Have I Missed Much?

Posted on | August 12, 2010 | 4 Comments

Beach FeetI’ve been around, just busy, and this seemed like a good time to take a bit of a break. Hope everyone’s been having a good summer so far. So what have I missed?

Well, as far as the Raptors are concerned, I haven’t missed too much. There was far too much hullabaloo over a trade for a deep bench player, giving up a 2nd round pick they probably never would have seen anyway. Sure, they could have given the spot to a young player, with more potential, but with four big men under the age of 24, they aren’t hurting for youth, that’s for sure. It certainly doesn’t mean Colangelo is doing anything different than what I hope he does.

The Raptors also lost an assistant coach (Iavaroni), but got a much better one (Carlesimo) with Championship experience, and another good one (Roth). With Triano’s continued development and the addition of Carlesimo and Roth, the coaching staff should be better than last year.

Of course, I woke up this morning to discover that Marco Belinelli has been traded away to New Orleans for Julian Wright. Regular readers know that I am a big fan of Belinelli and I’m sorry to see him go. At best, he’s an excellent 3 point shooter who can handle the ball, get to the line, pass and defend. There were times last year when we saw all of that on display, especially his one and only start. Unfortunately there were also quite a few times when we saw poor shot selection and forcing the action when it wasn’t needed, which meant his minutes weren’t exactly consistent. I recently saw some highlights of a game he played this summer that showed the same off balance shots that drove Raptor fans nuts. While I still think he’s got the tools and potential to be an All-Star in this league, I wonder whether he’ll ever get it.

Still, I understand the move. DeRozan and Weems have solidified their position with the club and in the hearts of Raptor fans by their play in the summer league and their hard work with each other, as well as with Amir Johnson. The “Young Guns” moniker certainly doesn’t hurt their case either. And with Barbosa really an undersized shooting guard, there was a log jam at that position. Belinelli was the odd man out, although from a basketball standpoint, it would have made more sense to move Weems. Weems and DeRozan have similar games and similar weaknesses. Belinelli has the 3 point shooting and ball handling that both those players lack. It’s hard to fault Colangelo for the move, though. Unless, of course, Belinelli becomes an All-Star in New Orleans.

I have to admit, I know very little about Julian Wright except that he is a former lottery pick who is athletic, plays defense and can’t shoot. He should fit in very well with the Young Guns.

I’ll say this about Colangelo. He certainly isn’t shy about changing direction of he feels the need to. If he is successful unloading Calderon, the only Europeans on the roster will be Bargnani and Kleiza. So much for Euroball.

Speaking of unloading Calderon, apparently Charlotte again tried to grab Calderon by involving themselves in the big four team deal that broke the hearts of many a Raptor fan by sending Nick Darren Collison to the Pacers. Not only did it take Collison off the market, but it killed any chance of Indiana trading for Calderon.

The trade is interesting. I think Indiana gets very good value for the expiring contract of Troy Murphy, and clears up their logjam at power forward. New Orleans gets a legit starting small forward who should thrive playing beside Chris Paul. New Jersey gets a year to try out Troy Murphy and gives them depth in the front court. I’m not entirely sold on what Houston gets. They save money and get a nice you shooting guard, but they’re certainly not any better.

A lot of Raptor fans like Houston’s GM, Darryl Morey, but I find him perplexing more than anything. He’s certainly talented at finding low priced talent that can maximize their worth, but he’s never shown any ability to actually build a contender. To me, he seems like a cheap owner’s dream, but not one a fan would choose because he’s never going to build a Champion.

To me, mediocrity is worth than death if I’m a basketball fan. A while ago, a reader of this site said that he’d be happy with a team that simply made it to the second round of the playoffs, but never went to the Finals. That’s just incredibly depressing. Atlanta is a perfect example of this type of team. With their current roster, they’re never, ever going to be a legitimate contender, but when you’re winning 50 games, it’s hard to argue for blowing the team up, and with their bloated payroll, they’re not going to be making any meaningful additions.

Having Joe Johnson walk away this summer might have been the best thing for the franchise in the long term. It would have given them reason to take a step back and rebuild, but by overpaying Johnson, now they pretty much have to keep the roster intact, which means another 50 win season and ouster in either the first or second round.

Atlanta certainly isn’t alone in their race for mediocrity. My beloved Utah seems to have joined the race to the middle. Wes Matthews was a surprise last year as an undrafted free agent and a testament to the abilities of the scouting department. Unfortunately, their accounting department didn’t feel he was worth matching Portland’s offer and let him go. Then they go out and replace Carlos Boozer with Al Jefferson, a guy who is even worse defensively. Jefferson isn’t a bad player, but they really don’t seem to be trying to build a contender in Salt Lake City.

Phoenix is also a member of this club, which pains me when I realize that Steve Nash will never have a chance to win a Championship. Grabbing Turkoglu made very little sense to a team that doesn’t want to overspend, but is willing to spend just enough to win. That’s probably why Steve Kerr left. He realized that winning a Championship wasn’t a goal of owner Robert Sarver.

