khandor’s sports blog

The chief reason an article like this:

ESPN: Toronto is the armpit of professional sports

exists in the first place is because an operation like Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment [MLSE] is still being run by a man who says stuff like this:

Grange on MLSE: One final task for Peddie

“We’re a $1.8-billion business and we haven’t made the playoffs.”
- Richard Peddie [CEO, MLSE]

on a regular basis.

Until there is a fundamental change at the very top of this corporation there is just no way MLSE is ever going to be able to field a team that is good enough to win a League Championship.

Championship success in the world of pro sports starts at the top and then filters down through each and every level of the organization.

If the top position is held by a person with the WRONG motivation to succeed … then, unfortunately, it is doomed to be a “title-less” failure.

According to Raptors beat reporter Doug Smith:

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Casey or Frank next Raptors coach

According to multiple NBA sources, the Raptors have narrowed the search for a new coach to two men: Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey and Boston Celtic assistant Lawrence Frank.

Sources say president and general manager Bryan Colangelo has a strong desire to have a new coach in place as long before the June 23 NBA draft as possible but he cannot even begin interviewing Casey until the Mavericks are finished their NBA final series against the Miami Heat.

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Despite what Mr. Smith suggests are the ”strengths and weaknesses” of these two respective candidates, Raptors fans should also be made aware of the following biographical information concerning these two men, as prospective future head coaches in Toronto:

Dwayne Casey

Lawrence Frank

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Although neither Lawrence Frank nor Dwayne Casey is actually the type of Transformational Coach that the Raptors will need to eventually take their franchise to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference … if you examine the track record of Bryan Colangelo:

each at least has some of the necessary ingredients to improve the team’s on-court performance next season – including the ability to prioritize rebounding and team defense – which is actually what is most important right now to the team’s GM, since he just signed only a 2-year contract extension with MLSE.

Tim Chisholm [TSN] authoured the following blog entry at 12:14:00 PM, on May 27 2011:

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Raptors need to evaluate coaching options

With Bryan Colangelo locked-up for the next two-to-three years to run the organization, the Toronto Raptor’s attention shifts to the head coaching chair, a position almost as controversial as Colangelo’s has been over the last couple of seasons.

Currently that seat is occupied by Jay Triano, as it has been for the last two-and-a-half seasons. But with the team needing to exercise an option in his contract next month to keep him around, it would appear some serious due diligence is being done before handing him the keys to his third training camp with the Raptors.

Colangelo has been extremely supportive of Triano’s efforts over the years. Even with his career .380 winning percentage as head coach, Triano looked like a safe bet to return to the sidelines to at least finish out his contract next season. However, despite Colangelo’s new contract, Triano’s option has still not been picked up.

While most saw it mostly as a formality, Colangelo spoke with atypical evasiveness when it came to Triano’s future on a recent interview on The Score Radio. Here is a brief excerpt from that interview:

“We really want to talk philosophically about [defense and offensive efficiency] and I think at the end of the day we know enough about each other that there’s probably a good understanding,” said Colangelo. “But we really have to talk in earnest, and discuss this particular season. Talk about the progress that’s been made with Jay at the helm and then decide whether or not he’s the right guy going forward.”

Colangelo then went on to say, “I’m going to defer until I’ve actually carried all of that out, and worked through some of those things with Jay, and at some point in the next few weeks we’re gonna know if that’s the direction we’re going in.”

Okay, so it’s not exactly a controversial statement, but it certainly carries a lot less overt support than his season-ending press conference did. There Colangelo applauded Triano for the sacrifices he’d made by playing the young players and how every player, to a man, thought he did a great job as head coach.

This week, Colangelo made a point of explaining that he has questions that need to be addressed before he’s willing to fully commit to Triano next season. Anyone who has watched Triano’s teams can see that defence has been a major area of weakness. This year the team’s offence wasn’t strong enough to help counter that deficiency as it sometimes did in the past.

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Then, as of Wed-Jun-01-2011, Jay Triano is no longer the Raptors’ head coach.

If, however, you take a look at the landing page for Tim Chisholm’s blog today:

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[most recent entry]

Mavericks face tough task against Heat in Finals [May 30 2011]

Missing Blog Entry?

