Where would the Raptors be today, if …
Saturday, December 12th, 2009Following last night’s deflating home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the conference standings in the East look like this:
| Eastern | W | L | PCT | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | L 10 | STREAK |
| Boston1 | 18 | 4 | 0.818 | 0.0 | 12-3 | 5-0 | 8-3 | 10-1 | 9-1 | W 9 |
| Orlando2 | 17 | 6 | 0.739 | 1.5 | 13-3 | 3-1 | 7-2 | 10-4 | 7-3 | L 2 |
| Atlanta3 | 16 | 6 | 0.727 | 2.0 | 9-4 | 2-2 | 9-2 | 7-4 | 6-4 | W 3 |
| Cleveland4 | 16 | 7 | 0.696 | 2.5 | 10-5 | 4-1 | 9-2 | 7-5 | 7-3 | W 1 |
| Miami5 | 11 | 10 | 0.524 | 6.5 | 7-5 | 3-2 | 6-6 | 5-4 | 4-6 | L 1 |
| Milwaukee6 | 10 | 11 | 0.476 | 7.5 | 6-7 | 2-3 | 8-3 | 2-8 | 2-8 | W 1 |
| Detroit7 | 10 | 12 | 0.455 | 8.0 | 8-5 | 1-3 | 7-4 | 3-8 | 5-5 | W 4 |
| Charlotte8 | 9 | 12 | 0.429 | 8.5 | 8-10 | 2-2 | 8-3 | 1-9 | 6-4 | L 1 |
| Toronto | 10 | 15 | 0.400 | 9.5 | 7-8 | 0-1 | 6-5 | 4-10 | 3-7 | L 2 |
| Chicago | 8 | 13 | 0.381 | 9.5 | 5-8 | 3-2 | 6-3 | 2-10 | 2-8 | W 1 |
| Indiana | 7 | 13 | 0.350 | 10.0 | 5-6 | 0-1 | 5-6 | 2-7 | 2-8 | W 1 |
| Washington | 7 | 13 | 0.350 | 10.0 | 6-10 | 1-4 | 4-6 | 3-7 | 4-6 | L 3 |
| New York | 8 | 15 | 0.348 | 10.5 | 4-10 | 2-2 | 4-8 | 4-7 | 5-5 | W 4 |
| Philadelphia | 5 | 18 | 0.217 | 13.5 | 5-10 | 3-2 | 3-8 | 2-10 | 0-10 | L 12 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 21 | 0.087 | 16.5 | 2-13 | 0-5 | 1-8 | 1-13 | 2-8 | L 2 |
Prior to the 2009 NBA Draft, however, these were some of the players who were recommended in this space for the Toronto Raptors:
Terrence Williams [OG-SF, New Jersey, 1st Rd]
Earl Clark [SF-PF, Phoenix, 1st Rd]
Derrick Brown [SF-PF, Charlotte, 2nd Rd]
Taj Gibson [PF, Chicago, 1st Rd]
Dante Cunningham [PF, Portland, 2nd Rd]
Marcus Thornton [OG, New Orleans, via Miami, 2nd Rd]
Nando De Colo [OG-SF, San Antonio, 2nd Rd]
Prior to the 4-team trade that involved the Raptors, Magic, Mavericks and Grizzlies, it was also suggested here that Toronto should:
|
1. Trade Jason Kapono. |
| 2. Either: A. Re-sign Shawn Marion; or, B. Let him walk away, as an UFA. |
| 3. Retain the services of their own Free Agents. |
| 4. Retain the services of useful still-young players like Kris Humphries and Roko Ukic. |
| 5. Retain the services of an experienced, NBA proven and successful head coach who prioritizes Team Defense and Rebounding. |
|
6. Obtain the services of a cost-effective veteran Back-up Point Guard, Combination Off Guard/Small Forward, and Center. |
If the Raptors would have followed those recommendations, instead of:
| 1. Drafting DeMar DeRozan [No. 9, overall]; and, |
| 2. Acquiring the services of Hedo Turkoglu, Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright, Marco Belinelli, Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems; and, |
| 3. Giving Jay Triano a contract extension. |
culminating with a roster that looks like the middle column in the following chart:
|
TORONTO RAPTORS ROSTER |
|||
|
Role |
End 2008-2009 |
Suggested 2009-2010 |
Current 2009-2010 |
|
STARTERS |
|||
|
1 |
Jose Calderon |
Jose Calderon * |
Jose Calderon * |
|
2 |
Anthony Parker |
Anthony Parker * |
DeMar DeRozan |
|
3 |
Shawn Marion |
Jamario Moon ** |
Hedo Turkoglu |
|
4 |
Chris Bosh |
Shawn Marion * |
Chris Bosh * |
|
5 |
Andrea Bargnani |
Chris Bosh * |
Andrea Bargnani [CE] * |
|
KEY SUBS |
|||
|
6 |
Roko Ukic |
Earl Watson |
Jarrett Jack |
|
7 |
Jason Kapono |
Marcus Thornton |
Marco Belinelli |
|
8 |
Joey Graham |
Derrick Brown |
Antoine Wright |
|
9 |
Kris Humphries |
Kris Humphries * |
Reggie Evans |
|
10 |
Jake Voskuhl |
Andrea Bargnani * |
Rasho Nesterovic ** |
|
RESERVES |
|||
|
11 |
Quincy Douby |
Roko Ukic * |
Sonny Weems |
|
12 |
Pops Mensah-Bonsu |
Reggie Evans |
Amir Johnson |
|
OTHERS |
|||
|
13 |
Marcus Banks |
Marcus Banks * |
Marcus Banks * |
|
14 |
Nathan Jawai |
Joey Graham * |
Pops Mensah-Bonsu * |
|
15 |
Patrick O’Bryant |
Rasho Nesterovic ** |
Patrick O’Bryant * |
|
HC |
Jay Triano |
Jeff Van Gundy or Avery Johnson |
Jay Triano [CE] * |
|
Legend: HC – Head Coach; * - Played with team previous season; ** - Played for Raptors before; UFA – Unrestricted Free Agent; RFA – Restricted Free Agent; Blue – UFA, retained; Purple – RFA, re-acquired; Green – UFA, acquired; Red – 2009 Draft Pick; Orange – Acquired via trade; Brown – RFA, acquired; Turquoise – Signed new head coach; CE – Contract Extension. |
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Yours truly thinks they would.
It’s by developing and then implementing a sound Basketball Philosophy … which emphasizes the importance of [I] Team Defense, [II] Rebounding, and [III] Shared Team Offense, in this order … maintaining general roster stability, from one season to the next, while acquiring Quality Depth, and obtaining the services of an experienced and successful NBA head coach, that the Raptors would be able to fundamentally alter the direction of their franchise and construct the type of championship-calibre organization which UFA’s like Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James, etc., would willingly CHOOSE to play for, if they have their druthers, either, this coming off season or further down-the-road.