Every summer, since he was appointed to the position of President/GM for the Toronto Raptors, Bryan Colangelo has “wheeled and dealed”, in an effort to create a player roster which he believes is capable of competing effectively in the Eastern Conference AND – according to what he says each off season – making significant headway, long term, in the standings.
In reality, however, his series of moves each summer have turned out … in the end … to be wrong:
2006-2007, 47-35 [achieved by adding a series of 'stop-gap' players]
2007-2008, 41-41
2008-2009, 33-49
2009-2010, 40-42
and, basically:
1. Have improved the future of the franchise very little, if at all;
while,
2. Keeping the team’s fanbase thoroughly ‘engaged’;
and,
3. Consistently making huge sums of money for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd.
This is what the Raptors have now done, since the 2009-2010 regular season ended:
[including the proposed trades which have been reported by the Arizona Republic]
- acquired Ed Davis [No. 13 Selection in the 2010 NBA Draft]
- acquired Solomon Alabi [No. 50 Selection in the 2010 NBA Draft]
- re-signed Amir Johnson
- added PJ Carlesimo as an assistant coach
- acquired Linas Kleiza [if Denver declines to match Toronto's offer sheet]
- traded Chris Bosh [to Miami]
- re-acquired one 1st Round Draft Pick [2011, Toronto's own selection]
- acquired one 1st Round Draft Pick [2011, Miami's selection]
- acquired a TPE [from Miami]
- traded Hedo Turkoglu? [to Phoenix]
- acquired Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones? [from Phoenix]
- traded Dwayne Jones? [to Charlotte]
- acquired Boris Diaw with the acquired TPE? [from Charlotte]
Has your head stopped spinning yet?
To this point, this is the response from the team’s rabid fanbase,
e.g. Hedo Turkoglu traded to Suns for Leandro Barbosa.
Which is to say … more-or-less … the giving of tacit approval.
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Q1. In that vortex of opinion, however, who should you pay close attention to when it comes to properly evaluating what these latest moves might mean for the Raptors going forward?
A1. The Jul 12, 2010 at 7:15 am comment belongs to yertu damkule:
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but, as it stands right now, the only question i have is: ‘does Bryan Colangelo understand what ‘rebuild’ actually means? this seems like just another patch job – middling players acquired who will have no long-term connection to the franchise and who will only ‘steal’ PT from those who do figure to be long-term fixtures.
of course, i guess we have to appreciate the fact that he’s ridding the team of turk, who would have been, IMO, locker room poison & a guy you just don’t want the young guys having anything to do with. still…part of me was kinda/sorta hoping that hedo would still be with the team in the fall, would come in with a changed attitude & play himself into a desireable commodity, so he could be moved for something of a little more substance than barbosa. all things considered, though, thumbs up. he (barbosa) ain’t the player he once was, but he was one of the few suns whose game didn’t seem entirely dependant on nash – he’s a capable backup PG/SG…great at neither, decent at both, but his speed & finishing ability is appealing. i don’t think he’s a great defender by any stretch, but he’s got a huge wingspan & more than enough quickness to disrupt passing lanes at the top of the key & to prevent the easy ‘turning of the corner’ by the ball-handler. the biggest concern is that he’s no longer an average shooter from distance, and that’s something that is really gonna hurt TO this year. they don’t really have ‘spread-the-floor’ guys in the backcourt & wing spots…i guess if they hold onto jose, and the kleiza deal goes through they’ll have a couple…and there’s always bargs.
as for diaw – i’ll hold off comment until it gets finalized. if yyma is correct, and it’s both diaw & chandler coming back (not sure how that would work, numbers-wise), it becomes a completely different deal.
as happy as i am about turk leaving, i’m still scratching my head over how these moves help the team find some kind of direction. they’re clearly not rebuilding – these are treadmill moves, designed to placate the mob, keep the raps ‘contending’ (for a playoff spot), etc. of course, they weren’t exactly gonna be rebuilding with turk either, so who cares?
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In this instance, his voice is the one of reason.
After spending 7 seasons with the Raptors franchise, what Chris Bosh finally realized last week, sadly, is that the Toronto sports franchises owned by MLSE are little more than intricately woven ‘dramas’, conceived and operated for the purpose of ‘profiteering’ in a highly specific way:
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Macbeth, Act 5 Scene 5
MACBETH
Wherefore was that cry?The queen, my lord, is dead.To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
SEYTON
MACBETH
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
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Are you truly aware of just how much money the owner of a laundromat is capable of making, at your expense, if you are willing to simply sit in a chair each week and watch as the ‘wash, rinse and dry’ cycle is repeated, ad infinitum?
A pox on the house of MLSE!
… for continuing to conduct its ‘business’ in this way, i.e re-shuffling the deck, yet again … with no real intention to put themselves in position to be able to contend for a league championship at some point in the not-too-distant future.
Kudos to Chris Bosh for finally getting out of this quagmire.
In all likelihood, given the collection of players and coaches on Toronto’s roster for next season:
[which might look like this in the next few days]
PG: Calderon, Jack and Banks
OG: Weems, Barbosa and Belinelli
SF: DeRozan and Kleiza
PF: Diaw [SF], Johnson, Davis, Evans and Dorsey
C: Bargnani and Alabi
Coaches: Triano, Carlesimo, Iavaroni, English, Nori and Hughes
the Raptors will be ‘stuck’ firmly in the middle of the Eastern Conference …
Tier One
Boston, Orlando and Miami
Tier Two
Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and Washington
[NOTE: Tier Two will be further sub-divided as the off season moves along.]
‘competing’ for a mid-to-lower tier playoff position …
as a Treadmill Team, going nowhere fast.
Cha-ching!
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PS. FWIW, do not think for a minute that the Raptors are now done making personnel moves this summer. If nothing else, Bryan Colangelo has consistently shown himself to be a very ‘hard-working’ GM.