khandor’s sports blog

When the team’s GM says stuff like this:

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“I just know that from our standpoint we’re looking at a list of 30 or 45 players that are in this draft class and there’s nobody at 28 or 29 which is where the Miami pick was at this moment, that is going to supercede his talent level or remotely come close to it.” – Bryan Colangelo on James Johnson

Read more: http://raptorsrepublic.com/#ixzz1FBIjpcyc

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Definition: Mendacity

… It is simply astounding that not a single member of the main-stream media confronts it, full force, to expose it as the complete “sham” which it happens to be.The RIGHT question[s] to ask isn’t whether James Johnson is a “better” player than what the Raptors could, possibly, find at the low end of the 1st Round in this summer’s NBA Draft but, rather:

Q1. If that low end 2011/1st Round Draft Pick was to be “packaged” properly with a collection of additional assets, as a “deal sweetener”, per se, “Could it have MORE future value than the player James Johnson?”

and,

Q2. Why on earth is a multi-million [billion?] dollar operation like MLSE concerned with the “cost savings” involved with comparing the monetary value of adding a 2nd-yr player like James Johnson, who will be in the final year of his initial rookie-scale contract next season vs the future monetary value of the low end 1st Round Draft [obtained from Miami] which the Raptors just sent to Chicago, that would come with a guaranteed 3-year salary commitment, in the first place?

PS. Instead of concerning itself with perpetually being under the Salary Cap and the LTT, a hugely profitable operation like MLSE should simply be trying to build a championship-winning calibre franchise. Period.

Last night’s 9th consecutive loss for the Raptors means that Toronto has now plummeted to the 4th worst W-L record in the NBA:

30 Cleveland Cavaliers, 8-37/.178
29 Minnesota Timberwolves, 10-35/.222
28 Sacramento Kings, 10-33/.233 
27 Toronto Raptors, 13-33/.283
26 Washington Wizards, 13-31/.295

and, once again, has a legitimate chance to secure a Top 3 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery.

If the Raptors management group actually has the necessary level of Basketball Acumen to take full advantage of the team’s recent spate of injuries there is no legitimate reason Toronto cannot make a gradual rise in the standings over the course of the next few seasons and become firmly entrenched in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

FRANCHISE STRENGTHS

1. Top 3 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery [?]
2. No. 1 Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. Andrea Bargnani, C
3. No. 9 Selection in the 2009 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. DeMar DeRozan, OG
4. No. 13 Selection in the 2010 NBA Draft Lottery, i.e. Ed Davis, PF
5. $10.8 M Traded Player Exception [TPE], obtained in exchange for Chris Bosh
6. Expiring contract of Reggie Evans [$5.1 M]
7. Expiring contract of Leandro Barbosa [$7.1 M]
8. Starting calibre PG, i.e. Jose Calderon [$9.0 M, plus 2 more years]
9. Rotation calibre PF, i.e. Amir Johnson [$5.0 M, plus 4 more years]
10. Rotation calibre SF, i.e. Linas Kleiza [$5.0 M, plus 2 more years]
11. Rotation calibre PG/OG, i.e. Jerryd Bayless [$2.3 M, plus 1 more year]  
12. Salary Cap space … if the team chooses not to re-sign Sonny Weems [$0.9 M, 1 yr], Joey Dorsey [$0.9 M, 1 yr], Alexis Ajinca [$1.5 M, 1 yr] and Julian Wright [$2.9 M, 1 yr] after this season
13. World-class city with the 3rd largest market in North America
14. 10th most valuable franchise in the NBA
15. Rabid, loyal fan base

FRANCHISE WEAKNESSES

1. The absence of a deep pocketed ownership group that SHOULD BE prepared to EXCEED the Salary Cap and the Luxury Tax Threshold on an ANNUAL BASIS.

2. The absence of a highly respected General Manager with first-hand experience in the construction/operation of a championship-winning organization.

3. The absence of a highly respected Head Coach with first-hand experience in the construction/operation of a championship-winning organization.

4. An organizational culture which has failed to prioritize the winning of the League Championship as The Standard for Team Success.

5. An organizational culture which has failed to prioritize Team Defense, Team Rebounding and Team Offense as the THREE MAIN COMPONENTS required for Team Success.

