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Whispering In Colangelo’s Ear (Trades)
Posted on | June 23, 2010 | No Comments
The last of my trilogy of articles before draft day. If you haven’t read the first, involving the offseason strategy I think Colangelo should use, or the second, discussing the draft, I’d recommend it.
Now, obviously there going to be some trades going down this summer involving the Raptors. I think that’s pretty much guaranteed. I’m not a journalist, so I don’t pretend to have a beat on what the Raptors are going to do. I try and read up and keep informed, but it’s nearly impossible to separate the rumours from truth. I’m not trying to do that here. What I’m doing is suggesting what I feel should be the direction the trades should take and why.
The first thing I’m going to do is discuss each player, whether I would try and trade them or keep them and why. For the most part, I’m going to refrain from posting actual trade proposals, since I simply don’t know what a team would be willing to give away for certain players, but I will offer up teams and players I think might make good targets.
BOSH (Only he knows)
While I’d want to re-sign him, if Bosh wants to go, I’ve already detailed the teams I would want him to go and the players I would be looking to get back.
TURKOGLU (Trade)
I think Turkoglu had a bigger impact that some give him credit for. Despite the fact that he simply didn’t perform up to expectations, he more often than not had a positive impact on the team on the court. He wasn’t used like he was in Orlando, but the Raptors are certainly not built like the Magic so there was bound to be some changes. You can blame the coaches (and many do) but in the end it’s up to Turkoglu to adjust, and he failed to.
At the end of the season, I was of the mind to keep Turkoglu. The main reason was because I didn’t like the idea of buying high (his signing) and selling low. I figured there would be a very good chance that Turkoglu would have a better year and his stock would go up, making him easier to trade. After his little tirade in the Turkish media, and the more I read about the behind the scenes stuff, I think it might very well be best to part ways as soon as possible.
At this point, I’m almost willing to just find the best deal for him and be done with it. Possible trade partners include the Jazz (for a package including Kirilenko), New Jersey (for Jianlian), New York (for Eddy Curry), Golden State (for Biedrins), the Clippers (for a trade exception), Memphis (maybe as part of a package in a sign and trade for Rudy Gay), Minnesota (for Corey Brewer among others), Orlando (for Gortat and Bass) or Sacramento (for Dalembert). How serious any of those trading partners is anyone’s guess, but if Colangelo can trade Turkoglu away without bringing back a similar sized problem, I’d be all for it at this point.
Obviously Gay would be the most appealing option, but many stars would have to align for that to happen, including Gay wanting to sign with Toronto. Biedrins and Kirilenko would be nice options, as would Gortat/Bass and Dalembert, but a trade exception would potentially be almost as valuable.
BARGNANI (Trade)
No surprise here. Unless you’ve got specific types of players that can cover Bargnani’s weaknesses, he’s going to hurt your team. The Raptors have none and I’m not high on his skill set enough to want to build around him.
I believe this is the best time to trade him. He still got that “upside” label and skills that some GMs covet. I think if he’s forced to be the first option on the Raptors this year, his fatal flaws will be highlighted and he’ll be less attractive as an asset. Basically, if he doesn’t fulfill his potential this season, it’s fair to say he never will, and I really don’t think he’s going to fulfill his potential. By trading him this summer, you’re trading him at a high.
I don’t think a lot of teams will be clamouring for his services because his skills are so unique. He’s not a big man who is going to play great defense or rebound, which is what most teams want out of their big men.
Minnesota
The first trading partner I would look at is Minnesota. The T-Wolves started Darko, instead of the more talented Love with Jefferson because they want Jefferson to play at his more natural position of PF and because Darko can play on the perimeter, leaving the inside to Jefferson. On offense, Bargnani would be a perfect pairing for Jefferson. Defense is another story, but we’ll let Minnesota worry about that.
The player I would covet the most would be Ricky Rubio. He would be that elite PG the Raptors have not had since Stoudamire. He would most likely want to go to Toronto and is a player the city should fall in love with. And he’s a winner. The Raptors might have to wait a year before he would suit up, but that would give them a year to rebuild.
If they don’t want to part with Rubio, Kevin Love would be another target. He’s apparently available despite the fact that I think he’s going to be a better player than Jefferson. He rebounds, shoots, defends and is a high IQ player. If Bosh leaves, he’d certainly make the locals (and team) miss him less).
Barring getting either Rubio or Love, I’d be happy getting their 4th pick, especially if Derrick Favors falls there, which there is now a possibility happening, apparently.
Golden State
Bargnani seems to me to be the exact type of player the Warriors like. If they would part with Biedrins and their 6th pick in the draft, I’d be happy. Biedrins would be that rebounding and shot blocking center the Raptors have lacked, and with the 6th pick, the Raptors could grab Al-Farouq Amin or Ed Davis who would fill big needs for the Raptors.