Who will the Raptors be looking at for the draft? [May 20 2011]

Colangelo extension wise for rebuilding Raptors [May 18 2011]

Mavericks experience faces Thunder’s youth [May 17 2011]

Breaking down the Eastern Conference Finals [May 13 2011]

- etc.

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You will not find any reference there, at all, to the specific entry concerning the fate of Jay Triano … which is an extremely curious development, especially, in light of the most recent “tweet” from Mr. Chisholm, which reads as follows:

=======================================================

 @timpchisholm Tim Chisholm

6 hours ago

=======================================================

As yours truly has mentioned here several times before, things could get very interesting, very quickly, in Raptorville, if the ‘right people’ are actually put in place at the top end of Toronto’s management structure, and the resources which this franchise has always had access to are, in fact, utilized astutely, from a strictly ‘basketball’ perspective.

When the Toronto Raptors announced that Bryan Colangelo [President/GM] has agreed to a 2-year contract extension, the CEO of MLSE [Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment] provided the following explanation to the media:

“Bryan and the board worked closely to help create a “winning plan” for the Raptors and today the board gave Bryan their 100% support to continue the rebuilding job he started this year“. – Richard Peddie

Although the development of something called a “winning plan” might sound impressive to the “average” Raptors fan … in reality … it epitomizes the “corporate mendacity” put forth by MLSE since 2003.

Read this specific quote again. Then, ask yourself the following 3 questions:

1. What precisely does the CEO of MLSE see the Raptors “winning”?

2. By when does the CEO of MLSE see the Raptors accomplishing this precise feat?

3. How does the CEO of MLSE see the Raptors accomplishing this precise feat?

The fact is …

Any plan without tangible, achievable, measurable objectives is devoid of meaning … regardless of how good it might seem, as a media sound-bite.

Since 2003, when Steve Stavro [i.e. majority owner] sold his stake in MLSE, the Toronto Raptors franchise has been one of the worst performing on-court teams in the NBA:

2003-2004, 33-49/.402, Missed Playoffs [#10]
2004-2005, 33-49/.402, Missed Playoffs [#11]
2005-2006, 27-55/.329, Missed Playoffs [#12], No. 1 Selection, NBA Draft Lottery
2006-2007, 47-35/.573 Made Playoffs [#3 seed], Lost 1st Round
2007-2008, 41-41/.500, Made Playoffs [#6 seed], Lost 1st Round
2008-2009, 33-49/.402, Missed Playoffs [#13]
2009-2010, 40-42/.488, Missed Playoffs [#9]
2010-2011, 22-60/.268, Missed Playoffs [#14]

while, simultaneously, being one of its most profitable.

As long as the Executive Leadership of this organization remains the same, it is complete folly to expect the Raptors, or the Maple Leafs, to be able to build a championship-winning team, since there is simply no will – and, consequently, no plan in place – to make this happen.

Kudos to the Raptors’ head coach for the dignified way he handled himself during today’s proceedings at the ACC.

Jay Triano’s End of Season Press Conference:

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

It is going to be very interesting indeed to hear what Bryan Colangelo will have to say … concerning such topics as:

i. His own contract status beyond June 30, 2011;

ii. Andrea Bargnani’s future role with the Raptors;

iii. The Raptors’ current ranking as the worst defensive team in the NBA;

iv. Jay Triano’s contract status beyond June 30, 2011;

and,

v. The opportunity to use the rest of the TPE – obtained in the Chris Bosh trade with Miami - which is set to expire later this summer 

… during his own end-of-season press conference on Monday, April 18, considering the team’s W-L results for the last 5+ seasons:

In the aftermath of losing their 59th game of the season, Jay Triano appraised the Raptors’ performance in the following way:

“It’s bitter. I mean, I don’t think anybody’s happy with our record. But at the same time there was some positives this year. The development of our players is probably the plus.”

Question

What exact “development” is the Raptors head coach speaking about when he makes a statement like this?