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The fact is …

In the 16 year history of the Raptors franchise, there have already been 3 prior occasions when the team was well-positioned to begin a gradual climb towards the top of the Eastern Conference:

First, when Toronto used the No. 4 Selection in the 1998 NBA Draft to pick Antawn Jamison/PF and then immediately traded him to obtain Vince Carter/SF-OG [No. 5 Selection, Golden State Warriors];

1998-1999, 23 wins
1999-2000, 45 wins [up ... but, failed to retain the services of Tracy McGrady]
2000-2001, 47 wins [up]
2001-2002, 42 wins [down]
2002-2003, 24 wins [down]

Second, when Toronto used the No. 4 Selection in the 2003 NBA Draft to pick Chris Bosh/C-PF;

2003-2004, 33 wins [up]
2004-2005, 33 wins [same ... but, traded Vince Carter]
2005-2006, 27 wins [down]

Third, when Toronto used the No. 1 Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft to pick Andrea Bargnani/C;

2006-2007, 47 wins [up]
2007-2008, 41 wins [down]
2008-2009, 33 wins [down]
2009-2010, 40 wins [up ... but, failed to retain the services of Chris Bosh]
2010-2011, 13 wins so far [down?]

and, in each instance, the opportunity has been wasted by the relatively poor work of their:

i. Ownership Group, whose chief responsibility is to hire the right GM and then stay out of his way; 

ii. General Manager[s], whose chief responsibilities are to: A. Hire the right Head Coach & Staff, and B. Obtain the right mix of players, and then stay out of their way; 

iii. Head Coach[es] and staff[s], whose chief responsibilities are to: A. Fully develop the players on their roster into a highly effective and cohesive group, and B. Win as many games and playoff series as possible, on an annual basis;

with the prime directive being, “The Winning of the League Championship.”  

Hopefully, this time around …

Kyrie Irving/PG, Duke University
Harrison Barnes/SF, University of North Carolina
Jan Veseley/SF, Partizan-Belgrade

the Raptors’ management group doesn’t screw it up, again.   

Toronto Raptors 120
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 105
Complete Game Info

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SUBSTITUTION CHART

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From the Raptors’ perspective …

How the good and bad played out, in last night’s game:

MISSING OUT ON LONG TERM GAIN WHILE ACHIEVING SHORT TERM OBJECTIVES

As of Friday, November 19, 2010 the Raptors’ W-L Record was 4-9/.308, which placed them firmly in the bottom section of the Eastern Conference Standings.

On the heels of consecutive home court victories, over the Philadelphia 76ers and the Houston Rockets, the Raptors then made 2 related trades on Saturday, November 20, 2010, which saw them acquire Jerryd Bayless [PG] and Peja Stojakovic [SF], from the New Orleans Hornets, in exchange for Jarrett Jack [PG], David Andersen [C] and Marcus Banks [PG].

On Sunday, November 21, 2010 the Raptors defeated the visiting Boston Celtics [102-101].

On Wednesday, Novmeber 24, 2010 the Raptors defeated the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, once again, to extend their winning streak to 4 games.

On Friday, November 26, 2010 the Raptors were defeated by the Celtics [101-110], in Boston; while, simultaneously, Ed Davis [PF] was making his debut with the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA’s D-League. Also, it was during this game that Reggie Evans [PF] was lost to injury with a broken foot.

On Sunday, November 28, 2010 the Raptors were resoundingly defeated at the ACC by the visiting Atlanta Hawks; while, simultaneously, Ed Davis was playing his 2nd game with the Bayhawks [vs the Fort Wayne Mad Ants].

Then, in last night’s game, against Washington [at the ACC], the Raptors routed the last place Wizards [127-108] … with both Jerryd Bayless and Ed Davis in their line-up for the first time this season.

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While there have been plenty of so-called “NBA Analysts/Experts” – i.e. including, both, “stats gurus” and non-”stats gurus”- voice their opinion, thus far this season, that the Raptors might have one of the worst rosters in the entire league and, as a result, would most likely finish with one of the worst W-L records, yours truly has not been one of them.

