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Rasho Nesterovic exercises player option

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday that centre Rasho Nesterovic has exercised the player option on his contract for the 2008-09 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

Nesterovic, 7-foot, 270 pounds, concluded his second season with the Raptors and his 10th in the NBA. He appeared in 71 games (with 39 starts) last season, averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 20.9 minutes. He led the team in field goal percentage (more than 200 attempts) at .550 (257-467). He scored in double figures in 17 of the final 18 regular season games, averaging 15.4 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Nesterovic has averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 699 career games with Minnesota, San Antonio and Toronto. He was a member of San Antonio’s 2005 NBA Championship team.

Raptors exercise option on Jamario Moon

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have exercised the team option on the contract of forward Jamario Moon for the 2008-09 season. Per team policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are very proud of Jamario for what he has accomplished and for the way he handled himself this year,” said Bryan Colangelo, president and general manager of the Raptors. “Jamario’s path to the NBA and the Toronto Raptors is a great example of perseverance.”

Moon, 6-foot-8, 205 pounds, was signed to a free agent contract July 10, 2007 following stints in the NBA Development League and Continental Basketball Association. He appeared in 78 games this past season, averaging 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, second on the team, and a team-best 1.38 blocks. He set a club record for starts by a rookie with 75.

Moon was named to the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and participated in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Sprite Slam Dunk contest during All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. He ranked first among NBA rookies in steals (1.03), second in blocks (1.38), third in rebounds (6.2), fourth in minutes (27.8) and 10th in scoring (8.5). He became the seventh player in team history to receive NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honours when he averaged 10.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in January, while shooting .516 from the field and .889 at the foul line.

All-Rookie teams announced

Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, the runner-up for the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, was the only unanimous selection on the 2007-08 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Team, the league announced today. Horford received 58 votes, while Seattle’s Kevin Durant, winner of the 2007-08 T-Mobile Rookie of the Year award, received a total of 57 votes.

InsideHoops has to ask: How could a voter not have picked Durant as one of the top five rookies?

Rounding out the NBA All-Rookie First Team are Houston’s Luis Scola (53 points), the Los Angeles Clippers’ Al Thornton (48 points) and Seattle’s Jeff Green (43 points).

The T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team consists of former D-League player, Jamario Moon of the Toronto Raptors (38), Memphis’ Juan Carlos
Navarro (24), Philadelphia’s Thaddeus Young, (23), Detroit’s Rodney Stuckey (22) and Houston’s Carl Landry (18).

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

Chuck Swirsky leaves Raptors for Bulls

Chuck Swirsky, an icon with the Toronto Raptors radio and television broadcasts as play-by-play announcer for the past 10 seasons, is leaving the organization for personal reasons related to his family. Swirsky and his family are returning to the Chicago area where he served as sports director at WGN Radio from 1982-94, broadcaster of DePaul University basketball for 10 years, host of the Chicago Bears Radio Network for 10 years and held similar responsibilities for the Chicago Cubs Radio Network for a dozen seasons. Swirsky will assume a position as radio play-by-play broadcaster with the Chicago Bulls.

For more info, click here.

Raptors have summer work to do

The Toronto Star (Doug Smith) reports: Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo’s job this summer goes far beyond replacing a coach with three years left on his deal. The GM has to deal with what looks to be an untenable point guard situation, in which T.J. Ford continues to assert his need to start while Jose Calderon is likely to be signed to a long-term contract in early July. Colangelo conceded yesterday “point guard play is our biggest Achilles’ heel” but refused to speculate on what might happen. Calling the just-finished season “a disappointment,” the GM said the team’s needs are hardly a secret. The Raptors didn’t defend well enough, didn’t rebound well enough, weren’t athletic enough and didn’t have the necessary parts to ease the load on their best player. “This is the sum of it all: we need to get some more help for Chris Bosh,” he said. “Whether it’s protecting him inside in the paint, getting a little bit more of a presence in there, to just getting him another scorer that’s going to shoulder some of that burden, it’s something that’s clear we have to get better.”

Bosh starts playoffs strong but finishes weak

The Globe and Mail (Mike Grange) reports: One game after delivering his best postseason performance, Chris Bosh gave one of his worst. It didn’t matter, the results were the same. The team built around him, the Toronto Raptors, lost last night 102-92 to the Orlando Magic — and they also fell in their best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series 4-1. It marked the end of a confounding season that started in preseason in Italy with high hopes and ended in Orlando with a heavy dose of NBA reality: The Raptors aren’t good enough. Bosh had a strong series, but a weak finish. His signature moment last night was a fade-away fourth-quarter jumper that he finished on his bum, the ball well short. At the other end it was the Magic’s young franchise player, Dwight Howard, gobbling up rebounds and dunking them home like something out of a Japanese monster movie, Bosh helpless to stop him. Bosh needs help, as this series has proven, more than previously thought. The Raptors’ other pillar — stellar point guard play — appeared shaky, too, as for the fourth time in five games the Magic’s Jameer Nelson was the best quarterback on the floor. His three-pointer with three minutes remaining left the crowd at the Amway Arena roaring and the Raptors down 10, with no sign of a pulse.

