General manager Bryan Colangelo reaffirmed last week his support of Triano. The loss of Bosh after the all-star break and the disappointing play of free agent signing Hedo Turkoglu aided and abetted the second-half plummet.
"I’m not making excuses," said Triano, who was contacted at his aging parents home in Niagara Falls Monday. "But the NBA is such a stars’ league. We were in fifth when Chris sprained his ankle the first game after the all-star game. It’s disappointing [the way they finished]. But we had nine new players and a new coach. We’re a young team. I’ll get better and the players will get better."
In hindsight, Triano felt he spent too much time with the assistant coaches focusing on the Xs and Os of the game plan instead of his strong suit, which is relationship building.
"I’m pretty good dealing with people," he said. "Because I was so focused on working with the assistant coaches, I think I got away from building the team. I need to do that next year."
13. Raptors: Solomon Alabi can step out and hit the elbow jumper, block shots, and move with agility that most big-men don’t have. Overall, yeah I know what you’re thinking, ‘is he better than Hasheem Thabeet?’ I think so. I always felt that way. He certainly is a better prospect. But at times he fits that of a role player at Florida State, allowing Chris Singleton (another impressive prospect) to assert himself more than skill-levels suggest. Another reason he can be headed to Toronto is what looms of Chris Bosh. And simply they don’t have a true Center in all honesty. Keep packing that international flavor! Why dont cha!
We certainly agree with the Star that all charities should operate in a transparent manner so donors are aware of their expenses. However, we feel that since The Team Up Foundation has not yet celebrated its first anniversary, or reported its first income statement, the Star’s assessment of its effectiveness is very premature.
Fundraising should always strive to be as cost-effective as possible, and we have always exceeded the Canada Revenue Agency’s guidelines and requirements. So to lump the costs of major gift solicitation, special events and 50-50 draws together to create a single measure of the overall costs of fundraising, as you have done, is very misleading.
We constantly look for ways to be more efficient, but it also must be recognized that sports charities are unique. The nature of our work, and the way we do it, will always mean our expenses will be somewhat higher than non-event driven charitable organizations.
It has been speculated that general manager Bryan Colangelo has made moves to help convince Bosh to stay in town but bringing in Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems doesn’t seem like enough. In fact, nothing seems like enough for these Raptors. The team needs to make several moves. Bosh’s place will need to be filled. It’s not going to be easy since he has turned into both an All-Star and leader on this team. In addition, a better bench will need to be built. This team really screwed itself by turning into the revolving door that it has been for the past few years. The problems are too numerous and complex to list out and Toronto had no business even being in the playoff chase.