Instead, what has been said in this corner is that:

* In an effort to obtain the rights to one of the Top 3 Selections in the 2011 NBA Draft, what the Raptors should do this season is maintain the status quo, i.e. by retaining the roster that began the 2010-2011 regular season, which includes making no significant trades, keeping Reggie Evans in their regular rotation and keeping Ed Davis out of their line-up for a 12 month period from the date of his initial torn meniscus.

By following this specific course of action, this particular season, the Raptors would give themselves the best opportunity possible to add a legitimate “Top 3 Player” to their future roster which, in turn, would then allow them to make a gradual climb up the standings in the Eastern Conference … over a period of consecutive years … with the ultimate destination being the upper echelon [i.e. Top 4] and achieving full-blown status as a perennial contender for the League Championship.

OTOH …

* If what the Raptors are really trying to do this season is [i] improve their chances of making the playoffs and [ii] sustain their current status as a “competitive” but far-from-top-notch franchise in the middle section of NBA that [iii] achieves an annual profit for its ownership group, then, what the Raptors should do this year is not maintain the status quo, i.e. by upgrading the roster which began the 2010-2011 regular season, which includes making a significant trade, or two, removing Reggie Evans from the regular rotation and replacing him with Ed Davis.

By following this specific course of action, this particular season, the Raptors would give themselves the best opportunity to attain their 3 principal short term objectives, while also ensuring that they make negligible progress towards the long term goal of reaching the upper echelon in the Eastern Conference [i.e. Top 4] and achieving full-blown status as a perennial contender for the League Championship.

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While some active participants in the blogosphere have expressed their opinion that the acquisitions of Bayless and Stojakovic would most likely “downgrade” the Raptors’ current roster, yours truly has made the observation that this would, in fact, not be the case at all … and that, in fact, these changes would most likely bring about the opposite effect for Toronto this season.

For the remainder of this season it should prove to be very interesting to keep track of how Toronto actually performs in each of the following situational categories:

and what the eventual effects will be on their team’s overall development during the course of the next several seasons.

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“Luck is the residue of design.” – Branch Rickey

Put aside for the moment whether or not the Raptors should actually be trying to win as many games as possible this season, given the unique opportunity they have to obtain one of the Top 3 Selections in the 2011 NBA Draft Lottery … which, this specific year, will likely bring with it the chance to add a franchise-changing player like Harrison Barnes, or Kyrie Irving, or Jan Vesely, etc.

Instead, consider what the Raptors’ ”regular rotation” SHOULD BE right now, if the primary goal of the franchise is to win as many games as possible this season, in an effort to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in the last 3 years.

The team’s current roster includes 14 players:

POINT GUARD

#1. Jose Calderon

COMBO GUARD

#2. Jerryd Bayless and #3. Leandro Barbosa

OFF GUARDS

#4. Sonny Weems, and #5. DeMar DeRozan

SMALL FORWARDS

#6. Linas Kleiza, #7. Peja Stojakovic [injured], and #8. Julian Wright

POWER FORWARDS

#9. Reggie Evans [injured], #10. Amir Johnson, #11. Ed Davis [debut - TBD, after pre-season knee surgery], and #12. Joey Dorsey

CENTER

#13. Andrea Bargnani, and #14. Solomon Alabi 

A comparison between: [i] The Raptors Rotation vs Atlanta, and [ii] What the Raptors Rotation SHOULD BE vs Future Opponents would look like this:

Until Stojakovic and Evans are eventually able to return to the line-up, the Raptors would actually give themselves the best chance of winning games by taking advantage of:

- DeRozan’s size and athleticism at the OG position [relative to Weems] 

- Wright’s size and athleticism at the SF position [relative to DeRozan]

- Johnson’s increased agility and scoring ability at the PF position [relative to Dorsey]

- Barbosa’s speed in transition and his overall experience at the Back-up PG position [relative to Bayless]

- Weems’ size and athleticism at the Back-up OG position [relative to Barbosa]

- Davis’ size and athleticism at the Back-up PF position [relative to Kleiza]

- Bayless’ ability to score the ball at the Back-up OG/PG position [relative to Wright]

- Dorsey’s size and athleticism at the Back-up PF/C position [relative to an open roster spot]

and, in the process, diminishing the negative effects of the skill deficiencies of Andrea Bargnani [C] – who is now their best scorer – by focusing on their combined ability to Defend and Rebound at the other positions in a superior way to what they were ever able to do with Jarrett Jack [PG], Marcus Banks [PG] and David Andersen [C] on their roster. 