Apr. 28: Magic 102, Raptors 92

The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 21 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks—his third 20-20 game in the series—and the Magic advanced to second round for the first time in 12 years by beating the Toronto Raptors 102-92 in Game 5 on Monday night… Chris Bosh, who posted career playoff highs of 39 points and 15 rebounds at Toronto on Saturday, had 16 points and nine rebounds Monday. Howard frustrated him down low into 7-of-19 shooting, and Bosh picked up a third-quarter technical foul after the Magic star muscled past him for a layup. T.J. Ford and Carlos Delfino both scored 14 points for the Raptors, while Jason Kapono had 13 and Jose Calderon 12. Delfino added seven rebounds and Ford had five assists… Keyon Dooling’s free throw after the technical on Bosh put the Magic ahead 73-66 with just under a minute left in the third quarter, and Orlando kept that cushion until midway through the fourth. Delfino hit a jumper and Bosh made two free throws in four trips to the line, plus a hook shot over Howard, to draw the Raptors within 84-82.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: Neither team shot particularly well and both teams struggled from three-point range. And both teams shot around 82% from the free throw line, though the Magic got more opportunities. A huge factor was rebounding: Magic 55 boards, Raptors only 37. Assists were almost even. The Magic threw the ball away more than the Raptors. As for individual players, for the Magic: Dwight Howard on just 12 shots had 21 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jameer Nelson scored 19. Rashard Lewis had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. Hedo Turko shot just 4-of-13 but with his 12 points also came 8 rebounds and 9 assists. For the Raptors, Chris Bosh took 19 shots for just 16 points, plus 9 rebounds. Five other Raptors scored between 11 and 14 points.

Apr. 26: Magic 106, Raptors 94

The AP reports: Jameer Nelson scored 12 of his 19 points in the final period, including 10 straight at one stretch, and the Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series… Rashard Lewis added 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 19 points, 16 boards and eight blocks for the third-seeded Magic, who host Game 5 of this first-round series Monday night. Chris Bosh set a career playoff-high with 39 points and added 15 rebounds for the Raptors, while T.J. Ford had 12 points and 13 assists… Toronto stayed close until back-to-back 3-pointers by Hedo Turkoglu and Lewis gave the Magic a 100-92 lead with 1:31 remaining. Turkoglu had 18 points and nine rebounds. Keith Bogans scored 12 points for Orlando… Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker each scored 12 for the Raptors, who were just 2-for-15 from 3-point range. Bosh finished 16-for-26.

Apr. 24: Raptors 108, Magic 94

The AP reports: With a quick start and quality point guard play, the Toronto Raptors turned the tables on the Orlando Magic. T.J. Ford scored 21 points, Jose Calderon had 18 points and 13 assists, and the Raptors beat the Magic 108-94 on Thursday night, cutting Orlando’s lead to 2-1 in their first-round playoff series… Dwight Howard had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, while Hedo Turkoglu added 26 points and Rashard Lewis scored 19… Jamario Moon had 11 points and 10 rebounds in his return to the starting lineup for Toronto, while Bosh and Jason Kapono each scored 15 points and Anthony Parker 10… Keith Bogans scored 12 for the Magic, who trailed by as many as 23. Orlando guard Jameer Nelson collapsed with back spasms as he was walking back the locker room after the game and was seen writhing on the floor in pain… With Jamario Moon back in the starting lineup in place of Rasho Nesterovic, the Raptors had the energy they needed.

Apr. 22: Magic 104, Raptors 103

The AP reports: Two playoff games, two 20-point, 20-rebound outings for Dwight Howard. This time there was no question he was the difference maker. Orlando’s 3-point touch evaporated, but Howard’s 29 points and 20 rebounds powered the Magic past the Toronto Raptors, 104-103, Tuesday night for a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series… Chris Bosh had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto, but missed a 19-footer with 1.9 seconds left that could have won the game. Jason Kapono scored 20 points, Jose Calderon had 18 and Carlos Delfino added 16 for the Raptors… Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis each scored 18 for Orlando. Hedo Turkoglu made the go-ahead layup and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Orlando won despite shooting 9-of-31 from 3-point range—including a combined 0-of-13 for Turkoglu and Lewis. The Raptors made 11 of 29 3s, four by Kapono.