Jose Calderon: All About the Team
There’s a reason why Jose Calderon is one of the most popular players in the Toronto Raptors’ locker room, and one of the better-liked guys around the League. There’s no ego or pretension with him; dude is all about winning.
Case in point: Last night, he finally convinced coach Sam Mitchell to bring him off the bench, and let TJ Ford start in his place. Even with big dollars at stake in the free agent market this summer, Jose felt this was the best option for the team.
“We’ve been struggling and talking a lot about what we can do to get better. I always put my team first and I was talking to [Sam] and said let’s try to change to lineup again and see if we can make something happen.”
“I have an ego, but my team is first. I work for the Raptors and I play for the Raptors, I don’t play for Jose Calderon. What I want is to be in the playoffs, I want to have a chance to play in the second round, so I don’t try to be 20 points a game or something like that. I think this is a good idea to change everything so this is something I have to do.”
The move turned out to be the right one, as Toronto took down Detroit with relative ease.
Somehow, I don’t see too many other players around the League making a similar request to Jose’s anytime soon.
35 Responses to “Jose Calderon: All About the Team”
Mar.27 at 12:06 pm
SA says:
An NBA player claiming(and demonstrating) that he plays for his team rather than himself?? I’m going to go get all my affairs in order, because clearly the world is coming to an end today…
Mar.27 at 12:17 pm
Benoit Benjamin says:
The guy is really cool. Maybe because he learned to be only the third or fourth option behind gasol and navarro back in spain. I still believe the raps should trade ford for a center and let calderon run the show.
Mar.27 at 12:19 pm
Slim says:
yee represent TORONTOOOO we’re finally winning….haha
Mar.27 at 12:20 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Calderon is pure class. He really gets what it is all about. Wait a minute is he a free-agent this summer?
Mar.27 at 12:26 pm
Ethan says:
I want a guy like that on my team any day of the week tru playa KB24 4 MVP
Mar.27 at 12:30 pm
WhereisBisonDele says:
Lz - Cphfinest3: Restricted free agent…and you know BC will be locking him up…
Mar.27 at 12:40 pm
Jess says:
Jose Calderon is an awsome player. He cares more about the name on the front of the jersey rather than the back of it. Class act. The leauge needs more guys like this. Calderon will be a Raptor for a long time.
Mar.27 at 12:48 pm
rav says:
take notes tj ford… but this is one of the reasons why i think HS us players should go to europe instead of college - in europe the game is more about teamwork and trying to win the title (be it domestic/euroleague/uleb), not so much playing to get as much $$$ as they can (although the wage disparity in europe is nowhere near as great as it is in the US, and with good reason) - and as a result you become a better TEAM player and look for the team goals first and are therefore more valuable to your team (as I tried to get across on another post recently)- the only NBA teams in the recent past that seem to have that kind of attitude are SA and Detroit (who between them have one player on a max contract, and several others who could get more on the free-market)
Mar.27 at 12:49 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Thx Bison.
Mar.27 at 12:56 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Co-sign rav, interesting how SA and Detroit during the last 5 years have been the most succesfull teams in their respective conferences. This dedication to teamwork is also why the international teams have beaten more talented US-teams these last years. When and if the US-teams gets it (the latest edition showed good signs in that last tournament, forgot the name), they’ll be on top again
Mar.27 at 12:57 pm
U SAM says:
there u can see AGAIN the difference
World x USA… (see Ginobili, Manu; Olajuwon, Hakeem; Nash, Steve;)
Mar.27 at 12:58 pm
Bro. D. says:
He doesn’t care as much about winning as legend Dan Dickau.
Mar.27 at 1:24 pm
vmcb says:
Atta boy, Jose. Maybe this is the shakeup Toronto needed. They were playing well when TJ was out of the lineup, but they’re struggled since he’s returned. Of course, lack of wins coincided with Bosh’s injury and a tough Western road trip, it was obvious TJ was having a negative effect on the team in his backup role. Bargnani has been stinking up the joint as well. I pull for the dude, but he hasn’t really been giving me much to cheer about lately.
Mar.27 at 1:28 pm
vmcb says:
*the lack of wins, sorry
Mar.27 at 1:34 pm
Kevin says:
word on the “pure class” comment.. i love how this guy handles himself
Mar.27 at 2:26 pm
what says:
Why my Hawks didn’t try to trade for this guy before he blew up, I have no idea.
Mar.27 at 2:37 pm
TADOne says:
Two words: Billy Knight.
Mar.27 at 2:38 pm
Gerard Himself says:
at least this makes Ford happy. Didn’t he complain about coming off the bench a week ago? (two weeks ago?) Calderon is the man. If he would be a starter next season from day one, he’ll be an all-star.