Of course, I think there are only about five or six owners in the league that are willing to do anything for a Championship. The rest are just banking on luck.

Category: Bobcats, Hawks, Hornets, Jazz, NBA, Nets, Pacers, Raptors, Rockets, Suns, Trades

The “R” Word

Posted on | July 15, 2010 | 18 Comments

Is it safe to write this, yet? The Turkoglu trade is finally official, so I’m guessing it is. I had written another version earlier this week I had to scrap after Michael Jordan got cold feet and decided not to take Calderon, or more precisely, not to give up Tyson Chandler (in this trade, anyway). I understand his misgivings. I think Calderon would have been a good addition to the team, but Chandler and Boris Diaw are a little too much to give up for him. Especially with his contract (Of course I would rather have taken the trade with the Raptors than the junk he got from Dallas, but that’s another story).

That’s why, despite my affection for Calderon’s game, I liked the trade overall. I have, however to say I’m not disappointed that Jose is still a Raptor. I just wonder for how much longer. It now seems there are rumours about him heading to Indiana for Roy Hibbert, although someone else would have to be added. I did find it incredibly ironic that Calderon was going to be replaced by Chandler, one of the best ally-oop finishers in the game, by really the only player on the Raptors that can throw them effectively. Calderon, for all his weaknesses, IS the perfect PG to play alongside young players like DeRozan, Weems, Johnson and Davis because he is an adept passer and knows where to give it someone to put them in a position to score. Plus his steady hand would offset the turnovers that a young team like the Raptors are no doubt going to rack up next season.

I do think the aborted trade did give a glimpse at the overall plan of Colangelo. The Turkoglu for Barbosa trade could mean anything. Raptor fans are just ecstatic not only to get rid of Turkoglu, but for a player with not only a much better contract, but who can actually contribute. Even better is that if Barbosa has a good year, he could opt out of his contract next summer, making his essentially an expiring contract. Barbosa may not be a real PG, but the fact that he plays that position means that the Raptors have a glut at that position, and that means one of them has to go.

The inclusion of Charlotte in the deal gave you a sense that it might have been Barbosa’s contract that was most appealing to Colangelo. If Calderon had been dealt for Diaw and Chandler, the Raptors would have cleared the books of the two worst contracts on the roster, without bringing back any long term contracts. Calderon would definitely be the better PG to play on this team, especially with Barbosa backing him up, but the fact that Calderon is now apparently being shopped tells me one thing.

Ah, yes, the “R” word.

“Rebuild” is the dreaded word that no GM is ever supposed to mutter. Even if it’s what they mean. In his discussions with the press after the press conference for Amir Johnson, Colangelo accidentally used the “R” word, and then backtracked, instead opting for the word “re-tooling”. He even preferred the word “re-engineer”. Anything but rebuild. The reason is not that Colangelo doesn’t actually wish to rebuild. It’s that a GM cannot use the word rebuild without ramifications. Even if that’s what he’s doing.

The reason Colangelo cannot use the dreaded “R” word has nothing to do with his intentions, but of perception. Admitting you are rebuilding scares away both ticketholders and corporate sponsors, cutting deep into the bottom line. Ownership wouldn’t be very happy about that. Raptor fans criticize MLSE, but as long as they stay in the black, they pretty much let Colangelo do what he wants.

That’s why Colangelo has to give the perception that the Raptors are going to compete, and his aborted deal actually would have brought in players who look like they could have helped, but in actual fact, would have had a negligible effect in the win/loss column. That was the genius of this move. Barbosa, Diaw and Chandler are all talented players. It was not necessarily their talent that Colangelo was after, however. It was their contracts.

If Colangelo were simply retooling, as he claimed, then he would not have worried about getting shorter and expiring contracts, and would have focused on trying to acquire impact players, none of which describes the players he attempted to acquire.

I’ve debated the merits of rebuilding versus retooling among Raptor fans, and the fact that so many fans are against rebuilding is a good indication why Colangelo backed away from that statement. The thing, though, is that many fans seem to be confused by what rebuilding would entail. The fact is, though, the Raptors ARE well on their way in the rebuilding process. Most teams that rebuild don’t have the pieces that the Raptors have. Rebuilding usually requires the team to turn over it’s roster, get rid of any big contracts and acquire younger players and draft picks.

Currently, the Raptors are one of only three teams without a player making 8 figures (Minnesota and Oklahoma are the others). If they trade Calderon, they will have gotten rid of all their bad contracts, and the roster consists of 9 players 26 years of age or under. If the Raptors are rebuilding, they’re already halfway there.

The fear that most fans seem to have is years of losing while acquiring pieces and developing players. The fact that the Raptors are one move away from financial “flexibility” and already have acquired quite a number of talented young players means they are well ahead of the game.

