Jose Calderon = Wanted Free Agent

At the end of the season, a lot of money will be thrown Jose Calderon’s way. The Raptor PG plays 2nd fiddle to T.J. Ford, but he is not a backup point guard. He would be starting on a good number of teams in this league.

Calderon has a relationship with teammate Jorge Garbajosa that goes far beyond basketball. Michael Grange notes that they’ve been joined at the hip since Calderon was 13. Garbo has always been a mentor for the younger Spaniard, but it was Jose who helped influence Jorge to make the trip over the Atlantic and join him in Toronto a year ago. Calderon had a shaky year in his rookie campaign of ‘05-’06. It’s a fair question to ask if Garbajosa’s presence helped steady Jose, allowing him to be the player he was in Europe here in Toronto. When Garbo suffered that gruesome leg injury, the pair’s bond was easily evident. Calderon’s eyes opened wide and he appeared ready for a cry fest as he covered his brother’s leg with a towel.

Calderon paid from his own pocket to get out of his contract in Spain and sign up with then GM Rob Babcock and the multicultural city of Toronto. For all these reasons, you’d think Jose would want to stick around when he becomes an unrestricted restricted free agent after the season, but his bond with Jorge might actually be causing him to listen to other offers. The fact that Garbajosa is averaging 7 minutes a game must burn inside Jose. Yes, it’s still early, and Garbo might yet be a prominent member of this team, but would Calderon give Toronto a discount to give up starting minutes and starting dollars elsewhere under current conditions?

GM Bryan Colangelo made it clear when he signed Ford to a long-term deal that he is this team’s future as the floor general. Whether Calderon or Ford fill that role better is debatable, but what can’t be argued is that Garbajosa’s lack of playing time is hurting the Raps chances of keeping Calderon around.

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By Tas Melas at 1:14 pm on 11.05.2007 — Tags: Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa, Raptors

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11 Responses to “Jose Calderon = Wanted Free Agent”

  1. NDEddieMac at 1:48 pm on 11.05.2007

    Plus, how can they make their buddy cop movie during the off-season if they are separated by many miles and an international border?

  2. Chris S at 2:05 pm on 11.05.2007

    Raps can make a qualifying offer (making Calderon a restricted free agent) because he will be a veteran free agent with

  3. Chris S at 2:12 pm on 11.05.2007

    looks like my comment got cut off. Calderon will be RFA because he will have less than or equal to 3 yrs of experience at the end of his contract.

    http://www.nbpa.com/cba_articles/article-XI.php#section4

    I think the Raptors would match, so if he wants to leave, it would likely be via trade rather than free agency.

  4. settons at 2:59 pm on 11.05.2007

    tas, stop bringing your man-crush of Garbo into the post….keep tucking in your jersey!!

    a question…would King Colangelo have signed Ford, had Jose had his breakout season one year earlier? I don’t think so.

  5. Tas Melas at 3:03 pm on 11.05.2007

    Chris S… I stand corrected, Calderon is definitely a restricted FA. Skeets’ hurtful comments today must have rattled me.

    But, if Calderon is offered starter’s money, it would be difficult to imagine the Raptors matching with so much cash wrapped up in Ford. Two PGs making starter coin?

  6. 10FootBongz at 4:06 pm on 11.05.2007

    First, check out this article by Marty Burns on next summer’s FA class:

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/11/01/summer.market/index.html

    Next, tell me what team is going to have available money AND a need for a PG. I don’t see another team making a big enough offer to lure Calderon away, especially given how tentative teams are in making offers to RFA’s.

  7. Jorge’s limited minutes a bother for Jose? » Raptor Randomness at 7:54 pm on 11.05.2007

    […] role dwindle to a mere 7 minutes per game. I know it’s quite a bit early to speculate, but Tas Melas over at The Basketball Jones seems to think this may effect Jose wanting to sign an extension with the Raptors because of the […]

  8. RBeezy at 12:49 am on 11.06.2007

    maybe if Garbo had leg surgery like everyone told him to then he’d get more PT.

    as it stands, the only thing more painful than watching him hobble up and down the court is watching him use his (currently) 2-inch vert to grab rebounds or brick 3 pointers on one leg.

    the Raptors need to shut him down right now and give him the chance to do a proper rehab.

  9. octa at 1:03 am on 12.15.2007

    Jose is one of the best options for ‘1′ in world basket. Makes the others’ bettr, shares all, teaches how to deal the play….he’s necessray in basketball game

  10. ganx at 5:43 am on 04.25.2008

    man, i really think jose calderon could easily be a top 1 pg in the nba with another team.

    he plays point the way you want, gets mad assists, low turnovers, shoots the best fg % of any pg, even steve nash this year.
    and his freethrows are around 90%.

    he’s not small by any means either, 6 3.
    i hope my t-wolves make run for this guy and move foye to the 2 guard where he’s more natural.

    he’s a baller. but he will never be the player he can be alongside t.j ford.

  11. ganx at 5:44 am on 04.25.2008

    whoops. meant to say top 10 point guard in the league.

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