Is Jose Gone?

Posted on February 27, 2012 | 13 Comments

There is a news report by the Orlando Sentinal that the Orlando Magic are denying a rumour that a trade has been finalized (are you following all that?) sending Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu to the Lakers and Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and, possibly soon to be former Raptor, Jose Calderon to the Magic.

If the Magic are publicly denying this rumour, that can only mean one thing. There is obviously some truth to it.

Even if this trade doesn’t go through, you have to think that Calderon probably should keep his passport handy. This rumour also makes me wonder what exactly the Raptors were supposedly getting back. My guess is a first round pick and cap relief. While I’ve always been a defender of Calderon, if this rumour (and that’s all it is at this point) is true , it would make me pleased to see the direction that Bryan Colangelo is steering the team. When it came out that the Raptors were in the running for Wilson Chandler, I thought it was nice that a free agent was considering Toronto, but I also wondered why the Raptors would do that. It struck me as one of those moves we’ve seen so much in the past of Raptor’s history, trying to keep the Raptors competing, rather than contending. That’s nothing against Wilson Chandler, who is a fine player and should be a welcome addition to a playoff team, but Chandler is, quite frankly, not much more than a mediocre player who would bring a few more wins to a team that should be focusing on the race to get Anthony Davis (who showed this weekend, again, why he might be the best big man to come out of college since Tim Duncan…

I expect the bottom feeders, once they really start examining Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, to really think about what winning this year’s lottery will do for a team. The Kentucky center is the most polished true big man, even with only one season under his belt, to come out of college since Tim Duncan. Maybe since David Robinson. Shaq, powerful as he was coming out of LSU, wasn’t as polished offensively as Davis is. This kid isn’t just a game-changer, he’s a franchise-changer.

ESPN

Speaking of Davis, I’ve heard some Raptor fans say they should target a guy like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Harrison Barnes, because the Raptors don’t need another power forward, but they do need a small forward. To me, that’s absolute nonsense. More than anything, the Raptors need a great player. When your best player is a borderline All-Star big man who is still a below average defender and rebounder, you need greatness, not to fill a position.

I’ve been a fan of Gilchrist since before he added the “Kidd”, but if it’s a choice between the two, I take Davis everytime because he’s simply going to be a better player. Doing otherwise would be stupid.

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Category: Draft, Lakers, Magic, NBA, Raptors, Trades

Why I Didn’t Watch All-Star Weekend (except highlights)

Posted on February 27, 2012 | 2 Comments

On Friday night, I took my two kids to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It brought back memories, since I remember seeing them when I was about the same age. I wasn’t even remotely a basketball fan, back then, but I was entertained and thrilled to be able to get the autograph of one of the referees from the game, afterwards (I didn’t want to wait for the line for the players). Back then, the Globetrotters were still at their peak of popularity, being featured on shows like The Love Boat and Gilligan’s Island. “Curly” Neal, who might be the most famous Globetrotter (Wilt Chamberlain was a Globetrotter, but was most famous for his NBA exploits), was nearing the end of his career and we were all disappointed when it appeared he wasn’t playing. No bald headed Globetrotter made his way onto the court when the team came out. Of course, everyone was relieved when someone snatched off his wig to reveal his signature bald head.

So as I said, I took my own children to them on Friday night. Neither I nor my kids knew any of the current Globetrotters, and to my disappointment, their opponent was not the long suffering Washington Generals, whose ineptness over the years has made the Clippers (before Chris Paul) look good. Instead, it was the International Elite, a team that had won the Championship tournament “overseas” that allowed them to compete for the World Championship against the Globetrotters in the very game we were going to see! Can you believe how fortunate we were!!

Despite the fact that it had been at least a couple of decades (more or less) it seems they haven’t changed many of their routines. They still throw the bucket of confetti at the audience, pretending it’s water, they still bring women out of the audience to flirt with and they still pull down the shorts of the opponent while he takes a free throw (which was probably the highlight of the night, as far as my youngest was concerned- the look on her face when they did it was priceless).