Philadelphia
Now, I have no clue as to whether Philadelphia would want Bargnani, but if they do, they have a few assets I’d focus on. If the rumour is true that they would give away the 2nd pick in exchange for taking Brand, they might agree to take Bargnani and someone like Evans for Brand and the 2nd. Personally, I doubt it, though. Still, I’d take Iguodala for him if they do it. Iguodala would give the Raptors a veteran swingman who is still fairly young and could be paired with DeRozan and/or Weems.
Other teams might include Chicago, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York.
CALDERON (Keep)
Believe it or not, I would keep Calderon. I think he’s far more valuable to the team than as a trade asset at this point. His stock is pretty low at the moment, and if he can have a good year, his stock will go up. If he has another similar year, I really don’t think his stock will go down much. Might as well take a gamble. He does help the team and if you can improve the overall defense of the team, he’s going to look that much better.
JACK (Trade)
I like Jack, but he’s a good young player with an affordable contract, so he’s a valuable asset that might be better off being traded for something more in need. On a team with so many holes, having two good PGs is a luxury. He could be included in a Turkoglu or Bargnani deal, or perhaps with another player on on his own. Because he can start or come off the bench, just about any team could use his services.
WEEMS (Keep or Trade)
I’d much rather keep him, but because of DeRozan, he’s almost a redundancy and if including him in a deal would improve the team, you have to do it.
JOHNSON (Re-sign)
With the likelihood Bosh will leave, re-signing Amir is important. He rebounds, hustles and is only 23. I think if you offer him $5 million, he’ll be back and you won’t be overpaying him.
BELINELLI (Keep)
He didn’t perform as many hoped, but he’s still extremely talented and still young. He’s another guy who you don’t want to sell low, so it’s best to keep him and see if he can fulfill some of that potential.
EVANS (Trade or Keep)
He’s more valuable as expiring fodder in a trade than anything he brings to the team. Still, if he returns he’s at least enthusiastic, so I wouldn’t be disappointed.
BANKS (Trade or Keep)
See Evans, plus it’s nice to have a half decent backup PG at the end of the bench who can actually play.
So there are quite a few trades I think can improve the team. I think Colangelo needs burn up the phone lines on draft day, since many of these trades would include draft picks.
Tomorrow is Draft Day, so I’m going to look more closely at the actual draft.
You Mean I Didn’t Win $40 Million??
Posted on | May 19, 2010 | 3 Comments
You know when you’ve bought a lottery ticket and you read the winning numbers? You know that feeling when you compare your numbers and realize that, despite the fact that there was no chance in hell you were going to win, you’re still disappointed because part of you truly believed that, finally- FINALLY- you’d win. That’s how I watched the NBA Draft Lottery unfold last night.
No, the Raptors didn’t move up, which I shouldn’t have even hoped for, considering the odds, but I guess we can be content with the fact that they didn’t move down. And if I had to pick any team to get John Wall, Washington might have been it. First of all, their fans need something good to happen to them. We Raptor fans complain, but at least our franchise player didn’t sign a massive, longterm contract, sit out for nearly two years with a knee injury, and then come back only to pull a gun on a teammate over a poker game, which basically destroyed the team. Plus, even with Wall, Washington has no hope of being competitive in the next few years, so its not going to hurt the Raptors any time soon.
Still, part of me was hoping Minnesota would get the number one pick, and pick yet another PG in the top 5 in the draft, making it 3 in two years. This is the same Timberwolves team that drafted 3 centers in the top 7 in the draft in the span of 3 years in the early 90’s. Amazing they didn’t even make the playoffs until late in the 90’s.
Also, wouldn’t it have been great if Golden State won, and Don Nelson tried to tell everyone that John Wall, Stephon Curry and Monta Ellis can all, in fact, play together? What do you think the chances are that Nelson would have ended up actually starting all three at the same time? My guess is pretty good.
As for the Raptors, I’m still getting over the fact that they aren’t going to be getting a legit player in this year’s draft without trading up. It’s not that I think that they can’t get a half decent player at the 13th spot, but I don’t hold much hope of them getting an impact player. And I really don’t see all that much difference between drafting 13th and drafting 20th. That can’t be a good sign.
Speaking of moving up, I read on RealGM that the Rockets and Blazers are going to try to move up to the 3rd or 4th spot. My initial thought was, “well, duh!”, but then I thought, could the Raptors get in on that? Personally, there isn’t a player on the Raptors roster I wouldn’t package with the 13th pick to move up to the 3rd spot in order to draft Favors. He’s everything the Raptors are not and would immediately make fans forget about losing Bosh.
