# Training Camp: Yuta Tabuse IN Omar Cook OUT



## Rhubarb (Mar 19, 2005)

Raptors turn to Land of Rising Sun



> The team has decided not to invite Cook to training camp which begins early next month, and is expected to offer an invitation to Yuta Tabuse, a 5-foot-9 guard who last season became the first Japanese-born player to play in an NBA game.


Fairly surprised he didn't at least get the invite. Alas, that's business for ya.


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

wow where the hell did that come from???


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## lucky777s (Nov 13, 2003)

There have been obvious signs that Rob didn't want Cook back and you have to assume that means Sam didn't want him either.

Personally I haven't heard one FA name that impresses me more than what Cook showed in actual games with our actual lineup. I just don't understand the lack of respect for Cook. All Cook needs is an opportunity to play.

Yuta Tabuse has 17 minutes of nba experience. Played in ABA last year. At 5'9" he is extremely undersized. Maybe Babs doesn't understand that there is a difference between Japanese and Chinese and thinks all the Chinese people who come out to see Yao will also want to see Tabuse. I don't get it. This kid ain't the next Ichiro IMO.


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## foul_balls (Jun 25, 2004)

I've seen him play and although he can run a break well, he can do little else.

And while Chinese/Japanese fans in Toronto may not be all that interested, TV deals in Japan would still be a financial bonus, where basketball is beginning to become more popular with the younger set. I don't know how TV deals work (e.g. if the Raptors or the NBA would benefit) but if it is anything like what the YES network in NY has with Japanese stations, it could be potentially lucrative.

I'd rather see someone like Troy Bell invited. I know the negatives: he was never given a chance by Hubie Brown so Hubie didn't like what he saw, but this guy was a 3rd stringer behind Jay Williams and Earl Watson and really wasn't given a chance to shine. It is only a training camp invite, not a guaranteed contract. You never know, he could emerge like Dickau, a former first rounder who never got his shot until last year.


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## kirk_2003 (Jun 23, 2003)

TAbuseee!!!!!


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## ¹²³ (Jan 8, 2003)

This league isn't about just the game of basketball, we all should know that by now.


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## trick (Aug 23, 2002)

babcock is just full of surprises these days


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## foul_balls (Jun 25, 2004)

Related Note: Take this with a grain of salt, as it is being reported on by probasketballnews.com, but Luis Flores plans to sign with the Kings.

http://www.probasketballnews.com/pbnotebook_0826.html

I would think that Flores would more be interested in Toronto, since he would rarely get playing time behind Mike Bibby and Jason Hart. Either Sacramento is offering more cash or Babs isn't interested.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Yeah, it was too quiet on the Omar Cook front. I was hoping he would at least get a shot in camp but from the looks of it we are either trying to land Jay Williams or take a flyer on someone else, like Tabuse.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Boo! Just say NO to Tabuse.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

foul_balls said:


> And while Chinese/Japanese fans in Toronto may not be all that interested, TV deals in Japan would still be a financial bonus, where basketball is beginning to become more popular with the younger set. I don't know how TV deals work (e.g. if the Raptors or the NBA would benefit) but if it is anything like what the YES network in NY has with Japanese stations, it could be potentially lucrative.


Yeah, except he sucks. Guys like Ichiro and Matsui are good players, so they attract interest in Japan. You don't see the Heat cashing in because they have Wang on their roster.


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## Junkyard Dog13 (Aug 9, 2003)

dont like the move, come on add Jay Will.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Tabuse sucks. Like lucky777's is, it's pretty obvious that Cook is one of the last options for Babcock as a third PG. He has gone almost every other possible route to get another third PG, and now he is inviting scrubs to camp to see if they can beat out Cook. 

Only guy I see beating out Cook in camp is Pickett. I'd be very happy with either as our third PG.


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## Benis007 (May 23, 2005)

vigilante said:


> Only guy I see beating out Cook in camp is Pickett. I'd be very happy with either as our third PG.


Whats the deal with Pickett.. tell me more


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

Wonder what happened with Cook. My guess is he wouldn't come into training camp on a non-guaranteed deal. I think we can do better than Tabuse for our third PG, but he'd be a fun guy to have on the roster.


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## TRON (Feb 29, 2004)

> However, Tabuse isn't about to be handed the third-string job in Toronto. Babcock said he expects to invite two or three guards to camp


since this is just an invitation to training camp and not a contract of any type, I don't mind having him at training camp, but I'm more interested in the other guards that will be invited


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## nwt (Apr 24, 2005)

This came from left field


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## ansoncarter (Dec 22, 2004)

Thats the little guy on Denver right? ugh. NO WAY

he's like that guy Rudy from the football movie. People just let him play because they feel sorry for him

just sign Omar already. Damn


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

Tabuse doesn't "suck", there are worse PGs than him in this league. He's a great player for his height.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Yao Mania said:


> Tabuse doesn't "suck", there are worse PGs than him in this league. He's a great player for his height.


Are you sure there isn't a bias there?


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## On Thre3 (Nov 26, 2003)

vigilante said:


> Are you sure there isn't a bias there?


what makes you say that?


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## ¹²³ (Jan 8, 2003)

ansoncarter said:


> he's like that guy Rudy from the football movie. People just let him play because they feel sorry for him


Come on! Rudy is a legend, don't compare him with Tabuse. I just love that movie.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

On Thre3 said:


> what makes you say that?


 Yao Mania is azn


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I don't understand why you guys want to ridicule Tabuse, the guy did make the Suns team last season eventhough he didn't play all that much, but he did make the team. Tabuse is only invited to camp, theres nothing saying that he'll make the team or even likely to make the team. I think he deserves a shot as much as anyone having played on a team that's much better than what the Raptors ever were.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

I mean come on now, Raptors started Araujo for like half a season last year. If the rookie araujo can start in a nba team, why can't Tabuse be a 11th or 12th man on a nba roster?


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## trick (Aug 23, 2002)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> Yao Mania is azn


you know what's funny? i see alot more non-*asians* use that way of spelling than actual *asians*. :|


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

seifer0406 said:


> I mean come on now, Raptors started Araujo for like half a season last year. If the rookie araujo can start in a nba team, why can't Tabuse be a 11th or 12th man on a nba roster?


It's just the fact that we've given up on Cook when personally I think he showed a lot of promise last season.


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

vigilante said:


> Are you sure there isn't a bias there?


I think non-asians are more bias in this matter because they automatically assume the guy is signed simply because he's Asian and a marketing gimmick. People say Yao was a #1 pick only because he's Chinese, but look how he turned out. People say Ha Seung Jin shouldn't even be in this league (including me), but he's actually a decent player for his age and height and got some playing time last season. Yuta is a baller - he's pretty well known in the basketball community in Japan even before he was signed by the Suns, because he is that much better than everyone else there.

Of course he's still a notch under the average PGs in the NBA, but I think it's safe to say that he's better than the likes of Moochie Norris and Milt Palacio (yes, I think he is better than Milt "can't make a jumper" Palacio).


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## kirk_2003 (Jun 23, 2003)

trick said:


> you know what's funny? i see alot more non-*asians* use that way of spelling than actual *asians*. :|


that is indeed very funny trick... :laugh:


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## foul_balls (Jun 25, 2004)

vigilante said:


> Tabuse sucks. Like lucky777's is, it's pretty obvious that Cook is one of the last options for Babcock as a third PG. He has gone almost every other possible route to get another third PG, and now he is inviting scrubs to camp to see if they can beat out Cook.
> 
> Only guy I see beating out Cook in camp is Pickett. I'd be very happy with either as our third PG.


Pickett is supposedly an offensive minded shooting guard who has never played pg, so I don't think he could get meaningful minutes to learn the position as the 3rd pg. Most people on this board want a distributor who can occasionally hit from outside. NBDL would be better for him to see if he can actually develop into a pg.

While I woudn't mind Cook since he is still young, there must be a reason that Cook was not invited back and Tabuse was invited to camp. Babcock and Mitchell must've seen something that they didn't like. Money, length of contract, lack of defense, lack of outside shooting, there could be a multitude of reasons.

If Tabuse was your first string pg, you could definintely say he sucks, but let's face it, we are talking about a 3rd string pg who may average about 5 min/game on a team fighting it out for last place. If Tabuse can do half as good a job at exciting the crowd as Spud Webb did with his speed, then that wouldn't be so bad. It would definitely liven up some games where people paid good money to see some excitement.


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## Benis007 (May 23, 2005)

Cook would be happy with limited minutes and a minimum contract. Williams will demand more minutes, and therefore take away mins from Calderon.

He is a pass 1st PG who would do what a 3rd string PG is supposed to do, hand the ball off to more skilled players around him.

Give Cook a min contract and lets end all this 3rd string PG talk.


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## Divine Spammer (Jul 11, 2005)

Bad move.
Won't produce on the court, won't sell jerseys.

As far as I can recall- this guy got to the NBA mainly because David Stern wanted to be more.. "International", that's all.


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## Benis007 (May 23, 2005)

> Bad move.
> Won't produce on the court, won't sell jerseys.
> 
> As far as I can recall- this guy got to the NBA mainly because David Stern wanted to be more.. "International", that's all.


Who cares what Stern thinks?

Williams will command at least twice what Cook is asking for. Does anyone have an idea of what Tabuse is expecting salary wise?


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## trick (Aug 23, 2002)

am missing something here? tabuse will get an invite for *training camp*, *TRAINING CAMP*. if he pans out, great. if not, let him go. it doesn't affect the team's cap nor will it take up anyone's minutes for games that actually count. how is this a bad move?

:uhoh:


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## RickyBlaze (Apr 25, 2003)

How could you not want this guy? Even for garbage minutes, the fact that he looks like some crazy samurai dude is cool. Those Japanese sure are stylin'.


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## kirk_2003 (Jun 23, 2003)

haha cant wait... hopefully we'll see him in some preseason games...


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## Junkyard Dog13 (Aug 9, 2003)

kirk_2003 said:


> haha cant wait... hopefully we'll see him in some preseason games...


if he makes the team good for PR, that could boast attendence by maximum 1-5% with this signing.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Clippers sign Yuta Tabuse 

So much for this thread..


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## kirk_2003 (Jun 23, 2003)

oh man... that kinda sucks... i was looking forward in him making the ball club... that only means he was better then cook... look at TABUSEEEE go!!! guarantee contract...


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## Yao Mania (Aug 4, 2003)

He must have read this thread and was hurt because so many of you guys said he sucked


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

He still has to make the Clippers team.


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## Benis007 (May 23, 2005)

PR signings leave a sour taste in my mouth. I am glad he signed elsewhere..

sorta the same situation with the Raps and Mendez


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## The Mad Viking (Jun 12, 2003)

Benis007 said:


> PR signings leave a sour taste in my mouth. I am glad he signed elsewhere..
> 
> sorta the same situation with the Raps and Mendez


This p!sses me off.

He played NCAA hoops.

He won the ROY in Japanese pro ball.

He made the Suns roster last year.

He was the starting PG for the ABA champions, and led in APG.

And people insist it's a PR contract because he's Japanese.

BS!


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## trick (Aug 23, 2002)

The Mad Viking said:


> This p!sses me off.
> 
> He played NCAA hoops.
> 
> ...


:laugh:
it's funny cause it's true


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