TORONTO - Ten months after their previous general manager pulled the trigger on a franchise-altering trade, the Raptors are still searching for their identity offensively while working around the obstacles created by that roster shakeup. Harold Carmichael Youth Jersey . On Jan. 30 Bryan Colangelo acquired Rudy Gay in a three-team trade, jettisoning Ed Davis and the expiring contract of starting point guard Jose Calderon. Since then, Torontos most consistent area of weakness has been moving the ball. It has been a focus for Dwane Caseys team early this season after spending most of training camp emphasizing defensive principles. The Raptors coach has shouted it from the sidelines, preached it after games and drilled it in practice but still, sharing the ball appears to be an incurable allergy for this team, as its currently constructed. "Were 30th in the league in assists, so were trying to promote ball movement," Casey acknowledged after practice Tuesday afternoon. "Its something weve just got to stay on, harp on and try to do what fits our team." TSN 1050s Josh Lewenberg and Duane Watson weigh in on the teams ailing offence and ongoing ball movement concerns in this weeks Raptors Report podcast. Through 11 games, the Raptors are last in the NBA, averaging 16.5 assists per contest. Their offence has routinely looked stagnant, relying mostly on isolation sets and late-game hero ball. Its not necessarily for a lack of effort on the part of Casey and his coaching staff. "We do it every day," point guard Kyle Lowry admitted. Ball movement has been a daily focus in practice. "We have drills where you dont shoot it before [theres] five passes, so its nothing new," Casey has said. The problem boils down to personnel, a team - built primarily by Colangelo - that was not designed to front a fluid NBA offence. Caseys challenge is essentially to teach old dogs - by league standards - new tricks. "We want there to be movement," he said following Sundays overtime loss to Portland, a game in which only three of his players recorded an assist. "We have our limitations from that standpoint but we want to move the ball. Weve got to do a better job of that and thats where weve got to find ourselves offensively, in ball movement." For the most part those limitations can be traced back to last seasons trade and arent likely to be corrected as easily as they were created. In 45 games prior to the trade last year, Toronto ranked 10th in assists (22.7 per game) and was second among 30 teams in that category (25.1 per) during the 23 contests that Calderon started directly before he was moved. In 47 games since, the team is last in the Association averaging 19.2 assists. To put that in perspective, the Raptors recorded 20 or more assists in 22 of those 23 games Calderon started in succession. Theyve exceeded 19 dimes in just 19 of 47 games since, including one of 11 this season. Calderon, one of the most reliable distributors in the league, was a player Casey trusted to run the pick and roll efficiently and with consistency. Replacing the long-time Raptors point guard - who may have bolted as a free agent during the summer anyway - continues to be a significant factor in the teams offensive identity crisis, but not the only factor. Its fair to argue that Lowry is an upgrade over Calderon - in many areas of the game he has been - but theres no denying hes a very different point guard than his predecessor, one who is less renowned for his work in the pick and roll. Then you add a high-volume scorer in Gay and pair him with a similar wing player in DeMar DeRozan. With Gay, the Raptors got what they paid for. Hes led them in scoring, become the face of the franchise and has played the role of a closer, for better or for worse. Hes also a player - like DeRozan - who takes a lot of shots, many of them outside the flow of a cohesive team offence. Simply put, theyre iso players. That duo has accounted for 46 per cent of the teams field goal attempts, shooting a combined 39 per cent to begin the season. Until Masai Ujiri takes his first stab at reconstructing this talented, albeit flawed roster, Casey has no choice but to work with the pieces he has. Therein lies the challenge. "To turn a guy into Pete Maravich at this stage in their career is very difficult," Casey pointed out. "Youve got to tailor your team according to your personnel and try to get movement out of that. A guys DNA is who he is. Weve got to tailor our offence to fit our players." Torontos best ball movement was achieved in the first half of its win over the Grizzlies in Memphis, also their most impressive outing; not a coincidence. In that game both Gay and DeRozan set the tone early by looking for their teammates. The Grizzlies put pressure on Torontos top scorers but they both passed out of double teams with poise and found cutters on the weak side, a focus for Caseys club in practice Tuesday. Not surprisingly, whenever the Raptors have moved the ball good things have happened. They just havent done it enough. "Believe me theres not a selfish bone, I dont think, in our players bodies," Casey said. "When the game starts guys will revert to what they do naturally, but what weve got to do is try to help them see their options, understand where their teammates are in certain sets and read it from there." Casey knows his team. He knows their strengths and he accepts their weaknesses. Still, masking one with the other is easier said than done. Defence is the great equalizer. Even if the Raptors offence can never function quite like Portlands - the team responsible for their most recent defeat - Casey knows they will remain competitive if they can defend with the ferocity of the Bulls, the team that handed them their previous loss. As long as the current core remains intact, these roadblocks will continue to stand in their way. How well they work around them will determine their success. Harold Carmichael Jersey . Hamelin, of Ste. Julie, Que, who won gold in the mens 1,500m on Monday, finished first in his heat with a time of one minute, 25.742 seconds.Nelson Agholor Eagles Jersey . David Perron helped his coachs cause by scoring three goals as the Oilers doubled the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 on Monday night. "It was a real good road game," said Eakins, enjoying a rare occasion to offer praise to his forwards, defence and goaltender alike. LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have agreed to a $28 million, four-year contract with Cuban prospect Alexander Guerrero, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made Tuesday. The deal calls for a $10 million signing bonus payable upon approval of the contract by Major League Baseball. Guerrero would earn $4 million in both 2014 and 2015, and $5 million in both 2016 and 2017. There is $1 million per year in performance bonuses, based on 500-600 plate appearances. The 26-year-old infielder defected from Cuba earlier this year and moved to Haiti. He has been training in the Dominican Republic, where scouts for the Dodgers saw him during workouts. When asked about Guerrero on Monday, general manager Ned Colletti said the team was "very close" on a deal. He said Guerrero could play second base, andd that if hes not ready for the start of next season, he could play "very, very soon thereafter. Custom Eagles Jersey. " His agreement would eliminate one possible bidder for Robinson Cano, the New York Yankees All-Star who is eligible for free agency. Guerrero played in Serie Nacional, Cubas top league, where he was a two-time All-Star selection. In September, he received a license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control that allowed him to sign with a major league team. Colletti said the Dodgers would plan on having Guerrero play winter ball. "Hes a big-league infielder that has versatility to him," the general manager said. Another Cuban, 22-year-old outfielder Yasiel Puig, had great success with the Dodgers this season. He was called up from the minors in early June, and nearly made the All-Star team while helping the team reach the NL championship series. 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