If Sixers' center Samuel Dalembert has his way, his season will start in August as he makes his debut for the Canadian national team as it participates in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2 in Las Vegas.

But in order for the 6-foot-11 centre to be able to play he needs to establish Canadian citizenship, which is far from a done deal. Born in Haiti, Dalembert, 26, followed his parents to Montreal as a 13-year-old but has studied and worked in the United States since he was 15 in pursuit of his NBA dream.

He began pursuit of his Canadian dream in earnest last week as he spent several days in Toronto trying to join Steve Nash and Jamaal Magloire as the only Canadian citizens playing in the NBA.

When we last heard of Keon Clark in 2005, the former Raptors forward was 30 years old and still sought after by NBA general managers. As of yesterday afternoon, according to the Toronto Star, he was wanted by Illinois police.

A warrant for his arrest on felony charges of drunk driving with a suspended licence was issued on Sunday, and if Clark's latest run-in with the law was an anomaly, it might not merit mention. But earlier this month Clark pleaded guilty to cocaine- and gun-possession felonies for which he'll be sentenced in July in his hometown of Danville, Ill. And his frequency of transgressions is such that one of the local newspapers has occasionally taken to headlining stories about his missteps with the tag: "Keon Watch."

"The boy is just self-destructing in public, and it's painful," said Frank Young, a state's attorney in Danville. "You hate to see a young man destroy himself after he's worked so hard and accomplished so much ... You're just going, `Wake up.'"

Head coach Sam Mitchell's new deal with the Toronto Raptors is about to become official.

Mitchell's multi-year contract will be announced Tuesday afternoon, according to the Toronto Star.

The 43-year-old will reportedly earn a base salary of US$12 million over three years, with an option on a fourth year. The contract will come with performance incentives.

His contract was set to expire June 30. He had been the lowest-paid coach in the NBA in the final year of his deal.

NBA coach of the year Sam Mitchell agreed to a new contract with the Toronto Raptors on Friday, The Canadian Press reported.

The Canadian Press, citing an unidentified source close to the negotiations, said the official announcement could come as early as Tuesday.

Reigning NBA coach of the year Sam Mitchell made his most definitive statement yet about his future while he was a guest on ESPN before the playoff match-up between the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons Thursday night.

"I expect to be back in Toronto; it's a great fit for me," Mitchell said. "I know the players, Bryan Colangelo and I work well together, we understand each other. Right now we're in the process of negotiating a deal and hopefully we'll have something for next week."

According to NBA sources, talks between Raptors president Colangelo and Mitchell's agent Lonnie Cooper have been progressing well this week.

It's believed Mitchell and his representatives have the framework of a deal, including salary and length of term.

"Things are trending positively," one source close to both parties said.

Raptors' GM Bryan Colangelo has turned down one National Basketball Association team interested in speaking with his head coach Sam Mitchell.

Mitchell's contract expires June 30 and Colangelo said yesterday talks are under way to sign the NBA coach of the year to an extension.

One team officially sought permission to speak to Mitchell, but was denied. Another team asked informally about a timeline that needed to be followed.

"The response was basically I'm not prepared to release Sam to speak to other teams at this stage," Colangelo remarked. "It's far too early in the process and we're not at that point yet."

For the second time in his career, Bryan Colangelo, President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, was named The Sporting News? NBA Executive of the Year. Colangelo also received the honor in 2004-05 when he guided the Phoenix Suns to the third-greatest turnaround in NBA history.

After 15 years with the Suns, Colangelo, 41, joined the Raptors on Feb. 28, 2006, and  began building the roster around star forward Chris Bosh. With the top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Colangelo selected Andrea Bargnani.  Under Colangelo?s first full season at the helm, Toronto won its first Atlantic Division title, earned home court advantage in the Playoffs for the first time in team history and won a franchise record-tying 47 wins ? a 20-win improvement over the 2005-06 season.

For his outstanding work with the Raptors, his fellow executives gave him 20 of the 45 votes cast.  Finishing second in the voting was Rockets General Manager Carroll Dawson who received 9 votes.  Seven other executives received votes for the award. Colangelo?s father, Jerry, won the award four times.

Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo will be announced as the National Basketball Association executive of the year Monday, according to league sources.

The 41 year-old executive engineered an NBA-best 20-win reversal in his first full season running the team since coming over from the Phoenix Suns at the end of the 2005-2006 season.

Colangelo used salary cap space to sign three veteran free agents and two from Europe ? Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker ? who were starters on a team that tied a franchise record with 47 wins and earned the Raptors their first Atlantic Division title.

He added a third starter by trading Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford, who joined with Jose Calderon to form one of the NBA's best point guard tandems. A fourth starter, Rasho Nesterovic, was acquired in a trade that sent little used Matt Bonner and Eric Williams to the San Antonio Spurs.

Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers, the
2006-07 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year, headlines a talented group of rookies named to the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Team, the NBA announced today.

Roy is joined on the T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team by Toronto?s Andrea Bargnani (57 points), Minnesota?s Randy Foye (48 points), Memphis? Rudy Gay (39  points), Toronto?s Jorge Garbajosa (37 points) and Portland?s LaMarcus Aldridge (37 points).

Marcus Williams of the Nets joins Utah?s Paul Millsap, Charlotte teammates Adam Morrison and Walter Hermann, Chicago?s Tyrus Thomas, Minnesota?s Craig Smith and Boston?s Rajon Rondo on the All-Rookie Second Team.

Raptors coach Sam Mitchell is believed to be the Indiana Pacers' top choice to replace the fired Rick Carlisle. The Raptors' season ended Friday when they lost to New Jersey in the playoffs.

The Pacers have to ask permission to speak to Mitchell since he is under contract with the Raptors until June 30. Charlotte reportedly also is interested in Mitchell, who won NBA Coach of the Year honors.

Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo, who has said in the past he wants to re-sign Mitchell, told Toronto reporters Saturday he's not sure he will give teams permission to talk to his coach.

"I think it depends on how the conversations go out of the gate," Colangelo told reporters. "I need to have a preliminary conversation before I can answer that fairly. It's a good question and one that I'll have a better feel for once we have a firm and concrete and realistic conversation with (Mitchell's agent) Lonnie (Cooper)."