Now, one thing about Philadelphia moving up is that it may make Andre Iguodala even more available than he was. The fact is, isn’t Evan Turner basically what Philadelphia was hoping Iguodala would turn into? Sure, he hasn’t played a minute in the NBA, yet, but I don’t think anyone would be shocked if he ends up turning out to be the best player in this draft. There really isn’t anything he doesn’t do very, very well. Think Philadelphia would trade the 2nd pick? No, I don’t think so, either.
If Colangelo really wants to try and keep Bosh (and there’s an argument out there that he doesn’t, at this point), then perhaps getting Iguodala might be the right player to get in order to show Bosh the team is on the right track. I suggested trading for him way back in February, before the trade deadline. Now, I’m not so sure. I’ll get to why, in one of my next few posts.
Sooooo Close!
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
THAT’S the Raptors team that went 25-11 until their recent troubles. No, it wasn’t a win, but if it wasn’t for some of the worst officiating I’ve seen in recent memory, I think the Raptors come out victorious in that one.
If Bosh were a Laker, he'd be going to the line now...
Just a quick comment on the refs. I never complain about bad calls or get on the bandwagon that claim that refs favour other teams, but I have never, EVER been so frustrated watching what were offensively bad calls, all in favour of the Lakers. At first, Gasol seemed to be getting foul calls the moment any Raptor made contact on defense, and then Turkoglu got several phantom calls. Then the second half, where I actually had to turn the channel out of frustration. The Lakers were getting EVERY call, and the Raptors weren’t getting similar ones on the other end. The “foul” that Kobe drew after he missed the layup was laughable. Well, it would have been if you were a Laker fan. Of course, the Raptor players took about 6 jumpshots in a row after that, so it’s pretty hard to get a makeup call when you do that, but it should never have been called in the first place.
Okay, rant over.
As for the game, the Lakers actually played well, but the Raptors showed why they are one of the better teams in the East. They scored when they needed to, played tough defense when they needed to, and if they continue to play like they did tonight, they very well could win their next three road games.
What is it about Bargnani that whenever I go on a little bit of a rant about him, he has a good game. It’s not just me writing about him, though, which makes me think he reads the criticism levelled against him. If he can keep up this pace the rest of the season, then I will not mention benching or trading him again for the rest of the season. I promise.
While Bargnani played fairly well, although seemed to disappear in the fourth, and Bosh deserves credit for hitting that HUGE three to tie it, the game belonged to Jarrett Jack. He’s been playing very well lately, and I notice I don’t hear those same complaints about teaming him with Calderon at the end of games anymore. When the criticism was at it’s loudest, I defended Triano’s decision to play both Jack and Calderon together because I felt it would pay off later in the season. And we’re starting to see it. Jack and Calderon are the Raptors two best guards and two best ball handlers. It makes sense for them to be on the court together when it matters.
AROUND THE NBA
It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and ungrateful some NBA players are. Case in point (this time)? Allen Iverson and Rafer Alston. I would be absolutely shocked if either player ever plays in the league again. Rafer abandons the Miami after he was moved to the bench. This is a guy who was waived by New Jersey earlier this season. The guy has never been the most reliable guy, but skipping out on your team and only texting them is a bad way to end your career.
And Iverson has probably burned his last bridge. Philadephia was criticized for signing Iverson after he skipped out on Memphis after a few games, but now he seems to have abandoned them, too. At first, the story of dealing with a sick daughter was understandable and commendable. As a father myself, I can understand dropping everything when your child is in need. But then for the wife to file for divorce during that time made you wonder. Now there are stories about drinking and gambling problems.
We should have a poll for the next player who’s going to prematurely shoot his own career in the foot. Actually, I think I will…
Loading ...UHHHH, DUHHHH!
Speaking of stupid, the Clippers and Mike Dunleavy have apparently “severed ties” after it became clear the team had not made “sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure” .
It took you seven years to figure that out?????
It almost makes you feel sorry for Elgin Baylor, who Dunleavy apparently pushed out the door so he could run the franchise. I say `almost’ because it’s not like Baylor did any better job than Dunleavy.
Now if only Donald Sterling and the Clippers would “severe ties”, the Clippers might one day be a half decent team.
HARD CHARGING BUCKS
The Bucks are now solidly in the 5th seed in the East and don’t look to be letting up. Their big win against the Celtics tonight must have been a confidence booster. What seems to have turned their season around was the trade for John Salmons. It’s the second year in a row Salmons was traded to a team that then went on a bit of a tear. Will the Bucks have the same impact the Bulls did in the playoffs last season?
Just to make things interesting, the Bucks play both Atlanta and Boston twice each in the next month. One of them will likely be their playoff opponent. I’d circle those games as ones to watch.
And before Raptor fans start bemoaning the fact that the Raptors have dropped to the 6th seed, realize that, at this point, that would mean the Raptors would face the Celtics instead of the Hawks. Yes, the Celtics are a more veteran team, but I can’t be the only Raptor fan who would rather the Raptors not face the Hawks in the playoffs.
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