So now it is official (at least according to Stephen A. Smith) that unofficially Bosh wants out of Toronto. Truthfully, how can anyone be surprised by this? I mean, what has this team done since they traded Carter and made him the guy? Let us not kick a dead horse and go over again how Colangelo has made no significant free agent signings, trades, or draft choices (that have worked out). That has been talked about in great length for months.
Instead, let us focus on the last 4 months when everything fell apart. After all, it is safe to assume that this past summer, Bosh may have been unhappy about his two headed point guard fighting and eventually being broken up, and he may have been unhappy about getting made to look like a school-girl at prom (all dressed up and ready for action but unsure how to make it happen) for the second straight playoffs… but, he sure did look happy when the JO deal was made.
So where did we go wrong? Well, it’s no secret that Jose Calderon’s thigh injury has had the biggest impact on “the season-gone-wrong.” And certainly, JO hasn’t played enough games to make a difference. Losing Humphries hurt. And having no real depth, and therefore being forced to depend on Joey G and AP to be your starting backcourt for ¼ of the games this year is nothing to be proud of. But here are the real reasons why Bosh wants out:
- Triano
- The lack of movement to save the season
- The boo-ing
Triano
Look, I have said it before and I’ll say it again, this guy is not a legit NBA coach AND THERE IS NO CITY IN THE LEAGUE WHOSE FAN BASE WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED THIS MOVE. We were only a pair of games under.500 when SMITCH was fired in what was supposed to be a 50 win season? How then does this organization justify the Triano hiring? Really, I mean everyone needs to stop defending this choice. Doug Smith from the Toronto Star was on the local radio station Fan590 this morning and it was sickening to hear him defend the Triano hiring. ENOUGH! Put down your Timmies double-doubles and your hockey sticks for a second and stop the flag waving. The only reason he is the coach IS BECAUSE HE CAME CHEAP AND BEING CANADIAN WOULD KEEP RAPTORS FANS QUIET. This was a big, fat, admission that the season was over. And Bosh knew it. He had too.
The lack of movement to save the season
The only thing worse than the Triano hiring was that it was followed by….nothing…absolutely nothing for more than 100 days. I mean York University TAs went on strike and went back to work in the time between Colangelo fired SMITCH and made his next significant transaction. If making Triano the coach wasn’t an admission of giving up, then certainly, letting the team fall to 13 games under .500 over the next 3 months while MAKING NO MOVES certainly speaks volumes to this organizations commitment to winning. And Bosh knows it. He has too.
The Boos
Look, I’m with you, boo this team. Boo them every possession until the organization stops giving us the Maple Leafs treatment (that is putting out garbage teams year after year and selling us nothing but hope) but remember, that Bosh is just a nice guy. And while he shouldn’t take it personally, and he should just suck it up (because he has 14 million reasons to stop crying about the fans booing) he is upset because he is trying to win. He is trying to carry a franchise that is not committed to winning. a franchise that has a high school coach and a roster of D-Leaguers. He knows the organization doesn’t care about winning, is lying to the fans, and he is the one being forced to take the blame for it.
So does he want out, hell ya! And you know what, I would want out too. So, as I mentioned last spring, TRADE BOSH NOW!
Just do it already. Stop selling us false hope. Blow it up.
Trade Bosh and JO and start the process of rebuilding around Il Mago and Calderon. Will this mean we will be a better team this year…no. Does it mean we are closer to winning a title…no. But come on, we can’t be much worse. We are second last in the Eastern Conference and almost as bad as Washington. This is an embarrassment.
So send him home to Dallas (with Kapono- and this should be the rule, that anyone who wants Bosh has to take Kapono) for Josh Howard, JKidd’s expiring, and a pick. Or send him to Miami (as Chad Ford at espn.com reported) for Beasley, Marion’s expiring, D. Cook, and a #1. Or send him to Cleveland for Wally’s expiring, Sideshow Bob and a couple of picks. Heck, send him to Chicago for Deng, Noah, Nocioni, and #1. Any of these options or other will do.
Likewise, with JO, send him anywhere, to anyone, who will send us an expiring contract in return (even to the Knicks for Marbury and a pick)
The goal now should be to be at least 40 million under the cap entering this off season’s free agency period. Here are the 2009 NBA free agents.
With JO (22mil), AP (5mil), Garbo (5mil), Bosh (14mil), Kapono (6mil) and Joey G (2mil) all off the books, the Raps could have more cap space this summer than some team have in salary entering an offseason when teams will be lining up to dump contract (even of good players) to be able to make room for the class of Bosh, Lebron , and Wade. And since none of those guys will be coming here in 2010- its time for us to acknowledge the future, and start to be sneaky players in rebuilding this franchise.
Lastly, the rumours of Amare, wanting out of Pheonix are crazy and won’t stop. No one could offer the Suns a better package than Toronto if they were so inclined to include Bosh. So maybe Colangelo is really trying to rebuild his Suns. After all, all he would have to do is this.
Certainly that would make Triano and Raptors fans happy – at least for a few months – until it fails like everything else Colangelo has done since he’s been here.
As always, standing in the key, I’m the Dr. I’ve got my feet planted and I’m planning on taking a charge! phdsteve.
80 Raps
This whole MLSE is not committed to winning is getting really old, they hired one of the most coveted NBA execs at the time and gave him autonomy, he has not fully delivered. He went after JO who has a 23M contract, he has not fully delivered. Just b/c they will not go over the luxury tax it does not mean they are not committed to winning. Lets all be fair here and stop blaming MLSE, the ppl put in place from the GM, to the coach, to the players have not delivered plain and simple. People really need to start thinking outside the box and stop coming up with these lame old excuses.
I agree, phdsteve you are an idiot. Your negativity will ruin this franchise.
yes, I am an idiot.
but why wouldnt MLSE hire a real coach instead of paying a 2 bit assistant for the rest of the season if it really was focused on winning and not on $?
as for ruining the franchise- its looking like Colangelo doesnt need my help.
Because no good coach is going to accept a job midseason. Think about it, you’re a coveted coaching candidate in the NBA – would you take over a team with high expectations that you don’t even have so much as a training camp with or would you wait until the offseason and listen to the offers of every team with a vacancy to fill (remember there are a ton of them this season) and choose the best situation then? If that’s your only argument, that’s a weak one indeed. Hate on MLSE for the TSN2 mess, hate on them for the way they break promises to season ticketholders, but you can’t call them cheap just because they put Triano in a situation no one good would want.
i think that Colangelo stuck with Triano because he is waiting for the off-season to hire Ettore Messina.
Unfortunately, I believe that BC has a Euro-agenda that may come in conflict with his agenda to bring a winning team to Toronto. From what I can tell, Messina would not work well in the NBA. Messina treats his players like soccer players on the World Cup: eat this, not that, sleep now, no sex etc… But these claims are strictly anecdotal. Maybe someone else can back up these claims.
I think that Triano was in place to placate Bosh until he could hire Messina, because Triano and Bosh are very comfortable with each other, and Bosh was already grumbling about how the organization was being flipped upside-down.
In my humble opinion, BC should go for a coach like Flip Saunders or JVG: someone who is proven. The experimentation time is over. However, I doubt BC agrees.
If I had one complaint about BC: he has an agenda to turn Toronto into the Euro-friendly club of the NBA, and make his name and his legacy that way. He will be responsible for internationalizing the game – this will be how he stands out.
Dunno about the no sex thing,could be, but here (europe-italy) coaches usually have strict rules over diet and sleep. Nothing absurd btw… I mean, we are talking about athletes, people who need to be in shape and diet is an important part of that…I’m always surprised to see nba players eating cheeseburgers or fried stuff after games, or hearing that an allstar never eats vegetables. Those kind of nutritional behaviors are terrible and hurt those guys in the short and long run and Messina would not tolerate them, that’s sure. Messina is not a unique guy, that’s just the way things go here. Good coaches are demanding here. They scream, they curse, they punish lazy guys mercilessly, the ask you to eat like a basketball player and not like a sumo wrestler, they ask you to go to sleep at a decent time and not get wasted in some club till morning during season. Ask brandon jennings about repesa. I dunno how things work in the nba exactly, but for what I saw in these years I agree that it could be difficult for Messina to work there.
And who is responsible for why we have a shit GM, scouting, coach, players, medical staff ?
youre depressed get some real reasons
how about the economy?
he get more if he stays
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Interesting trade at the end though. Pretty brilliant and weird how it all works perfectly.
I’m known throughout as an optimist so I might be going a little too overboard when I get excited about the prospect of trading bosh.
Change is cool guys. I’d do the beasley trade, the amare straight up trade, mayyyyyybe the deng/tyrus trade, and I’d love to get bayless, outlaw, raefs expiring, and some picks (or martell Webster).
It’s all so exciting. Maybe it will bring on a new level of crap…who knows? But at least we can count on a different looking team. Hopefully an exciting one. Not the team with the pick and pop jumpshooting bosh as the “superstar”.
I wouldn’t trade calderon…he’s injured now but when he’s not he’s our man to run the offense and can be our next leader if bosh leaves. I think bosh is a really good player but even since he took those crazy 3-pointers i meant he doesn’t care anymore. Also, i agree jose and bargs should be our guys to build around. Bosh, bosh, bosh. if we trade him now then it will reinstate what Steven A. SMith said. but then again if we wait we won’t get his value next year ie. carter trade.
If i was B.C…
I would keep Calderon,bargs,graham,parker,ukic,jawai.
why jawai? just have in him there to bang bodies you know.. play the voskuhl role for a bit. Good point about adding kapono as a must if teams want to acquire bosh. it would fix one of many B.C’s mistakes. heres my proposal.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=1977~2010~615~2166~1727~2165~510&teams=21~21~14~28~28~28~28&te=&cash=
Calderon/Ukic/Banks/Soloman
A.P/Barbosa
Matrix/Graham/Moon
Amare/Hump
Bargs/Voskul/Jawai
pretty darn solid.
That’s a pretty darn thin front court, but I would still love to see that team run and gun! Don’t expect much defence to be played though…
truee.. i think we need a change you know… and i think this run and gun might pull us into the playoffs. we sacrifice front court D for perimeter D.
MLSE has never been opposed to spending money so I’m not sure why that argument keeps coming up. I have no doubt they will exceed the tax when this team has a legit opportunity to jump into serious contention…doing so before then is counter-productive and bad business practice.
The biggest problem MLSE has had, in the past, was Executives pressuring the GM’s of the team to give into the media and fan pressure to bring in help immediately and, in turn, sacrificing the long term health/success of the franchise. phdsteve is the ringleader of the knee-jerkers that have plagued this franchise and Toronto sports for decades.
Let us not kick a dead horse >>> why are you giving that make believe reporter any credit…let it go!!!
becuase its not just Smith. Just about every American sports reporter who covers the NBA- from TNT to ESPN to NBA TV are all talking about Bosh leaving. Why dont Raptors fans just admit that he is goign to go- and start the process of rebuilding today?
you need a vacation and don’t ever come back!!
where would suggest I go? Im open to suggestions.
siberia! or south antartica! that should cool you off!
phdsteve do you need a stress ball?
Everything in this entry has been talked about to death already.
Hey “a week ago” called and they want their blog entry back.
you are right- nothing I am saying is new. Its not just last week, but last month, and the month before that. This is preceisely the point. the same issues remain and very little is being done about it.
Triano – I’m under no illusion that JT will be back. He is here to take this team through its restructuring process. Call it a cheap way, call it whatever, but it’s how things have gone down. Mitch, lest we forget, had a habit of yanking Joey & AB, and I believe their development is more a product of Mitch gone, then JT’s encouragement – although I do believe he’s helped in that area.
As for next year, if we pull in a dynamite coach, get some decent wing players and a better Bench, then the season could be enough to keep Bosh here. If not, we deal with it then. I say we focus on the 09-10 budget when everyone is setting up their run at Lebron and company. And it’s my opinion that MLSE will authorize a luxury tax hit if BC can get those type of players that would take us to the next level. A level I think is not as far away as a Raptor pessimist might imagine.
The lack of movement to save the season – Let’s face it, we’re hamstrung by JO’s contract – a reactionary move by BC to the whole Bargs thing and a weakness on the Boards. Funny thing – while JO was down – is how we won some Rebounding contests. Go figure. As we’ve all come to acknowledge, the JO trade didn’t turn out like we expected. But have you ever wondered if AB’s development was a by-product of that signing. We could analyze that till we’re blue in the face, but the end result is … AB is surprising fans, including posters like BargsBust. And Joey, well, I think he’s become an untouchable …. it’s that Bench thing. What he might bring back (in a trade), is most likely not worth what he brings himself.
As for the booing, I really wish Rap fans would stand behind their team better. We incite VC to kick our asses, and wonder why. Stop booing the guy – it only wakes him up. I think fans need to take some lessons in motivational behaviour.
I too believe that JG and AB improvement show up due to the lack of Mitchell rather than merit of JT.
In fact JG isn’t a starter yet, beside show everybody but JT that he is better for this team than Jamario is.
Not to talk about Ab back as “3″ experiment
I believe JT previously starts moon over joey at the 3 is because joey is the only guy that gives energy to our bench. About AB being a “3″ is not that bad as it seems, because we have no other choice. we’ve got injuries to a lot of players, jose, hump, now bosh. and now AP has been the team’s dependable pg other than a healthy jose, so joey then moves to the 2 spot. Moon and Kapono both suck, offense and defense, Moon trying to be kapono shooting disgusting 3’s with lots of time at the shotclock. and in defense, Moon and Kapono are liabilities as well. It’s about time that JT bench those 2. it’s just so bad that our roster is so weak that JT has no choice but to play those 2 in order not to wear out the starters.
Jay is not the cause of the team’s poor record. Sam sucks as a coach and is bad at developing our young players. He demoralizes AB, and would rather play will salomon than roko. And I don’t think wasting money on a high profile coach would provide instant success to the team in all cases (e.g. Larry brown -knicks, and local example Ron Wilson-Leafs-their standing in the league is similar to ours). Jay may not be in the same league as phil, pop, sloan, mike brown, doc; but we should be patient and follow what the celtix did. They did not fire doc after their worst season, but rather vastly improved the roster leading them to win the championship.
Someone commented somewhere (not here) once, six or eight weeks ago, that he strongly believed that Ettore Messina was waiting in the wings, over in Europe (for his contract there to expire) and that Colangelo had him pegged as the next coach for the Raptors (maybe even, all along, before Smitch won COY). The more I’ve read about Messina the more intrigued I’ve become about all that. The dots sort of connect.
I’m glad youre on my side phdsteve. People keep telling me I have no credibility but as we see in this column I TELL THE TRIZZUTH!
LOL
I quote Sam Mitchell, who said approximately this a week before the regular season started:
“This Raptor team may not be athletic, but it’s basketball-wise.”
It’s obvious at least to me that Sam told BC that this edition of the Raptors is deficient and will crash badly as the season progresses. That sealed Sam’s fate and BC had to go to Plan B .. whatever that is.
So let’s start from here and stop bellyaching about the current situation. Just admit that BC now accepts the Raptors will tank the season and a high draft pick is about all we can expect. Trades will not be to the Raptor’s advantage because most our trading chips are only bench players.
So now let’s please start from that situation and say something constructive … like trading Bosh asap because he can’t do anything for the Raptors now or in the future.
ok, agreed- but why not add to a high draft pick with lots of cap space? why nto try to move out some of the bigger contracts to be an active player in the FA market?
Let’s just admit that no sane NBA star FA player would come to Toronto for the money as many here are fantacizing. Established multi-millionaire FAs want to play on a contending team with a strong supporting cast of players, and that’s not the Raptors. Also, Toronto just doesn’t fit into the “National” Basketball Association … and young rookies who end up in Toronto lose status with their USian buddies back home.
The Toronto Raptors will never in our lifetimes, win the NBA Championship because the “athletic” bball players don’t connect with Toronto city or foreign Canada. There are no songs about “Toronto” in the USA.
For example .. if you were Amare, would you want to play for Toronto??..Toronto!!..Toronto???!!!!
The best the Raptors can do is assemble a solid blue-collar team of B-grade athletes who are A-grade basketballwise and keep them together for several seasons … like Detroit did.
(Btw .. somebody mentioned that Sam left a .500 Raptor team .. but forgot to mention that Bosh and Calderon were playing 45 minutes per game..no doubt a survival strategy for Sam..!!)
Come on. This is old news. It’s been hashed and re-hashed ad nauseam for last few days. And the only article I read with a fair, even tempered response to it all was Mr. Grange at the Globe.
I’m getting tired of everyone with access to a computer, a high school diploma, and an unhealthy amount of cynicism to cry foul in the loudest possible voice (or in this case… an overly dramatic one) every chance they get.
A little perspective please.
Nobody ever said Triano was the solution. And if you had been paying attention, you would have seen that Bosh wouldn’t even look Sam in the eyes during timeouts early in the season. Sam was a problem. Triano is not the problem (though I will admit not the solution either). Midway through the season you are not going to have the same available coaching talent as you will in the off-season. Hence, no rash hire with a long term contract. Smart move.
As for the no movement argument… have you looked at this team? There is no value to be had aside from O’Neal’s contract. And Amare? Really? He is arguably a bigger problem child than you are painting Bosh out to be… I’d rather take my chances on Bosh in 2010 than Amare (who’s contract expires at the same time). At least Bosh demonstrates some leadership qualities.
And boo’ing? I’m tired of it, but I would also argue articles like this are just as destructive to a franchise’s fan base. Continuously calling for excessive change the moment things go wrong is really a sad symptom of a fan base who is completely disconnected from the realities of the NBA (evidenced by continuous incessant suggestions of trades that could clearly be labeled as “homer”).
How many teams have won an NBA Championship since the late 80s?
LA, Boston, San Antonio, Houston, Detroit, Chicago, Miami.
Do you really think continuously blowing up a team will result in suddenly joining this elite group of franchises? What they all had in common was stability (maybe not Boston and Miami), and/or transcendent players (maybe not Detroit). And a little luck (I would say even San Antonio, the model of NBA stability got lucky with Duncan).
Yes, change would be the metaphorical soother in the loud crying fan’s mouth. And massive change would pull the veil over everyone’s eyes and provide a false sens of direction and vision for the club. But how many times can a fan base be tricked by these moves before the fans realize that they are continuously rebuilding? What happens when you ship Bosh out of town and Calderon and Bargs can’t win you games? Then it’s time to ship them out and start over again. That’s no way to win.
My suggestion to everyone is be a fan of the game. Basketball is as a compelling a sport as any. Support the team, you’ll feel better in the morning. And stop behaving like Leaf fans.
Rant over.
actually, I take issue with several issues:
1) Colangelo said that Triano was the solution the day he named him coach.
2) Im not saying Sam should still be here – but if you were going to fire him, at least bring in someone to help this team win the 50 games we were proised in the offseason
3)Im not arguing that Bosh sucks. Far from it. I think -and have argued many times on this site- that I see CB4 as a top3 PF in the league. The issue is simply this- if he is going to leave anyways- its doesnt make sense to a) let him walk for nothing- like TMAC, or b) let it get to the soap opera stage like VC. Id rather have him here too, but so far BC hasnt been able to make it work around him.
4)of the list of teams that won titles- how many started Joey Graham at the 2 guard. exactly.
5) its not a highschool diploma- its a phd.
BC said this was the best team on paper. Did we expect anything different? And he might have said JT was the solution, but I’d have to think he meant a temporary solution – something he’d never admit. Just like the Bosh trade BS. Stephen Ass Smith knows that too. A good poker player never reveals their hand – why would our GM? And to think BC envisions Triano as the future, is presumptuous thinking on our part.
As lessthanzero has said (or implied), a Coach search is best suited after the season. JT fit the bill as a temporary guy. Like it or not, I think it was the best way to go.
As for Joey, yes, starting him at the 2 guard is not how this team should start next season. But for now, with injuries and such, let’s give the guy a shot at showing us who he really is, without a coach working the fishing rod a little too fast – hook and all.
1) Colangel onever said he was the long term solution. And arguably, what has transpired is not Triano’s fault. The team was flawed. That falls on BC. Your argument was that the hiring of Triano send the wrong message to Bosh. My argument, keeping Sam would have created a greater problem.
2) Aside from Flip Saunders and choice few others, who might you have hired? Who would have won with the injuries and our weak bench? Why hasn’t any of the other 7 or 8 teams who fired a coach hired one permanently this season? Because mid season hires are a bad idea.
3) My point was that if he was going to leave anyway, why Amare? And as has been suggested by Rapthoseleafs, his value is still great next year as you can still trade his bird rights then, giving whoever you trade him to the 30 million dollar upper hand. Trading JO for an expiring deal is the best chip BC has, and that’s why it is the only trade you hear about. Trading JO for cap space this summer does everything you mentioned above, without hitting the reset button.
4) I never said Joey was the solution. I never said that this team would win Championships as currently constructed. I was arguing against the idea that continuously blowing up a franchise, trading away valuable assets on the “prospect” of greener pastures is a pacifier. A pacifier that most fans in Toronto has been accustomed to.
5) I use hyperbole and broad generalizations for effect (for example, High School Diploma). You use the same devices to make your point in your article. I reserve to right to do so as well.
1. our team really a great team on paper, on video games. they completely underachieved this season, and with the injuries plaguing them at the moment, they should realize that they gave away too much for JO.
2. Flip saunders sucks. yes he does lead teams to great season records, but it stops there. he can’t win in the post season, that’s why the pistons fired him and replaced him with new blood in michael curry. We should fix the team first, put the bulding blocks and shape them when they’re competitive enough, then get a good coach if they still can’t make it to their ultimate goal. (again detroit did it nicely-minus the darko draft, with joe d making a strong competitive team first, then hiring larry brown when they keep on losing in the playoffs despite having a great reg. season record)
3. Better trade bosh now, before upsetting him like what the team did to VC, and pulling of a desperation trade where we get nothing in return for out franchise player. CB might pull an I-dont-wanna-dunk-anymore shit or other shit to destroy this team. I hope BC finds the best option.
4. As for joey starting, i hope he is given that chance. he has shown potential, and has even been hitting jumpers in the Kobe game. He is our best perimeter. If not joey who??? moon? kapono? AP is also a pg at the moment.
lessthanzero,
I with you on that. Blowing up teams (and starting all over again), is a Leaf disease.
We have the basis for a good future team — we just need some patience. JO’s contract only gets more valuable, as we get closer to it’s end. And BC needs some balls to stay on course.
Despite our significant losses, I still enjoy those close games to Boston & LA. They give me reason to believe we have a chance, once we exchange JO’s contract for some wingers & more Bench.
Ya we do play good against great teams like LA, Boston etc. but do you guys notice how we always play to the level of our opponent. Against teams that suck, we play like shit. and when we play good teams, we step it up and contend with them. Its the loses to the bad teams that hurt the most.
And a comment about Sam Mitchell, Ive hated him for the last 2-3 years. Have you seen how his inbound plays at the end of a shot clock are the worst. his idea of a good play for last shot of the game is an inbound to parker coming off a high screen and shooting. except parker was never open because it was a simple play the defense could sniff out. And the other end of game play would be put the ball in bosh’s hands and bosh would just stand at the free throw line giving ball fakes for 5secs then taking a stupid jump shot. watch a boston game and some of the inbound plays Doc rivers comes up with are awesome.
Thats my rant for the day. Cheers
I think it’s a wait and see approach that BC is taking. He still believes this team can make the playoffs in a weaker east conference. I think if this team is able to win 5 or 6 games out of 10 they’ll be right back in the thick of things and sneak into the playoffs.
As for trading Bosh, i don’t think that’s a good move at this time. Come next year when there’s more pressure for GM’s to retain their existing talent and add more pieces, you’ll get better value for Bosh.
I’m going to give BC the benefit of the doubt that he knows what his doing and in the off season he will do everything in his power to improve the Raptors.
Worst case scneario:
-We trade Bosh+filler at the deadline next season to Miami for JO and his expiring. :D
lol! thats a classic.
And then resign Bosh in the off season!
sign bosh to a one year deal and JO to a year as well. at 23 mill
What I see is BC has told Triano to spread out the playing time to enhance the trade value of players like Graham, AP, others … and if he can steal a game or two, all the better. The Raptors are now in cruise mode and sinking towards a high draft pick .. because statistically and realistically, they cannot hope to become a .500 team any more.
Player development and hopefully entertaining bball is all that can be expected of this edition of the Ratpors. Sit back and enjoy the athletes on the other teams because the season is over and the only unknowns are who will be traded away. Fan expectation of a playoff team have vanished and it’s not necessary to boo .. only cheer in futility.
You’re probably right about the booing. It seems Bosh wants to play in a market where he’s more appreciated and he views the fans as more “basketball savvy” – if you’ve been around basketball in the US and Canada to see the difference you’ll know what I mean. It was a big hint when last year(?) Bosh felt the need to resort to YouTube videos asking/directing the fans on how to support the team and be louder. As for Triano, I doubt the selection had much to do with the Canadian angle- although it is obvious the media has played up than side of the story. In one sense, Triano was the right guy for the job because there were fundamental flaws with x’s and o’s on this team and triano is a better than average x’s and o’s guy. With such limited practice time in the NBA generally, and immediately following the Smitch firing, Triano was in one sense a logical replacement because he was familair with the team. That being said, interim rarely works in the NBA because the coach doesn’t have the luxury of training camp. I do agree that Bosh thought the season was over when the move to Triano was made- it showed in Bosh’s body language, effort, and interviews following the change, despite his words. But he also avoided a Sam Mitchell huddle in frustration a few games prior. Anyway, nice article…good read.
Trading calderon and o’neal should be the priorities before dumping bosh. Calderon especially. His squeaky clean stats really inflate his value around the league and make it look like he’s actually earning his contract, though some do know better (Arenas).
excuse me? what? no way? you are WRONG. Caldaron is a stud. a freaking stud. his stats are clean because he runs his offense. He has been struggling lately, but if you had a pulled hammy could you be running around a nba court?? and its not like he has a lot to work with when he is on the court. having graham starting does not help. and every time he passes to JO down low, JO does a stupid backing down move then fads away from the basket…EVERY TIME. I think i have seen him pass less than 10 times ALL SEASON. once JO gets the ball, all he thinks is score. CALDARON IS A STUD.
heres what we gota do. Start semi fresh with keeping Caldaron, Ukic, Parker, Bargs, Hump, and maybe that australian shaq guy (forget his name) then get a star SF who can break down his man and take it to hte hoop and be solid on man on man defense. then get another big or two, another couple guards and there a team.
Calderon is a pilon on defense and is extremely predictable on offense. He never drives, never takes chances, gives the defense an easy night at the office. They’re happy to let him swing the ball around the perimeter and shoot jump shots all night, even if he hits half of them. Teams have scouted him and his impact on the game has plummeted. He’s ideally a lights out backup point guard, not a starter making 50 million dollars. Get him some wing creators to hide his difficiencies and highlight his shooting skills and that’s all fine and good. Easier said than done though when his contract takes up too much of capspace for what he’s actually providing to the team. Better to trade him when his value’s still high.
Raptorsnationonline…I dont remember VC having to the u tube video,Oh !!! and he was playing in T. & if I’m not mistaken ,he actually lead the balloting a few times….so enough with the fans are morons because we live in Canada…..back to back world series,what do we know about baseball same shit come on !!!
I never said or implied that Canadian fans are “morons” in any way, so you must have inferred it. I said that Bosh might “view the fans as more ‘basketball savvy’” in other markets. I think that’s why he did the You Tube thing. In the US, if you’re a basketball player or fan, it’s very likely that your father and even your grandfather was too. Obviously, the same can be said for some Canadians, but not nearly as many. We have a lot of very knowledgeable basketball coaches and fans in this country and basketball continues to grow. But in the US, the game, and sports in general is much more deeply embedded in their schools, communities, and culture. Can’t speak for him, but maybe Bosh feels that way…and by no means am I suggesting that Bosh would want to leave for this reason alone… that person’s name was Antonio Davis.
Real quick…where’s the intro and exit music to the RR podcasts from? It’s awfully addictive.
Woops…wrong window. My bad.
phd steve needs his doctors license revoked.
thats it Micheal, Im cancelling your prescription! No more “medicinals” for you.
A stunningly lame post. phdsteve substitutes panic for analysis.
phd,
IMO, Bryan Colangelo will not be trading Chris Bosh any time soon.
PhdSteve:
Or send him to Cleveland for Wally’s expiring, Sideshow Bob and a couple of picks.
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Do you comprehend what you just said. For Chris Bosh? We gift wrap him for that garbage? You talk out of your ass and have no grasp about the game.
Why did we keep Triano when we could have hired a new coach?
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Who exactly would come here mid season? And why would MSLE be forced to pay 2 salaries for 2 coaches, a fired Sam and the present one? Triano came cheap, is well regarded by the team and the League and is a legend in Canada. Also, if the season went to shit, Bryan can put the blame on him and make him his personal puppet.
Anyways – Go York U. !!!!!!!!!
Dude, are you for real w/ this post? The first 2 reasons for Bosh leaving you pointed out are completely bogus – 1. Everyone knows that Triano is going to be there short term, it is much easier for players to adjust to a new head coach who previously was an assitant coach than a completely new head coach. Besides, how do you know if anyone of the elite coaches wanted to coach the Raptors at that point in time anyways? 2. I am sure Colangelo would do it in a heartbeat if he could trade Kapono for a Brandon Roy or a LaMarcus Aldridge – there’s a lack of movement because obviously there are NO GOOD DEALS out there (unless you’re thinking of trading Jose or Bargnani for a bag of peanuts). Even you said that Bosh was happy when Colangelo first traded for JO – this shows that Colangelo is not complete knuckle-head.
If you really meant in terms of blowing up the team – I can only say I am glad that someone like Colangelo, who actually is reputable in the business, is at the helm.
Why is it being stated here that Bosh was happy about the JO acquisition?
Actually, it is not late 80’s, but 1983, that a team other than those six won it all. And that point is well taken. Only six teams have won, in the past 25 years. Kinda puts it in perspective.
Oops. Miami makes seven.
nadir,
IMO … How many teams have actually won the League Championship since such and such a date is a complete red herring.
You have to wonder where this team would be had we actually had competent management and ownership. The pieces were always in place and we had many opportunities to improve and make an impact.
90’s – Vince Carter,Tracey Mc Grady,Chauncey Billups,Damon Staudamire, which were high end talent.
2000′ – So much talent up for grabs and we fail. Shit scouting and shitty GM’s were our downfall. Players up for grabs had we been active enough:
Dwayne Wade, Lebron ( had we tanked ) Danny Granger, Al Jefferson, Iguadala, Josh Smith, Chris Paul, Deron Willaims, Dwight Howard, Andre Biedrins, Paul Millsap, Rajon Rondo, Andrew Bynum, etc
We always had the key in our hands but we couldn’t unlock anything with it, ever.
Anyone here know that New Orleans offered there #4 pick for our 8 and 16th pick in 2004. Babcock said no. Chris Paul.
Ooops. 7 and 16 in 2005. My Mistake
hey everyone,
lots of good posts and commentary here. Even the posts that insult me are pretty well thought out.
lets give triano another year with his philosophies.
we were down by 14, triano switched to zone the whole 2nd quarter and got the lead.
I guess my theory comes into play once again guys
CURSE OF T.J FORD.
lol, that move was the downfall of our franchise for years to come, i said it then.. i’ll say it again. I love J.O and i’ve talked to him personally a few times back in portland. But I repeat, That TRADE was the DOWNFALL. We needed to keep T.J Ford, and Oh how i love our Toronto Raptor fans calling him a cancer because he ACTUALLY WANTED TO START, PLAY HARD, AND PLAY MORE lol. . . something YOU RUSTY TORONTO FANS are complaining about right now. . Bosh doesnt care blah blah.. Carter gave up blah blah lol.. im not hating on you people in this blog.. but the whole media here and MLSE cant eat a fat DONKEY D*CK.
Tj ford (healthy), Ap, Moon (getting backdoor cuts from Tj), Bosh (A Real Good friend of t.j’s), Bargs (just being plain old bargs) + J.K (loves to have a travel call per game) and our other scrubs lol.. Im sure we would NOT be 13 games under 500. and Smitch would still be here, we would still be a F*ckin UNIT
imagine trading Calderon or kapono, or A.P, Moon, Rasho,Hump,Graham for some other talent (thats not pussy ass Euro, even though i am Euro myself so dont get offended) and still keeping Tj,Bosh,Bargs. . . we could of been an INTERESTING team to watch.
Ps; anyone remember 2 years ago the article in the newyork papers.. “Toronto soon to be a rising power in the east” or something along those lines lol.. somewhere along the way.. our beloved Media, Fans, Management, MLSE came in the way lol
Trading Ford last summer is not the problem.
* Trading Ford + Nesterovic + Baston + the 2008 No. 17 Pick [Hibbert] in exchange for O’Neal [$21 Million/yr] + the 2008 No. 41 Pick [Jawai] is part of the problem
* Not acquiring another competent Point Guard is part of the problem
* Buying Out Garbajosa is part of the problem
* Not re-signing Delfino AND instead keppeing Kapono is part of the problem
* Acquiring Delfino, in the first place, in exchange for two future 2nd Round Draft Picks is part of the problem
* Signing Hassan Adams as an UFA was part of the problem
* Signing Will Solomon as a quasi-legit Back-up PG is part of the problem
* Using Joey Graham in the wrong way for much of the season to-date has been part of the problem
* Using Jamario Moon in the wrong way is part of the problem
* Using Kris Humphries in the wrong way has been part of the problem
* Exceeding the Salary Cap BUT THEN refusing to exceed the Luxury Tax Threshold, if/when necessary, has been part of the problem
* Dismissing your head coach, on Dec 3, with a 8-9 W-L, on the heels of a blow-out loss in Denver, and replacing him with an assistant coach who has been with the team in that capacity since the days of Lenny Wilkens, and has never been a head coach anywhere else in the NBA before this, is part of the problem
* Hiring an Assistant Coach from the German Pro League and the Canada Basketball organization is part of the problem
* Hiring an Assistant Coach from the ranks of “Individualized Trainers/AAU coaches/former college assistant coaches” is part of the problem
* Hiring a Director of Scouting from the Denver Nuggets organization is part of the problem
* Hiring a Director of Basketball Operations from the Nike Canada organization and then promoting him to Assistant GM is part of the problem
* Hiring an Assistant GM from the Benetton Treviso organization is part of the problem
etc., etc., etc.
nice. kahndor has done it again! agreed.
The Delfino two picks and the fact he’s not on the team is grounds for instant dismissal.
phd,
Thanks.
Do you think that others take the time to backtrack and read recent additions to these older threads which are no longer at the top of the queu?
Hopefully some do. : )
i do.
Flux,
When I think of “instant” … coffee comes to mind.
When I think of “coffee” … Mr. Coffee comes to mind.
When I think of “Mr. Coffee” … the Great Joe D. comes to mind.
When I think of Joe D. … Marilyn Monroe comes to mind.
When I think of Marilyn … John F. Kennedy comes to mind.
When I think of JFK … Martin Luther King, Jr. comes to mind.
When I think of Dr. King … Rosa Parks comes to mind.
When I think of Rosa Parks … Bill Russell comes to mind.
When I think of Bill Russell … Kevin Garnett comes to mind.
When I think of KG … Chris Bosh comes to mind.
When I think of CB4 … Bryan Colangelo comes to mind.
When I think of BC … Opportunities Lost come to mind.
When I think of Opportunities Lost … the 2008-2009 Raptors come to mind.
* It is always darkest just before dawn, and morning isn’t coming for a good while yet around these parts.
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Nevertheless, have yourself a terrific weekend! … : ) … the 2009 NBA Draft is but 4 months away!
go to siberia and don’t ever come back!!!!
and when you get there call me! Im planning a vacation there in the near future.
LOL.
Hence, when I think 2009 NBA Draft, I think of Opportunities Lost as BC is the one in charge… does that mean we can just reverse the order of your train of thought and arrive to it’s source of inspiration? The suggested BC INSTANT dismissal? : )
Morning will come and it will be still dark, (as it’s the case on the North Pole for 6 months of the year) while BC is in charge.
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Thank you, Sir.. yourself as well.
How bout trading bosh for amare? I know that bosh is the better player overall but both of them did not play to their potential so far this season, and both of them are unhappy playing for their current respective teams. Amare bec. of porter and shaq. Bosh bec. of losing and maybe jay. so maybe this trade might work for us. but i think we should keep JO, because JO is our best post defender.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/features/traderesult?players=1977~2010~3249~2166~1765~1727&teams=21~21~21~28~28~28&te=&cash=
Barbosa is a great energizer of the bench, a 2 way guard and a shooter. Barnes is an uprgrade over moon and kapono on the wing even if moon might more athletic bec. barnes has a good bball IQ and is willing to do the dirty work.