And then there was the game. Well, I call it a game, and it did end up being close, but everyone over the age of 12 already knew what the outcome would be. I have to say it was a little difficult for me to watch. There was almost a negative amount of defense played, and the introduction of the four point shot (players shooting from near half court during a 2 minute span at end of each quarter) just meant we were treated to two minutes of players chucking up 3o footers and missing (both teams probably went 2-30 for the evening).

My kids enjoyed it, though, which was the main thing and they both got actual player autographs after the game (who, I have no idea, and neither do they) which capped off a fun night for them.

So why am I bringing this up in a post about All Star Weekend? Because I think it’s incredibly fitting that I saw the Harlem Globetrotters during All-Star Weekend. Both feature basketball that is all flash and no substance, and an over-produced event that tries to make the actual game secondary.

I didn’t always feel this way. I remember when All Star Weekend used to rank up there just below the Playoffs, on my must see list. Back when basketball on television, in Canada, was an uncommon occurrence, All Star Weekend was a time when I could see all my favourite players play together in one place. And I remember when all we, in Canada, would be able to see of the All-Star game was during the halftime show of the All Star game.

Even the dunk contest and three point shoot-out were must see events. Back in the All Star Weekend heyday, two of the best players in the league were going dunk for dunk to see who would win the trophy. This weekend, you’ve only got one dunker who even plays more than 19 minutes per game, and the guy, Jeremy Evans who won has played a TOTAL of 89 minutes for the entire season. Dwight Howard played more than that in his first WEEK this season. And no, I’m not exaggerating to make a point.

Why is it that the dunk contest has evolved into a contest with guys most fans have never heard of? And why has LeBron James never competed in one? You’d think with players so obsessed with making money and racking up endorsements, that participation in the dunk contest would be sought after. After all, Michael Jordan, Spud Webb, Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter and Dwight Howard all used the dunk contest as a springboard to make their name more popular and all are richer because of it.

But I digress.

So, I stopped watching the whole All Star game a few years ago, but this is the first time I purposely skipped the entire weekend. Like after I started watching my second ever Superbowl, which I got five minutes into and realized that I don’t actually like football so why the hell am I trying to watch THIS game, a serenity came over me when I came to the conclusion I have not enjoyed watching any of the events at All Star Weekend for quite some time.

The rookie game used to be interesting, but now it’s like watching a bunch of guys play a game they care absolutely nothing about except to try and make themselves look good. While I obviously didn’t watch the game, I like Greg Munroe a lot more after hearing that he did this…

The thought of defenders purposely staying out of the way so John Wall could do a flashy dunk (one of maybe 50 featured in the game) is exactly why I hated watching. This is like at the end of a night of playing pickup when no one cares anymore and people just want to do something flashy before they go home. Unfortunately this was only the beginning of the weekend.

Thankfully, though, it was a weekend I took no part in. And I have no regrets.

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Category: NBA

Raptors Succumb to Linsanity (Apparently)

Posted on February 15, 2012 | 7 Comments

Yes, I know, I know. I said I’d post more and then I disappeared for a month and a half. Sorry about that. January was astoundingly busy and this blog came below family, my career, my house and my various civic responsibilities on the priority list, so unfortunately it lost out. Then February came and I just didnt feel like posting.

It’s not as if I hadn’t tried to post something. I started more than half a dozen posts only to be derailed by sleep, family or just life in general. So here’s a short one that hopefully wont get interrupted.

—

So despite being busy, I’ve been able to watch the majority of Raptor games (although not always getting my full attention), but my DVR is full of unwatched games with other teams. So tonight was my first chance to see Jeremy Lin in action. And it was a big disappointment. No, not because the Raptors lost, but because my stupid, f%#&ing DVR decided not to record the whole game. This wasn’t a matter of hitting the wrong button, either. This was my DVR acting completely screwy – the recording only showed on one of our DVRs despite that not apparently being possible. And the DVR is not full, either. In fact it says it’s only half full, so there should be plenty of room. Needless to say I’m calling Telus in the morning.

So anyway, I was really looking forward to watching this game and seeing how Lin did not only against the Raptors defense, but how he played with Amare Stoudamire, for the first time. See, in his first five games, he had no Carmelo Anthony or Amare Stoudemire, so didn’t have to defer to anyone. And since Mike D’Antoni’s system is rather PG friendly (remember how Raymond Felton looked like an All-Star while a Knick?), I was anxious to see how Lin would do against a pretty good defense (yes, I am saying the Raptor’s defense is pretty good, which is something I haven’t been able to say in a very long time) and when he’s playing with an All-Star.

Well, in what little I saw, Lin was okay (I missed his big fourth quarter), although his defense needs A LOT of work.

What happened in the rest of the second quarter and second half, I really have no idea. And I missed this…

Now, as I have not seen a full game from him, I can’t really say how good he really is or whether he’s the real deal or not. Maybe some of you (if there is anyone left after my sabbatical) can chime in. What I do know is that people were touting Brandon Jennings as the next Isiah Thomas after averaging 25 and 6 in his first 11 games in the NBA. Then teams started figuring him out and his weaknesses starting coming out (he can’t shoot to save his life- a career .385 shooter- and he’s a poor decision maker- he’s averaged 15 shots per game despite shooting .385).

What I like about Lin, though, is that he’s definitely a PG, despite his high scoring numbers. Unlike Brandon, who shoots way too much and forces too many of those shots, Lin gets his points naturally and makes good decisions. For that reason, I think he’s probably going to be a pretty good player. Thankfully, I have the Dallas-Knick game to watch this weekend on ABC. Hopefully my DVR will be fixed by then.

Now while I, unfortunately, have little to say about the actual game, I do have something to say about the fact that Lin was apparently almost a Raptor. It’s a great story and yet another reason for Raptor fans to feel sorry for themselves, but I’m not convinced the same thing would have happened with the Raptors as happened with the Knicks. Remember that Lin didn’t blow up until he was given the starting position. In fact, New York almost waived him until he had one of the highest scoring starts in NBA history, scoring more points in his first five games than Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and many, many others.

In Toronto, he would have been sitting behind Calderon, and with a very different offense, might not have had the freedom to be able to perform like he has in New York. People constantly underestimating just how important circumstances are to a player’s career and performance. Lin was put in a perfect situation for him. He was given the starting position in a system that is EXTREMELY PG friendly (remember how Raymond Felton looked like an All-Star in New York?), and allowed to not only play through his mistakes, but didn’t have to defer to anyone (with Carmelo Anthony and Amare out).

Ever wonder why a player flourishes in one place then struggles in another? It’s because circumstances often dictate how well a player will do. There are obviously some players that will succeed no matter what their circumstances, but for most of the league, that’s simply not the case. Would Steve Nash have had a Hall of Fame career if he’d stayed in Dallas? Would Darko Milicic have become a better player if he had not had Larry Brown beating the confidence out of him?

I know it’s nice to think Lin almost brought Linsanity to Toronto, but there’s really no guarantee he would have performed any better than he did in Golden State.

Edit: Apparent ESPN’s J.A Adande had very similar thoughts…
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7576223/nba-jeremy-lin-success-system

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Category: Knicks, NBA, Raptors

Or “Why tanking isn’t such a bad thing”

Posted on December 22, 2011 | 9 Comments

(If you haven’t read the first and second parts, please do, as this post will make a lot more sense if you do)

So in parts 1 and 2, we looked at the 16 year history of the Raptors organization that seemed to be so focused on not losing that it couldn’t manage to actually win, very much. The Raptors have spent nearly their entire existence on the mediocrity treadmill. For an NBA team and it’s fans, that’s basically hell.

So now we turn our attention to a few other franchises, and see what they’ve done.

CLEVELAND FLIRTS WITH A CHAMPIONSHIP

When Cleveland drafted LeBron James, it was probably the greatest turning point in their entire existence. Except for a brief period in the 90′s, the Cavaliers were synonymous with poor management and losing.

When LeBron was drafted, the Cavs roster was made up of a collection of mediocre veterans and a few promising youngsters (Carlos Boozer, Ricky Davis, Darius Miles). the promising, but flawed, youngsters were traded away or left, and in their place came veterans who could help the team immediately.

While they were able to acquire Anderson Varejao, the majority of the moves the Cavs made were either forgettable or one you’d rather forget (trading a first round pick for Jiri Welsch in February and then turning around and trading Welsch for a 2nd round pick- turning a 1st round pick into a second in a matter of months!). Still the team went from 17 wins the season before LeBron, to 35 and then 42 wins. It was obvious this team was on it’s way up.

When Danny Ferry was hired as the Cavs GM, in 2005, he made an immediate splash, signing volume scorer, the 27 year old Larry Hughes to a massive contract, and 32 year old Donyell Marshall (from the Raptors). At that point, of the 8 players that played the most minutes, only 2 were below the age of 26. They did go out and win 50 games and get to the second round of the playoffs, though.

The next season, with Danny Ferry basically standing pat with the roster, the team went out and won 50 games again, this time getting all the way to the Finals. Despite the success in the playoffs, the Cavs didn’t carry over the momentum to the regular season and Ferry decided to shake things up, trading away almost half the roster, and grabbing among others, 33 year old Ben Wallace and 32 year old Joe Smith. The team ended up winning just 45 games and losing again in the second round.

Probably the best move Danny Ferry made as GM, was when he turned Joe Smith into Mo Williams. It was one of the few times that Ferry attempted to make the team younger. And somehow, the Cavs gelled and ended up destroying the league in the regular season, winning 66 games. But then the playoffs came and they got bounced in the Conference Finals by Orlando.

So Ferry pulled the trigger on a trade that sent Ben Wallace to the Suns for Shaquille O’Neal. It was an act of desperation for the Cavs, who felt that winning a Championship was the only way to keep LeBron, who was in the last year of his contract. They then used a good portion of their MLE to sign 34 year old Anthony Parker, and then went out and traded for 33 year old Antawn Jamison. By season’s end, the Cavs had 3 starters who were 33, 34 and 37 and whose best years were well behind them.

Is it any wonder that when LeBron decided to abandon the team, they ended up winning only 19 games the next season?

While the Cavs ended up finding much more success than the Raptors did, using a similar plan, that was mostly due to the fact that LeBron was simply much better than Vince Carter ever was. And the results ended up being the same. An unsustainable climb by acquiring aging veterans whose stock can only decline.

Like the Raptors, the Cavs had to start making riskier and riskier moves, acquiring older and older players, because when you keep acquiring declining assets, you lose more and more leverage. And just like the Raptors, right near the end they took a risk on an aging Hall of Fame center whose best years were behind him.

OKLAHOMA DECIDES TO GO YOUNG

The Thunder are probably one of the most discussed teams, in terms of building through the draft with youth, but quite frankly, that’s because they’ve done a textbook-like job.

When Sam Presti took over the then Seattle Supersonics, they had just come off a 31 win season, had two 20+ppg All-Stars on the roster, some half decent young talent and a number 2 pick in the draft. After drafting 19 year old Kevin Durant, Presti made a choice that was basically the complete opposite of what the Raptors and Cleveland had done. Keeping former All-Stars, Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen would certainly have made the team competitive, possibly even a playoff team with a move or two, Presti wisely decided that at ages 27 and 31, Lewis and Allen were declining assets who would probably be too old to help the team when Durant was entering his prime.

Presti first traded Allen for 5th pick, Jeff Green, as well as Wally Szczerbiak and his expiring contract, and Delonte West, both of whom were ironically traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers just one season later. Then Presti decided not to match Orlando’s massive contract offer for Lewis, leaving the team without their two best players in a matter of days.

Instead of surrounding Durant with veterans, which would have speeded up the team’s development, but limited it’s growth, Presti preached patience, and decided to surround their new franchise player with players his own age, allowing them to grow and develop together. While it meant the team was actually worse the next season, winning just 20 games, they were also able to pick up future All-Star, Russell Westbrook in the next draft. They improved only slightly the next season, again, giving them a top 3 pick, grabbing James Harden.

In just three seasons, the Sonics/Thunder were able to acquire three top 5 picks and the very next season they jumped from 23 wins to 50 wins. They never added one major veteran over the age of 25 and by the time they win 50 games, they only had two rotation players over the age of 25- 26 year old Nenad Krstic, who signed the previous season, and 29 year old Nick Collison, who was the only holdover from the pre-Presti era.

And with a starting of with an average age of just 23 years old, the Oklahoma City Thunder won 55 games last season on their way to a Conference Finals appearance. And it’s certainly not inconceivable that, as long as they are able to keep their core together, the Thunder will be contenders for the next 10 years.

If the Thunder had kept Allen and Lewis, the team would already be trying to figure out how to replace them.

CLIPPERS (MIS)MANAGEMENT

One of the most common arguments again “tanking” is that you don’t want to end up like the Los Angeles Clippers. Of course, that argument may not work anymore, after trading for Chris Paul, but it never really worked anyway.

The problem with the Clippers was not that they were always trying to lose and get high draft picks, it’s that they were simply badly mismanaged and drafted poorly when they got to the draft.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers were synonymous with poor management and losing, the Clippers made them look good.

In their 47 year history, the Clippers have made the playoffs just 7 times. That’s just 2 more than the Raptors, in nearly 3 times the amount of time. To the Clippers, mediocrity would have been a step up. In the last 30 years, the Clippers have drafted in the top ten 23 times. They’ve had a top 5 pick 13 times. Yet, somehow in all that time, they only managed to draft 3 All Stars. Actually, that’s not entirely true. They drafted five All-Stars, but traded away two of them before they became All-Stars. You could probably manage a better drafting record than them by throwing darts at a board. I could probably write and entire post devoted to their poor drafting.

So needless to say, the Clippers have not been successful, but that turned around in the last few years, when they drafted Eric Gordon and then got the 1st pick in the draft the next year and took Blake Griffin. Unlike previous eras, when young players were traded away for veterans either past their prime or who never had one, the Clippers actually started stockpiling their young talent.

While Griffin and Gordon are definitely stars, there’s a question of whether either are the type of elite talent that can lead a team to a Championship. Thankfully, that doesn’t matter since they were able to use their stockpile of youth and Chris Kaman’s expiring contract, to trade for Chris Paul.

Now, what is the difference between what Cleveland and Toronto did and what the Clippers did? There are a couple.

First is that Paul is only 26 years old. He’s not a 31 year old athletic wing player or 33 year old big man.

Secondly, and most importantly, Paul IS their franchise player now. Griffin is a great talent, he’s not the type to make those around him better. He’s not a good passer or stellar defender and most of his scoring is done by being more athletic than his opponent. He is much more suited to a complimentary role, and with Paul running the point, he can now do that.

Without Chris Paul, the Clippers probably had a ceiling similar to the Atlanta Hawks- the second round. The number of teams without a top 10 player on it that have been a true contender, in the last 20-30 years you can count on one hand. And now the Clippers have that.

SO WHAT TO DO?

So this brings us back to the Raptors and this season.

Now there is a portion of Raptor fans who hate to see the Raptors lose intentionally and that nothing good ever comes from tanking. Well, first of all, I don’t think anyone is suggesting the team actually “tank”. That would involve trading away the team’s best players and not giving the team a shot to even be competitive in games. Cleveland and Denver did that and all it got them were LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony. Er…nevermind.

The Raptors currently have the talent to vie for the top spot in the NBA….draft. So the best thing that Colangelo can do, and seems to be doing, is to just let them play. Don’t try to win a few more games just to make the team look slightly better. In the end that gets you nothing but what Raptor fans have had to put up with for the past 16 years. Mediocrity, at best.

The few more wins that a Tyson Chandler or even a Shane Battier might get you may be the difference between a top 3 pick and yet another good, but not great, draft pick. As 82Games.com showed, there’s a big dropoff after the fifth pick.

When you’re walking the line between mediocrity and being a contender, the difference might be just a few ping pong balls.

Now as I mentioned in the first post, PhDSteve, over at Raptors Republic argued in his latest podcast that it doesn’t really matter where the Raptors pick because there’s no real consensus #1 and the Raptors can get a good PG later in the draft.

That would make sense if the Raptors biggest need is a PG. It isn’t. The Raptors biggest need, far outweighing any position or skill, is a franchise player. Who cares if the Raptors get the best PG in the draft if they still don’t have a franchise player. In the NBA, teams generally only go as far as their best player can take them. Atlanta’s problem is not that they don’t have a good team. It’s that Joe Johnson is a perennial All-Star, but not a truly elite player.

In fact, Toronto’s history shows the limitations teams have without truly elite players. While Vince had the potential to be one of the greats, he never fulfilled that potential and the farthest the team could get with him was the second round. Bosh was a perennial All-Star, but simply not the type of talent that can lift a team above mediocrity.

While there might not be any sure-fire Hall of Famers, like Tim Duncans or LeBron James’, there are still a few potential franchise players in this draft. Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond , Perry Jones and Harrison Barnes have been the most talked about (although I personally am not sure Barnes has any elite skill that would allow him to be a franchise player), but Quincy Miller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also have some potential. That’s six players, but most likely half are not going to fulfill that potential, so getting first crack is all the more important.

IN CONCLUSION

While pushing towin as many games as you can might seem like a good idea, if your goal is to compete for an NBA Championship, it’s simply not always a sound strategy. While getting one of the worst records in the league certainly is no guarantee of a top 3 pick, it gives you the best chance. It’s been said that the best thing for these young players on the Raptors is to start trying to compete now, but without a franchise player, exactly what would they be competing for? More of what we’ve seen over the last 16 years. And that’s simply not good enough.

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Category: Cavs, Clippers, Draft, Free Agency, NBA, Raptors, Thunder

…are condemned to repeat it.”

Posted on December 20, 2011 | 6 Comments

When last we left the Raptors, they had raised their floor, but lowered their ceiling by surrounding their franchise player, Vince Carter, with veterans.

And after the inevitable fall that came, the Raptors were able to finish with a top 3 pick and draft Chris Bosh.

THE ROB BABCOCK ERA

Glen Grunwald didn’t even last for a season after selecting Bosh and was eventually replaced by Rob Babcock who, while a poor judge of talent and terrible GM, at least seemed to understand the downside to collecting even more veteran talent (well, he did sign 28 year old Rafer Alston, who was relatively young compared to Grunwald’s signings). Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that Babcock seemed to fully understand the position he was in.

He took over a 33 win team with a franchise player in his prime (27 is generally thought of to be the prime of an NBA player), with a history of injuries and a game that relied a lot on athleticism. And the roster consisted of only 3 players BELOW the age of 26: Bosh, Matt Bonner and Babcock’s first ever draft pick as a GM, Rafael Araujo, who, at 24, was actually 4 years older than Bosh. How can you NOT realize that it’s time to rebuild?

Even Carter figured it out and demanded a trade by the end of the summer when it became clear that this team was going nowhere, as presently constructed. And Babcock eventually had to trade him for 7 cents on the dollar.

So with a young Bosh and a bunch of mediocre veterans around him, the team sailed to yet another 33 win season, adding the mediocre Charlie Villaneuva and and not quite mediocre Joey Graham as the prize for another year of mediocrity.

And the Raptors were even worse the next season, winning just 27 games, which was low enough to net them the first pick in the draft. The bad news is that the draft was not considered to be a very good one. It’s like your number coming up in a raffle only to discover that you don’t get the big screen TV or front row Raptor tickets, but the potpourri gift basket. You’d throw your number back in, if you could, but you can’t.

COLANGELO TRIES MORE OF THE SAME

When Bryan Colangelo was hired away from Phoenix, he was given a number 1 pick in an off year and cap room in an offseason where the top free agent might have been 37 year old Sam Cassell. So Colangelo ignored past Raptor history and loaded up the team with veterans to surround Bosh, Bargnani and the newly acquired TJ Ford, all who were between the ages of 21 and 23, with 31 year old Anthony Parker, 29 year old Jorge Garbajosa, and 30 year old Rasho Nesterovic.

And the Raptors ended up tying the franchise mediocrity record of 47 wins and making it to the first round of the playoffs. And this was considered a success.

Since Glen Grunwald had already traded away the first rounder away years before, Colangelo made a splash in free agency by signing the very mediocre Jason Kapono, who was coming off a career year in Miami (apparently Colangelo never learned the lesson about signing free agents coming off career years during a contract year).

And then they went out and won an incredibly mediocre 41 wins (.500) and got bounced again in the first round.

So, taking a page from his predecessor, Glen Grunwald, Colangelo trades away a first round pick and 24 year old T.J. Ford for 30 year old (although that sounds better than it actually was- he had 40 year old knees) Jermaine O’Neal.¹

O’Neal didn’t even last the season before he was traded away for the equally ancient 30 year old Shawn Marion, who had been on the decline for the previous two seasons.

The team finished well out of the playoff hunt, but not far enough down to get a decent shot at a top 3 pick, so ended up drafting 9th, picking DeMar DeRozan.

While Jermaine O’Neal or Shawn Marion didn’t get them to the playoffs, it did allow them to have the cap room to be a major player in the free agent market. And while Colangelo did go after the 24 year old Trevor Ariza, the free agent he ended up with was the 30 year old Hedo Turkoglu, who was beginning to look like his best days were behind him.

And they were.

And so the Raptors finished just out of the playoffs, again.

Bosh left, Turkoglu was traded and after a botched trade attempt that almost brought Tyson Chandler to Toronto, Colangelo was forced to do something that had never actually been tried in Raptors history: An actual rebuild.

AND FINALLY, A REBUILD

While Colangelo may or may not have wanted or planned to do it, the Raptors entered the 2010-11 season with no playoff expectations whatsoever. Colangelo even picked up a couple of young players, in Jerryd Bayless and James Johnson, who were languishing on veterans teams. The team lost big and ended up with a top 5 pick. If history repeated itself, the Raptors probably would have selected someone like Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight, who could have helped them immediately, and then used their cap room to grab a decent veteran or two in order to try and compete immediately.

But that’s not what happened.

While the 2011 draft was not highly regarded, like the 2006 draft it had been compared to, the Raptors ended up picking Jonas Valanciunas, who some feel might end up being the best player from the draft. They chose him despite the fact that he wouldn’t be able to come over to the NBA until next season, which probably dropped his stock allowing the Raptors to scoop him up a couple of places lower than he might have gone.

So the Raptors entered this offseason with a roster whose average age is under 26.

This is not Glen Grunwald‘s Raptors.

When the lockout finally ended and teams were allowed to start talking, if not making, deals, there was a lot of discussion in Raptorland about what the team should do.

“What’s the harm in signing a guy like Tyson Chandler?”

“Why not go after a guy like Shane Battier?”

“Let’s try and make the playoffs now.”

“I don’t want another year of losing!”

Now, to me, the fans who were saying these types of things have simply not been paying attention to the Raptors franchise very closely over the last 16 years. And this is where the famous quote from the title comes in.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Coming up next, the conclusion to the thrilling trilogy…

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^{1. Truth be told, I was not completely against the T.J. Ford for Jermaine O’Neal trade. While it was not the deal I probably would have made, I thought it was a bold move that may or may not backfire, but at that point felt something big needed to be done. I also never saw the trade as as much of a failure as others. While O’Neal obviously didn’t have the impact that many hoped, it’s hard to blame it on O’Neal when the supporting cast was so abysmal.}

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Category: Draft, Free Agency, NBA, Raptors

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