Answer

Is he speaking about their individual improvement at the Defensive end of the floor? [... where the team has traditionally been amongst the worst in the NBA]

Is he speaking about their individual improvement in terms of Rebounding? [... where the team has traditionally been amonst the worst in the NBA]

Or …

Is he speaking about their individual improvement, primarily, at the offensive end of the floor? [... where the team has traditionally been amonst the best in the NBA]

If you look at the chart above, you should be able to see clearly that one of the MAIN problems which the Raptors organization has had for quite some time is its inability to properly understand where the emphasis SHOULD be placed, if a franchise in the NBA has legitimate aspirations to move into the upper echelon, on a long term basis.

Pretty is, as pretty does … in this league.

Until MLSE, Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano & Co., actually figure this out … everything else is, to a great extent, fundamentally immaterial.

With only 1 game remaining in the 2010-2011 regular season schedule, this is what the organizational flow chart looks like for the Toronto Raptors [22-59/.272, 5th/Atlantic Division, 14th/Eastern Conference]:

OWNERSHIP [MLSE, Board of Directors]
Larry Tanenbaum, Kilmer Sports Inc.
Richard Peddie, Chairman of the Board & NBA Governor
Ashvin Malkani, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Bob Bertram, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Glen Silvestri, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Robert MacLellan, TD Capitol Group
Dale Lastman, Goodmans LLP

MANAGEMENT
President/GM, Bryan Colangelo *
Senior Basketball Advisor, Wayne Embry
Senior Vice-President, Basketball Operations, Maurizio Gherardini
Senior Director, Scouting, Jim Kelly
Senior Director, Basketball Administration, Steve Fruitman
Assistant General Manager, Marc Eversley
Director of Player Development, Alvin Williams
Scout, Bob Zuffelato

COACHIN STAFF
Head, Jay Triano *
Assistant, PJ Carlesimo
Assistant, Alex English *
Assistant, Micah Nori *
Assistant, Scott Roth *
Assistant [Basketball Development], Eric Hughes *
Assistant [Strength & Conditioning], Francesco Cuzzolin *

STARTERS
PG, Jose Calderon
OG, DeMar DeRozan
SF, Linas Kleiza [or James Johnson]
PF, Reggie Evans *
C, Andrea Bargnani

KEY SUBS
PG, Jerryd Bayless
OG, Leandro Barbosa *
SF, James Johnson [or Linas Kleiza]
PF, Amir Johnson
PF, Ed Davis

RESERVES
OG/SF, Sonny Weems *
C, Alexis Ajinca *

EXTRAS/OUTS
SF, Julian Wright *
PF, Joey Dorsey *
C, Solomon Alabi

Legend: * – Possible Free Agent This Summer.

OTHER ASSETS [tangible]
Traded Player Exception [Chris Bosh], @ $9.0 M
2011 NBA Draft, 1st Round Selection [currently, Pick No. 3, overall]

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The key question, going forward, which needs to be asked, and then answered correctly, by the organization, is:

Considering the strength of the other teams in the East …

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… if ALL their personnel return to their current positions AND only the 2011/1st Round Draft Pick is added to the player roster [with one current player dropped from the team]. 

Pos. Team [Finish/2009-2010, ↑=↓]

1 Chicago Bulls [8th, ↑]
2 Miami Heat [5th, ↑]
3 Boston Celtics [4th, =]
4 Orlando Magic [2nd, ↓]
5 Atlanta Hawks [3rd, ↓]
6 New York Knicks [11th, ↑]
7 Philadelphia 76ers [13th, ↑]
8 Indiana Pacers [10th, ↑]
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9 Milwaukee Bucks [6th, ↓]
10 Charlotte Bobcats [7th, ↓]
11 Detroit Pistons [12th, =]
12 New Jersey Nets [15th, ↑]
13 Washington Wizards [14th, =]
14 Toronto Raptors [9th, ↓]
15 Cleveland Cavaliers [1st, ↓]

Your own answer to this specific question will determine, in large part, how exactly you think the Raptors SHOULD proceed this summer, in terms of making personnel decisions and continuing efforts to build their franchise in the NBA environment.

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PS. FWIW, the perspective from this corner, right now, is that the Raptors should be expected to finish in the No. 9-12 range, once again … which is where the Treadmill Teams reside, on a regular basis.