When the Thunder/Sonics drafted Kevin Durant, they only had Jeff Green. It took them a few more years to acquire Westbrook, Sefolosha, Harden, Serge Ibaka and now Cole Aldrich. And still, the situation was completely different for Sam Presti. With the team’s lame duck status in Seattle, he had the luxury of not having to appease fans or corporate sponsors since the team was on it’s way out of town. Colangelo simply doesn’t have that luxury.

If Colangelo wants to rebuild, he has to make it appear to the fans and corporate sponsors that the Raptors are at least going to be competitive. At least reasonably.

Now, admittedly, I’m making a rather large assumption but it’s one that seems to have some basis in fact. The fact that Colangelo has so far refused to use the rather large trade exception they got when Bosh left for Miami shows that he’s not simply willing to do what a team like Utah did, and use it to try and simply replace Bosh. Hopefully Colangelo has realized what many of us have, and that’s that the roster, even with Bosh, was flawed. Simply trying to plug a hole with a lesser talent, like Monta Ellis or Al Jefferson, would have been disastrous. It would have doomed the Raptors to mediocrity. Something that both Charlotte and now Utah seem content on doing. For a fan like me, this is like death.

Instead, Colangelo seems to be attempting to rebuild, yes rebuild, the roster with players that fit better together and hopefully do what it takes to win. With Turkoglu gone, and Calderon apparently next, the Raptors seem to be ridding themselves of below average defenders, something I wholeheartedly applaud. And if that’s the case, Colangelo can’t hold onto Bargnani any longer. Losing Turkoglu and Calderon will only help so much. If you’ve got a weak link in your front line defensively, no matter which position he plays, it will hurt you.

Personally, I was hoping the addition of Chandler meant that Bargnani had become expendable. Sure, they certainly could use his front line scoring, as he’s the only big man on the roster that has any real hope of scoring double digits, but what they need even more is a front line that can protect the hoop and rebound the ball. That’s how you win in the NBA.

So Raptor fans, don’t be afraid of the “R” word. It’s not as scary as you might think. A year or two of losing while building the right kind of team is far, far more appealing than a decade of mediocrity.

Category: Bobcats, Free Agency, Jazz, NBA, Raptors, Thunder, Trades

Well, That Can’t Be Good

Posted on | April 13, 2010 | No Comments

So the Bulls, who had lost to the Nets just a few days before, beat the full-strength Celtics in a game they needed to win.  So it all comes down to Wednesday night. If the Raptors lose against the Knicks, they’re out, plain and simple. If The Raptors win, and the Bulls lose against Charlotte, then the Raptors sneak into the playoffs. Amazing that you go 81 games and it all comes down to the last one.

Will the Bulls playing a back-to-back game hurt them? Can Rose repeat his dominating performance? Will Larry Brown stay true to his word and make a game of it against the Bulls?

AND THE NEXT COACH OF THE BOBCATS WILL BE….

Was anyone else surprised to find out that Larry Brown will be looking for a new address next season (or at least likely will)? Generally, when an owner gives permission for a coach to look elsewhere, he’s gone. Despite Brown being a basketball gypsy, I kind of felt that he was in Charlotte for the long haul. Now, apparently, he’s not.

It did cross my mind WHY he’s decided to leave.

And if it’s a choice between the Sixers and Clippers, then I’d stay there UNLESS Donald Sterling sells the team. Philly is not in a good position, and any team owned by Sterling has no karmic chance in hell of not being a disaster.

I joked with a friend a few weeks ago that, after watching Jordan be so involved on the sidelines, I can see Jordan taking over as coach when Brown leaves. It’s the only thing he hasn’t done. Is there any rule against it? Am I the only one who sees that coming?

WEIGHTWATCHERS

I read that Shaq lost 20 points while out with his injury. So THAT’S what it finally took for him to lose weight? Have him break his hand? You think Phil Jackson, who pleaded with Shaq for years to lose weight, shook his head after reading that?

Shaq did get what he seems to want so often, and that’s time off during the season. The guy doesn’t even seem to want to play anymore, and I don’t think he’s ever really had a love for the game. I think the only reason he stays in the league (apart from the money) is the attention he gets. Has any player ever craved more attention than Shaq does?

NO BRAINER

Did we really have to have news that Jason Kapono would be picking up his player option for next season, where he’ll be making somewhere in the vicinity of $60 billion dollars? Why don’t we get headlines like “Sun likely to rise in East tomorrow!”?

In similar news, and proving once again that the majority of players care more about money than basketball, TJ Ford is not opting out of his contract, despite falling out of the rotation for a good portion of the season. Instead of looking for a better basketball situation, where he might be more valuable, Ford decides to take the money. Why am I not shocked?

WHERE’S THE LOVE?

Darko Milicic, who at one point in the season, actually had his plane tickets back to Euroleague booked, has softened his stance, and stated that he and Al Jefferson work very well together and make each other better. What does this mean for Kevin Love, who started coming off the bench after Milicic came to town. Am I the only one who would rather have Kevin Love and his rebounding and high basketball IQ than either of those two guys? You think Colangelo can get him? Please?

Category: Bobcats, Bulls, Celtics, Clippers, NBA, Raptors
keep looking »