Mar.27 at 2:59 pm
Captain America says:
Calderon is a leader with instant cred. Sam has got to be happy about him on the team. TJ was whining about ticks, not good.
Mar.27 at 5:11 pm
memyselfand9 says:
word.
Mar.27 at 6:28 pm
crazylee12 says:
TJ Ford + a 2nd round pick for the rights to Roy Hibbert, then have Roko Ukic back up calderon at the point next year.
Make it happen BC!
Mar.27 at 6:42 pm
The Notorious King says:
this is a great move
Mar.27 at 7:15 pm
rav says:
“TJ Ford + a 2nd round pick for the rights to Roy Hibbert, then have Roko Ukic back up calderon at the point next year.” I can see ford being involved to bring gallinari (sp?)actually, could help bargnani
Mar.27 at 8:04 pm
youngmuggsy says:
havent you guys heard of manu ginobili? hes averaging 20 points per game off the bench. if you dont believe he could be among the scoring leaders given more minute then i suggest you look at the points per 48 mins leaders, manus tied with AI. but fair play to calderon for accepting a lesser role thats what we like to see.
Mar.27 at 10:32 pm
Ben__ says:
This obviously speaks volumes about Calderon’s character, but fans in Toronto tend to view his effectiveness through rose-coloured goggles. T.J. plays a bit more erratically, but he’s quicker, younger and has more upside. Jose will be 27 this fall, which means he’s likely at or near his *prime* as a player, and will start to decline after he hits 30. Sam Mitchell gave them near-identical run before T.J.’s injury this year, and their stats were essentially the same in most categories. Ford often plays nowhere *near* his potential, and at present he’s at par (and often better) than Calderon. He has more potential, and at 25, he’s got more time to grow. Obviously, one game doesn’t tell the story, but the day after T.J. returns to the starting lineup, the Raps beat the Pistons. Reality bites, Toronto fans, but Calderon is the second-best point guard on your team.
Mar.27 at 10:50 pm
Shooter#9 - Brasil says:
don’t give me this “hi is at his prime”, “he is gonna decline now” talk…
last one to do that was mark cuban… just before nash went for the 2 MVP seasons…
Mar.27 at 11:57 pm
sigh says:
Kinda ironic that Jose’s move only made Ford look even more like a posturing child. The reason why Jose relinquished his starting position was that Ford was bitching about being on the bench and screwing up team chemistry when he was on the floor. I’ve seen several times in 4th quarter situations where Ford would come up the floor and take consecutive possessions jacking it up.
Mar.28 at 12:05 am
tealish says:
Ben: I am far from being a Calderon fan, and I certainly didn’t understand all the All-Star Snub talk surrounding Jose - but saying TJ Ford is better than him is absolutely ludicrous. There isn’t a GM in this L who would choose Ford over Calderon - not even Shaq when he becomes the Magic GM.
Mar.28 at 12:34 am
TMT says:
Ugh being a Canadian this is why we lose everything. People take in the culture too much and go soft…. Vince anyone? Damn you Calderon…
Mar.28 at 3:40 am
LAN says:
lol at TMT
Mar.28 at 7:02 am
RedRum says:
Go back and see the US - Greece game. See how execution, team defense, mental toughness wins games. as bobby knight very nicely put it “mental toughness is to physical toughness what six is to three”
Mar.29 at 10:46 am
Sesa says:
I second that Youngmuggsy, the first one who did this is Manu.
Mar.29 at 5:30 pm
“I play for the Raptors, I don’t play for Jose Calderon.” « blogsketball says:
[…] During the Raptors/Pistons highlights, they mentioned that Jose Calderon had surrendered his spot as starter to TJ Ford, because he thought it would help the team win. That kind of re-ignited my love of all things Calderon. It also reminded me that I completely forgot to post the transcripts of my interview with numero ocho from last month. So here it is. Of course, you can and should pick up SLAM 117 if you haven’t already, to read the In Your Face that I wrote on him. […]
Apr.1 at 4:03 pm
Gagnon says:
Re. the comment from TMT - I don’t think that there is anything particularly Canadian about Calderon becoming the bench point guard. If his actions actually were reflective of a national characteristic or tendency, wouldn’t it be a Spanish or European one, anyways? TMT, do you mean that Calderon doesn’t show the type of swagger or drive that you think the Raptors need? Or do you mean that as basketball fans, Canadians are more interested in whether a person has a nice personality than in whether they’re an athlete who makes a big impact. I’m just curious.
Apr.26 at 1:33 am
Marko says:
Jose’s humble actions speak for themselves because it shows that he is a great player with talent on and off the court.