Beyond Captions

476330325_ff520baa44So, I was sitting around and I started thinking about what the Raps are gonna do this off-season. I envisioned GM Bryan Colangelo in total relax mode, gently swirling an expensive glass of wine with a cell phone on his ear, talking shop.

I thought, hey, maybe I should relax with some vino too, you know, sort of toasting the end of the season. I poured myself a deep red ‘06, took a sip, and said, “Who am I kidding here?”

I fluttered back to my feelings about the Raptors in February, 2006. I had almost given up hope. Playoffs was a word saved for the city’s elite — the Rock & Argonauts — but ever since Colangelo arrived, this city believed in a man that has paid huge dividends in a short amount of time. The BC era in Toronto has really been astonishing.

What makes this guy so good? There are many traits to sort through. Like those high collared shirts he wears, the man is bold. He makes unpopular moves like trading Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford because he loved Andrea Bargnani — a move many, many people ridiculed. He listens to the people around him and he sees skills in players that others might not. When his hand was forced with Joe Johnson in Phoenix, he was able to obtain a decaying Boris Diaw and draft picks. He acquired an Argentine in a similar situation last week by getting Carlos Delfino for basically nothing. He’s constantly looking offshore for talented winners and brought in the future 1st non-American GM in Maurizio Gheradini. He’s gathered guys playing abroad that have the essentials in Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker for minimal costs. He puts players in a system where they have FUN! and are likely to play a little over their heads, but he knows the difference between a filler and a superstar. He can then trade those spare parts that overachieved and probably get a little more than what they’re worth because of it. I like this example: he signed Quentin Richardson and traded him a year later in a deal for Kurt Thomas.

That’s why I see a couple trades in Toronto’s future. The foundation is in place with Chris Bosh, Ford and Bargnani but some tinkering needs to be done. The parts that are being recycled around them need a little work but the cap space isn’t spacious at all. Their main options are signing a player to the mid-level exception, performing a sign-and-trade with Morris Peterson (who they apparently almost traded for Andrei Kirilenko), or packaging players in a deal. I can’t believe how much expectations have changed in a year. The franchise was languishing with no light in sight but BC came in and carved the team up like a tappanyaki chef.

Photo: TFC Home Opener 035 by bgnewf.

Share This

By Tas Melas at 12:15 pm on 06.19.2007 — Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Raptors

Comments

6 Responses to “Beyond Captions”

  1. Matt D at 1:03 pm on 06.19.2007

    I also liked BC’s trade of seldom used Freddie Jones to Portland for Juan Dixon… I foresee a showdown between those two in the 2010 NBA Finals.

  2. Chris Clarke at 2:06 pm on 06.19.2007

    I hate Mark Jackson! Someone please give him an office before someone jams sharp objects into their ears.

  3. Semprini at 8:01 pm on 06.19.2007

    There’s really nothing better than having complete confidence that your GM will make the right move far more often than not.

  4. Jordan Ginsberg at 1:53 am on 06.20.2007

    Semprini: Absolutely. Until he totally fucks one up, I will give Colangelo the complete benefit of the doubt on any move he makes. My babgina moistens with anticipation just imagining what he might pull off before the season starts.

  5. Jordan Ginsberg at 2:03 am on 06.20.2007

    And, like I said in an e-mail to TBJ a while back: I heard Bosh on Swirsky about a month ago claiming, at least at the time, that Colangelo’s big target this off-season was none other than Jesus Shuttlesworth himself. Whether that has any basis in reality is naturally up for hearty debate, but it may be worth noting that Bosh made a very similar appearance on Chuck’s show LAST off-season and made an almost identical statement regarding T. J. Ford.

    Of course, Ford’s no Ray Allen — but still. Even if I weren’t a Raptors fan, I’d want to watch the shit out of a Bosh/Bargnani/Ford/Allen/Garbajosa starting five.

  6. Jordan Ginsberg at 2:10 am on 06.20.2007

    But basically, as much fun as the Raps were last season, if I have to sit through another 82 games of Bosh launching shots behind a team so apathetic about rebounds that the other four assholes are firmly at half-court by the time the ball hits the rim, I’m going to put a gun in my mouth.

    And apparently I’m drunk.

Leave a Reply




Close
E-mail It