Whenever someone begins to speculate that Bryan Colangelo might not actually be the “best fit”, as the President/GM of the Toronto Raptors moving forward after this season, one of the first questions brought forward by his undaunting supporters is this:

Who could possibly be hired for this job that could be better suited for it than Bryan Colangelo, a two-time recipient of the NBA’s EOTY Award?

Hmmm …

Courtesy of “Rpsfan95″ [11:59 AM, Friday, April 1, 2011], via Raptors Republic:

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Charles Barkley the next Raptors GM?

Colangelo was replaced by Steve Kerr in Phoenix, this really isn’t even that much of a joke, I think he would do better than BC

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There is now, at least, one correct answer to this question.

In fact …

Should Bryan Colangelo ever not be in the position of President/GM of the Raptors, then, Steve Kerr would be viewed by yours truly as an outstanding hire for this specific job with this NBA franchise, given his personal background AND what he has accomplished in the game, to-date, as a former player, game analyst, and executive.

Kudos to “Rpsfan95″!

… even though, what he actually meant to say was something slightly different.

======================

PS. If history has anything at all to teach, then, it most definitely includes the following two things:

1. You can kill anyone;

and,

2. No one is irreplaceable.

PPS. If/when a team loses its “best player”, there is nothing written in stone that dictates it will not be able to replace him with an adequate performer – or combination of performers – who will fit in well with the supporting cast and still allow the team to flourish.

The performance of the Chicago Bulls without Michael Jordan is perhaps the best example of all.

What determines how well a team can do in such circumstances is … the actual extent to which the architect of that team has succeeded in building a fantastic organization AROUND that “best player”, in the first place.

If the architect has done a good job with this aspect of team building, then, the team still has a decent chance to perform at a relatively high level.

OTOH … if the architect has not done a good job with this aspect of team building, then, the team has very little chance to perform at a relatively high level.

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Now, simply change where it says “best player” above to “High Profile General Manager” … and, the same principles apply for the current situation with the Toronto Raptors and Bryan Colangelo.

Worrying over the potential “loss” of Bryan Colangelo is a giant waste of time.

When assessing accurately the prospects of future success for the Raptors, it is important to keep in mind where the other Eastern Conference franchises are right now and what their chances of future success will be, in comparison with Toronto.

To wit:

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Lose 60 then win 40

As of this day, none of the players on the roster have shown that they can be a future Top 20 player in the league, there’s been glimpses of greatness here and there, but if you watch enough NBA basketball, you know that scrubs everywhere have 20 point games on a nightly basis.

At the same time, a team can’t afford to overhaul every summer, and the reality is that the Raptors will take forward the core of DeRozan, Davis, Johnson and perhaps Bargnani into next year. So what do you with these guys next year? If there is going to be a season, the target for next year has to be 40 wins. That’s a number that signals that a team is good, but lacking a piece or two to take them to the next level. That’s the number where fans can get excited about the future, knowing that they have a stable base. It’s the number that the Raptors have to get to which will signal that they’ve overcome the loss of Chris Bosh and have started anew.

How do you get to 40 wins? Improve defensively. You know the stats, you’ve seen the games, the Raptors are a terrible defensive team (dead last in the NBA for the second straight season) with problems ranging all the way from schemes to personnel to attitude to accountability and the list goes on. There is no hope for this franchise if they don’t become, at the very least, a middle-of-the-pack defensive team by next season.

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If you compare the respective situations for Toronto and Cleveland:

and, then, answer the following poll question:

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it might shed some new light on the correctness of your own perception of exactly where these two franchises actually stand, going forward, in terms of their individual capacity to begin to climb up the league standings next season.

When Bryan Colangelo was hired as the President/GM for the Toronto Raptors [February, 2006], the team’s recent record of achievement looked like this:

2004-2005, 33-49/.402, failed to qualify for the playoffs
2003-2004, 33-49/.402, failed to qualify for the playoffs
2002-2003, 24-58/.293, failed to qualify for the playoffs

In his first partial season with the team, the Raptors had a W-L Record for the last two months which looked like this:

2005-2006, March, 6-10/.375
2005-2006, April, 1-8/.111

At the end of the 2006 season, Bryan Colangelo had the following list of organizational assets at his disposal to build a sound NBA franchise in Toronto over the course of the next 5 seasons [i.e. the length of his original contract]:

