6, deferring repeatedly to Wade and even Eddie House with the game on the line, unable to successfully post up J.J. Barea, who stands a full foot shorter than him. Overall, his scoring average in the Finals was eight points lower than it had been throughout the playoffs.

So while the media praised Nowitzki and the Mavs, a collection of ring-less veterans finally getting their due, the conversation very quickly moved back to LeBron.

What happened? Why did it happen? How could it happen?

Some took it as proof that Miami’s three-star, no-bench strategy defies the basketball gods and thus had to be stricken down.

Others took it as proof that LeBron lacks the make-up to be the generational icon he so desperately wants to be.

Sadly, what’s getting lost in all this conjecture is the good story – a team of past-their-prime role players came together for six weeks in the spring, played smart, team basketball, and won a championship, while Dirk Nowitzki solidified himself as one of the greatest basketball players of all-time.

(Something LeBron still hasn’t done.)

With the 2010-2011 NBA season in the books, the basketball world now turns its attention to the draft, the last bit of fun before a potentially-depressing labour dispute kicks into high gear in July. (Of course, the pile-on-LeBron party seems like it might just keep the sports media busy through the rest of the summer.)

With the first pick only 10 days away, it’s time to start guessing how things will play out when the names are called at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers – Kyrie Irving, PG, Duke

With the Cavaliers winning the first overall pick in the lottery, following a season spent near the bottom of the NBA standings, basketball fans in Cleveland seem to be in the midst of a very nice month of June. After gleefully watching LeBron get excoriated left and right for disappearing in the NBA Finals once again, their franchise now has the opportunity to begin rebuilding. There are no potential superstars in this draft class, but with Kyrie Irving the Cavs could pick a point guard who should be an above-average starter from Day 1. He has great court vision, good quickness, and scores when necessary. In today’s point guard-rich Association, he may never be an All-NBA type player, but certainly one of the ten best at his position.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves – Derrick Williams, PF, Arizona

Heartbroken that there isn’t another point guard worth drafting this high, Timberwolves GM David Kahn drafts a player extremely similar to one he already has on his roster – former #2 overall pick Michael Beasley.

Most signs suggest Kahn is actively looking to trade out of this spot in exchange for an established veteran, building his team around Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. If he can’t, explosive scorer Williams will probably be the pick, with Beasley being shipped out of town.

3. Utah Jazz – Brandon Knight, PG, Kentucky

With the trade of Deron Williams, the Jazz suddenly became a rebuilding team. Utah fans desperately want beloved BYU star Jimmer Fredette, but third overall is too high to draft an athletically-limited one-dimensional shooter. Knight, too, is a shoot-first guard, but he’s also a rangy, tough defender who can score both from the outside and near the basket. Devin Harris isn’t the long-term answer in Utah, so drafting a potential star here makes sense.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers – Enes Kanter, C, Turkey

Back on the clock again, the Cavs can pick a guy that some had pegged as a first overall pick only a month ago. Due to some bad advice, Kanter was ruled ineligible by the NCAA last year and hasn’t played in months, but he’s known as a tough inside player who can rebound and score, plus step out and hit long jumpers. With Kanter, Irving, and J.J. Hickson, the Cavs can finally start looking to the future instead of dwelling on the past.

5. Toronto Raptors – Kawhi Leonard, SF, San Diego State

The Raptors have a glaring hole at small forward – Sonny Weems and James Johnson aren’t the answer, sorry – and Leonard could be their guy. He’s not the most polished scorer, but DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani do most of the perimeter work for the Raps. Leonard is a powerful athlete who plays extremely hard, and he’s shown the ability to knock down outside shots. He wouldn’t have to be a go-to scorer in Toronto, just play defence and crash the boards for a team notoriously bad at doing both those things.