Toronto Raptors Should Pray They Don’t Return to Mediocrity

February 26, 2009

by David Aaron Lindsay… With the hope and/or changes that the trade deadline provided now basically gone, I think it’s time to think about what those changes mean to the franchise going forward and what would be in their best interest for the rest of the year.

I would argue that a horrible start to this season would be a terrible thing to waste. As Raptors fans, we’ve already been through the disappointment and letdown that was the first half of this season. This also has absolutely nothing to do with the evaluation of the success or failure of the Marion/O’Neal deal going forward.

When you examine the current state of the Raptors a couple of things jump out at you. First off, honestly, what is the best case scenario for this year? We would probably have to win over two-thirds of our remaining games to get even a sniff of the playoffs.

And then, once we were there, what could we honestly expect when, as the seventh or eighth seed, we would draw a powerhouse such as Boston or Cleveland? (Against whom we would stand absolutely no chance.) Would a first round beatdown against a far superior team really help in the development of our so-called young players?

I just don’t see the benefit of getting in and then getting trounced. I’m sorry, but I don’t.

That means this year is basically a washout whether we get into the playoffs or not. And what is one of the only possible positives that could come from a lost season? A really good draft pick, that’s what.

Let me ask you this: Would you rather make the playoffs (barely), get beat down quickly, and end up with the 16th, 17th, or 18th overall pick? Or would you rather just throw it in cruise control and shoot for a top fourth, fifth, or sixth pick that could be legitimately critical to our future success? (Things such as getting Bosh that little extra rest and making sure guys are completely healthy could go a long way.)

If nothing else (and don’t mistake this for me hating on Bosh, because I am still in his corner, and we need him going forward), haven’t we learned that Bosh isn’t going to get us over the top without an elite level wing player to help?

Marion, even if we re-sign him, can hardly be considered that player. His body of work proves that while he is a nice player, he isn’t that third-spoke-in-the-wheel kind of guy.

He couldn’t help the Suns get over the top with Nash winning MVPs and Amar’e playing the role of Bosh, so we cannot reasonably expect him to do it with this cast of characters.

I wouldn’t mind retaining Marion going forward for something in the $6 to $7 million range (which is likely unrealistic), but anything more than that and I’m taking a pass.

There were high hopes for this year, and I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone that would analyze this Raptors season as anything other than purely underachieving. So we’re likely going to be better next year almost by default.

Take this rare opportunity and nab one more really high draft pick to add to this core. If we could get to the four to six range we could realistically end up with a Brandon Roy or Danny Granger type.

In my opinion, it’s really our only shot at taking the next big “step.” The Wades, LeBrons, Carmelos, and Roys of the world almost never end up in free agency, and we all know what happens when they are scheduled to: Big cities and teams start clearing the decks for them.

What would be our legitimate chances at luring one of those guys here? One percent? Less than that? Probably.

This draft does seem to contain some promising wing players. That Harden kid out of ASU would be a great fit, I think. Although most mocks have him in the top three, some people think he could fall to four or five depending on which three teams are in the top three just based on their needs.

Aminu out of Wake also looks like a good athletic wing with an NBA body, although he is not as offensively polished. Even DeRozen out of USC, who is more of a project, seems to have loads of potential.

But I’m not here to anoint the “guy” we should take—that’s what Colangelo gets the big bucks for. I am just here to say that I have come to terms with the Raptors’ 2008-09 season and that I am okay with being bad the rest of the year if it means that I have legitimate hope for the future.

So, there it is. While I cannot bring myself to openly cheer for losses as I much prefer to watch them win games, I am finding solace in each loss from here on out.

Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors: Match Maker

January 2, 2009

by David Aaron Lindsay… Here’s a crazy idea, and I KNOW I will get some real flak from both sides for this, but hear me out here and then make your final judgment.

Toronto Raptors trade Andrea Bargnani, Jason Kapono, Joey Graham, Will Solomon and their 2009 first round pick.

Golden State trades Corey Maggette, Marcus Williams, Marco Belinelli and Brandon Wright.

First let’s evaluate pure feasibility. Right off the top, this deal wouldn’t be able to be approved until after Dec. 15 because that is the earliest that players who signed in the offseason can be traded.

This could also help explain why the Raptors made the coaching move now; to see how they perform with the current roster before those signed become available for trade.

Secondly, dollars. The Raptors would be sending over about $14 million in contracts with Golden State sending back about $13.5 million. So the Warriors’ owe slightly more money immediately, but save money in the long run as all the players coming in have short deals or deals that expire at the end of the year. Either way, the money works.

Toronto Raptors Perspective:

The Raptors are built to win. And more importantly NEED to win now. If we don’t start winning and winning fairly big now, then we can guarantee Bosh will be saying bye-bye in two years.

O’Neal is not getting any younger, and while some people have been down on him, I actually think he has been pretty good and is definitely further along than I thought he would be at this point. So this satisfies that criteria for us. Not only does the trade make us deeper right away, but it makes our starting five more balanced as well.

Maggette is a solid defender at small forward, plus he gives us another scoring option that isn’t afraid to take it to the rack.

Williams gives us a solid backup PG that has recent NBA experience.

Belinelli is a European player and great shooter that I know the Raptors were high on when he came out.

Wright is a versatile front court player that slides in behind Bosh and could also get some time backing up the three. He is still very raw but we really don’t need to get a lot out of him right away.

The Raps Depth Chart would look something like this:

PG: Calderon, Williams, Ukic
SG: Parker, Belinelli, Adams
SF: Maggette, Moon, Wright
PF: Bosh, Wright, Hump
C: O’Neal, Hump

This lineup makes me feel a whole lot better when thinking about if the team can compete in the East this year.

Sure Bargnani has looked like he is starting to figure things out, but let’s be realistic here folks, he isn’t a SF and Bosh will always will be blocking him at PF, where he belongs. He is also probably another year or two away from developing his talents and by that time, what are we really left with?

You HAVE to give up something to get something and he is the only logical choice.

Kapono has never really fit in Toronto but could be valuable in the right system.

Graham and Solomon are more for contract purposes to make the money work.

I don’t like dealing another first rounder, but we need to win now, not three years from now when that first rounder will be able to contribute.