1. Chris Bosh [C/PF], No. 4 [overall] Selection in the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery;
2. Significant Salary Cap Space;
3. Rafael Araujo [PF], No. 8 [overall] Selection, 2004 NBA Draft Lottery;
4. Joey Graham [SF], No. 16 [overall] Selection, 2005 NBA Draft;
5. Charlie Villanueva [PF/SF], No. 7 [overall] Selection, 2005 NBA Draft Lottery;
6. Jose Calderon [PG], UFA, Spain, 2005;
7. Morris Peterson [SF/OG], No. 21 [overall] Selection, 2000 NBA Draft;
8. Mike James [PG], UFA, Duquesne University, 2001;
9. Sam Mitchell [HC]; and,
10. 1st Round Selection [No. TBD?], 2006 NBA Draft Lottery.

During the summer of 2006, Bryan Colangelo made the following significant personnel decisions:

i. Acquired Andrea Bargnani [C] with the No. 1 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery;
ii. Acquired PJ Tucker [G/F] with the No. 35 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft;
iii. Acquired TJ Ford [PG], in a trade for Charlie Villanueva [PF/SF];
iv. Signed Anthony Parker, as an UFA [from the Euroleague];
v. Acquired Rasho Nesterovic [C], in a trade for Matt Boner [PF];
vi. Aquired Kris Humphries [PF], in a trade for Rafael Aruajo [PF];
vii. Signed Jorge Garbajosa [PF-SF], as an UFA [from the Euroleague];
viii. Signed Fred Jones [SF], as an UFA [from the Indiana Pacers];
ix. Retained Sam Mitchell [HC];
x. Hired Maurizio Gherardini [Assistant GM] and Marc Eversley [Director of Player Development];

which radically re-structured the roster in a single off-season.

During the 2006-2007 season, the Raptors, then:

- won 47 games [i.e. 573]
- finished 1st in the Atlantic Division [for the first/only time]
- lost in the 1st Round of the playoffs
- finished 13th in attendance [748,603]

Since this high water mark, however, the Raptors have generated the following list of results:

2007-2008
- won 41 games [i.e. 500]
- finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division
- lost in the 1st Round of the playoffs
- finished 9th in attendance [796,835]

2008-2009
- won 33 games [i.e. 402]
- finished 4th in the Atlantic Division
- failed to qualify for the playoffs
- finished 10th in attendance [769,707]

2009-2010
- won 40 games [i.e. .488]
- finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division
- failed to qualify for the playoffs
- finished 14th in attendance [733,784]
- lost the services of Chris Bosh

2010-2011
- will win 20-something? games [i.e. .280-ish?]
- will finish 5th in the Atlantic Division
- will fail to qualify for the playoffs
- will finish lower than 14th in attendance [TBD?]

with the following List of Annual Transactions.

At the end of the 2010-2011 season, Bryan Colangelo will now have the following list of organizational assets under contract for the Raptors next season, if he is rewarded with a contract extension, himself, as the President/GM of the team, in the off-season:

1. Andrea Bargnani [C], No. 1 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery;
2. Ed Davis [PF], No. 13 [overall] Selection, 2010 NBA Draft Lottery
3. DeMar DeRozan [OG/SF], No. 9 [overall] Selection, 2009 NBA Draft Lottery
4. James Johnson [SF/PF], No. 16 [overall] Selection, 2009 NBA Draft Lottery
5. Jose Calderon, UFA, Spain, 2005
6. Linas Kleiza, No. 27 [overall] Selection, 2005 NBA Draft
7. Amir Johnson, No. 56 [overall] Selection, 2005 NBA Draft
8. Jerryd Bayless, No. 11 [overall] Selection, 2008 NBA Draft Lottery
9. Solomon Alabi, No. 50 [overall] Selection, 2008 NBA Draft
10. The remainder of the TPE obtained in the trade with Miami for Chris Bosh
11. Significant Salary Cap Space, if their own potential UFA are not re-signed
12. 1st Round Selection [No. TBD?], 2011 NBA Draft Lottery

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Your constructive explanation of your vote is welcome in the comments section.