W.O.T » who snapped a five- game slide. Brand

TORONTO - Its been just over two months since Masai Ujiri aggressively opened trade season in the NBA, pulling off a blockbuster seven-player deal with Sacramento, but the Raptors general manager opted to employ a different tactic Thursday afternoon, as the deadline came and went without much noise. "Its weird with the trade deadline," Ujiri said, shortly after 4pm et, one hour removed from the deadline itself. "We all get caught up in it, were working the phones and doing all kinds of stuff." "Nothing really significant got done but its always a tedious time because youre always trying to see what makes sense for your team, now and in the future." It wasnt for a lack of effort - Ujiri and company had contemplated a number of larger scale trade scenarios - but ultimately the Raptors core was left untouched, their roster kept intact, apart from a last minute tinker to the back end of the bench. "For us in our positions, its always tough to stand pat," the Raptors GM admitted. "There are things that are tempting and you do the exercise in your mind, on paper, you try to picture it [but] you dont know until its actually put in there and they begin to play." For Ujiri, the evaluation process has been muddled by his teams unexpected success since the Rudy Gay trade in December and the porous Eastern Conference in which theyve experienced said success. The result of that appraisal was somewhat inconclusive. Ujiri is still unsure what he has in the Easts surprising third seed but their recent play - and most importantly the chemistry theyve developed - has piqued his interest enough to buy them more time. "You pray and you hope for chemistry and I think we found it a little bit," he stressed. "We said we were going to give these players a platform and they would dictate where we go and to be fair, I think weve also tried to live up to our part of the bargain here and they have, too." Simply put, the right deal wasnt out there, not one that would satisfy Ujiris long-term goals while also maintaining what they have in place now. Ujiri is confident most of the discussion that has taken place over the last week can be revisited over the summer, if need be. At that point, he should have a greater idea of whats available but also how much his own assets are worth. One of those players, soon-to-be free agent point guard Kyle Lowry, has been the focus of trade speculation and will headline Ujiris offseason decision-making process. "Obviously, we didnt do anything with Kyle because we view him highly in this organization," Ujiri said of Lowry, who is averaging career-bests in points and assists this year. In Wednesday nights loss to the Bulls, Lowry knocked down his 129th three-pointer of the campaign, matching his career-high for threes made in a single season, with 28 games still left to play. Ujiri met with Lowrys agent, Andy Miller, on Wednesday, the eve of the deadline. Overall, the Raptors GM has been content with the communication on both sides and seemed enthusiastic about Lowrys progress and his future with the team. "We set some good [goals] and had good talks with him," said Ujiri. "He was upfront with us, we were upfront with him in the beginning of the season and hes living up to his part and I think weve lived up our part, too. I think thats how you build partnerships. Well see how he grows." It was a relatively quiet day league-wide. The most notable deal was leaked by Yahoo Sports shortly after the 3pm et deadline had passed with Indiana, the Easts best team, shipping often-injured former all-star Danny Granger to the rebuilding 76ers for a package that included breakout forward Evan Turner. The Raptors also made a late, albeit inconsequential move, trading seldom-used forward Austin Daye to San Antonio in exchange for French combo guard Nando De Colo. De Colo - averaging 4.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26 games for the Spurs this season, his second in the NBA - is due to become a free agent this summer and doesnt figure to factor into Caseys rotation as long as his regulars stay healthy. Daye has appeared in just eight games for Toronto after signing with Raptors for the league minimum in the offseason. Often at the end of the bench, or one of Caseys inactives, Daye hasnt logged more than three minutes in a game since early December, coincidentally against the Spurs. "You never know when an opportunity will come," Daye said in conversation with TSN.ca last month. "I know I can play in this league. Its just a matter of a numbers game right now." "Its tough when you feel like theres no hope," he continued, "but you have to also look at it this way, you may not be playing, then youre thrown in a trade and then youre needed to play." With the trade deadline in the rear-view mirror and the uncertainty of Lowrys immediate future put behind them for the time being, the Raptors can focus all their attention on the stretch run. "[The deadline] does weigh on you, it weighs on everybody," Ujiri admitted. "Theres anxiety, people are wondering whats going to happen. Its gone, its gone and now everybody plays a little more free and they kind of figure at least were here for another few months or for the future. As tough as we all try to be, me included, the trade deadline is a date, I think, thats significant for everybody." Wholesale Authentic Jordans China . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. Cheap Authentic Jordans Free Shipping . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. http://www.cheapjordansauthentic.com/. Ontario Superior Court Case Management Master Ronald Dash released the decision on Monday, saying John McCaw Jr. must testify in front of a jury by live video conference. Moores lawyer, Tim Danson, asked the court to compel McCaw - who is based in Seattle - to testify in the case back on February 27. Cheap Jordans Authentic Website . -- Zach Johnson asked his short-iron approach on the par-4 18th to "Do something right, baby. Cheap Jordans From China . With the Rangers already leading 2-0, Carey Price was taken down early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 pounding of the Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final on Saturday afternoon.Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Boyd Gordon recorded the winning score in the late stages of the third period, and Edmonton clipped Buffalo, 3-2, on Friday. Iiro Pakarinen posted his first career goal and Mark Arcobello also lit the lamp for the Oilers, who won for the first time on their five-game road trip and snapped a four-game skid overall. Viktor Fasth came up with 29 saves for the victory. Michal Neuvirth stopped a season-high 49 pucks for the Sabres, who became the first team in the NHL with 10 regulation losses. Matt Moulson and Drew Stafford tallied for the hosts, who dropped their ninth game in the last 11. Final Score: Carolina 3, Columbus 2 (OT) Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Elias Lindholm scored the winning goal with 38 seconds left in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets to wrap up a home-and-home set. In overtime and on the power play, Lindholm skated down the right wing on a 2-on-1 and opted to shoot, beating Curtis McElhinney low for the win. Victor Rask and Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes, who have won four straight after opening the season 0-6-2. Cam Ward stopped 29 shots in the win. Scott Hartnell had both goals for the Blue Jackets, who have dropped seven straight. McElhinney made 32 saves in the loss. Final Score: Detroit 4, New Jersey 2 Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Jimmy Howard stopped 15 shots and Detroit scored four consecutive times to record a 4-2 victory over New Jersey on Friday night at Joe Louis Arena. Jakub Kindl, Brendan Smith, Johan Franzen and Niklas Kronwall posted one score apiece for the Red Wings, who began a four- game homestand by erasing a three--game losing streak.dddddddddddd Steve Bernier and Jordin Tootoo tallied a goal each for the Devils, who have lost three in a row and seven of 10 since beginning the season with three straight wins. Cory Schneider was pulled for the second straight contest, this time after giving up four goals on 24 shots in two periods. Keith Kinkaid stopped all seven shots he faced for the rest of regulation. Final Score: Washington 3, Chicago 2 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Braden Holtby stopped 38 shots and Washington scored three late goals in the second period for a 3-2 win over Chicago. Joel Ward, Andre Burakovsky and Marcus Johansson scored in the final five minutes of the second period for the Capitals, who snapped a five- game slide. Brandon Saad and Duncan Keith lit the lamp for the Blackhawks, who have lost three of four. Corey Crawford turned aside 21 shots in defeat. Final Score: Arizona 3, Anaheim 2 (SO) Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mikkel Boedker scored the winner in the shootout to lift the Arizona Coyotes to a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. In the second round, Boedker went from the backhand to the forehand and snapped the puck in past Frederik Andersen. Ryan Kesler had the last chance for Anaheim, but his shot went wide of the net. Shane Doan and Rob Klinkhammer each had a goal for the Coyotes, who have won three straight. Mike Smith turned away 37 shots in the win. Ryan Getzlaf and Matt Beleskey lit the lamp for the Ducks, who have dropped their past two. Andersen finished the game with 23 stops. Anaheim forward Corey Perry, who leads the NHL with 11 goals, missed a second straight game with flu-like symptoms. ' ' '