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PS. Since the belief of this corner is that it’s best for the Raptors to actually lose as many games as possible this season … in order to obtain the highest draft pick possible, this specific year … hopefully Jay Triano & Co. are never able to figure out for themselves the benefits of using a regular rotation like what’s been recommended here.

In Friday’s loss at Boston, the Raptors lost the services of Reggie Evans [PF] … their best rebounder, by far … for an extended period of time.

Then, in yesterday’s loss vs Atlanta, Peja Stojakovic – recently acquired via trade – was also sidelined with “soreness in his knee”, and unable to play.

Together with the fact that 1st-year players Ed Davis [PF] and Soloman Alabi [C] played their 2nd games with the Erie Bayhawks [i.e. the Raptors' D-League affiliate] yesterday, this meant Toronto took the floor against the Hawks with only 10 players in uniform.

Given the players on the Raptors’ roster right now:

the eventual outcome against Atlanta should not have come as a surprise at all.

At this specific juncture of the season, and with the following slate of games on the immediate horizon:

Of far greater significance, perhaps, is the opportunity which is now presented to the Raptors … i.e. to benefit long term from this most “unfortunate” turn of events.

By resisting the urge to:

1. Make a subsequent roster move to replace Reggie Evans’ rebounding;

2. Use the remainder of their TPE [obtained from Miami in the Chris Bosh trade];

3. Fire their head coach, Jay Triano, as a scapegoat for this season’s poor W-L record;

4. Make a push for the No. 8 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference this year;

what the Raptors’ basketball brain-trust should do, instead, is simply:

i. Sit back and swallow the bitter pill which goes with having one of the weakest rosters in the entire NBA;

ii. Use Alabi and Davis as strictly part-time players in their regular rotation for the rest of the season [or, in Davis' case, sit him out for the whole year to fully recover from his torn meniscus injury, suffered in the pre-season];

and,

iii. Lose as many games, as possible, for the rest of this season, in an effort to secure the future rights to a Top 3 Selection in the 2011 NBA Draft;

By following this recipe, what the Raptors could well succeed in doing … if they play their cards properly! … is setting themselves up for an extended run in the upper portion of the Eastern Conference during the latter half of the next decade [i.e. 2015-2020] with a Core Group of Players that should/could look something like this:

[Temporary] Starting PG – Jose Calderon [who will eventually become the back-up]
Starting OG – DeMar DeRozan
Starting SF – Harrison Barnes [or, Jan Vesely]
Starting PF – Ed Davis
Starting C – Andrea Bargnani [or, the asset acquired in a future trade involving him]

Back-up PG – Jerryd Bayless [or, Kyrie Irving]
Back-up OG – Sonny Weems
Back-up SF – Linas Kleiza, or Julian Wright
Back-up PF – Amir Johnson
Back-up C – Solomon Alabi

Head Coach – TBD

in addition to the other assets that can also be obtained from the future acquisitions involving [i] the rest of the TPE, [ii] Reggie Evans, [iii] Leandro Barbosa and [iv] Peja Stojakovic.

As the great Branch Rickey first said, a good many years ago:

“Luck [properly understood] is [most definitely] the residue of design.” 

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PS. OTOH … if your pro team sports organization is geared strictly towards the making of an annual ”bottom line” profit, in a safe and secure way, then, it really does not matter one iota just how many times you choose to look an actual gift horse in the mouth and, in the process, allow opportunity after opportunity … for greatness … to slip through your proverbial fingers. 

Unlike previous seasons, post-game analysis of specific Raptors losses this year will be in short supply around these parts.

Q1. How come?

A1. Because … in all likelihood … there are going to be a high number of defeats this season which are basically of the same variety, and after a while it gets rather monotonous to repeat the same critiques of this organizations errors, ad infinitum, with little hope for improvement anytime soon.

The outcome of last night’s game was never really in doubt at any point after the Warriors took their first lead of the game, at the 7:18 mark of the 1st quarter.

As long time readers of this blog should already be aware …

If you:

i. Examine the PLAY-BY-PLAY of the game;

and, then,

ii. The associated SUBSTITUTION CHART: