Then there’s the Raptors. With NBA superstar Chris Bosh a free agent next year, Raptors management had to show Bosh that the team could be a contender.
That might be easier said than done. They’ve only made the playoffs twice in the past seven seasons, and every time they seem to make progress, they make a bad trade or signing and take a step back.
But this year, they’ve completely revamped their roster.
a Bryan Colangelo “Summer of 2009″ play list. As always, if you have tunes to add, do so in the comments and I will update the list with the good ones.
The Toronto Raptors are in a very interesting situation at the moment and it’s time to address the Toronto Raptors needs from a general managers perspective. Yes, we are talking about the big dog upstairs they call BC.
The way I see it, this off-season was about Brian Colangelo proving himself to the fans of Toronto more than anything. They had a good team last year and were just one of those teams to get hit with the injury bug that is ever so intent on catching at least one NBA team yearly.
Marco Belinelli is on the Raptors and the Warriors welcome Deavan George and a duffel bag of cash from Toronto. The Raptors got a superb deal here, similar to buying a distressed property off some poor schmuck that bit off more than he could chew. That poor schmuck would be your Golden State Warriors.
The motivation for this trade was to get an expiring contract and to clear more cap room after this upcoming season. It’s just that the Warriors have a long list of players that have successful careers after leaving the Bay Area, and I’m afraid Belinelli will be another name on this list. The departure of Belinelli also places more pressure on Anthony Morrow, who will see more minutes and could very well be the starting off guard until rookie Stephen Curry shows he is capable of handling NBA speed, let alone Don Nelson speed.
So, based on how teams have approached the free agent market, these could be the Celtics’ competition next season: Cleveland, Detroit, Orlando, and Toronto in the Eastern Conference, and the defending champion Lakers, Dallas, Houston, Portland, and San Antonio in the Western Conference. Denver, Phoenix, and Utah have been willing to spend to keep free agents but have not gone outside for help.
