First off, a big shout out to all the members of the Raptors Republic. Its great to be on board and I look forward to giving a voice to angry Raptors’ fans everywhere- each and every week!
For starters, I’d like to revisit a couple of ideas that I have been writing about for the last month and change over at raptorstalk.com In particular, I’d like to share with you my thoughts on the firing of Sam Mitchell, which seem even more true today than they did on December 4th when I first wrote this piece.
…is Colangelo the right guy to right this ship.
http://www.raptorstalk.com/2008/12/04/you-are-running-out-of-chips-mr-colangelo/
You are running out of chips Mr. Colangelo OR Why Firing Sam Mitchell only buys the Raptors more time to make less moves.
I give Rob Babcock credit, he may have been a horrible GM, but at least he had the “cahones” to admit he made a mistake AND then set about fixing the problem immediately. One disaster ridden season after hiring Kevin O’Neil as the Raps head coach, Babcock fired him and admitted he hired the wrong guy. Less than 6 months later after he was proven wrong again in hiring Sam Mitchell (whom he hired to be “tough on Carter” and was rumored to have fought Carter in the dressing room). He sent Vince Carter to New Jersey in a trade that still makes Raptors fans cringe. The trade may not have been great, but at least Babcock was trying to fix his mistakes. He traded Rafer Alston to Houston for Mike James only 1 year into a 5 year contract, and even apologized publicly for drafting Rafael Araujo. Mr. Colangelo its time for you to own up. Ya, that’s right, I said it.
You see, the real reason the Raps have their hands tied at the moment is because Colangelo is having trouble admitting that everything he touches isn’t gold. Yes, in part, his trading away of TJ last spring was an admission that he made a mistake in acquiring him in a swap with the Bucks two years back for Charlie Villanueva - but not really. Actually, Colangelo’s hand was forced and his response came much too late. Had Colangelo been more active and humble, he would have dealt TJ as soon as it was apparent that Calderon could play at an all star level OR dealt Calderon as soon as TJ returned. After all, look what NJ got for J-Kidd last year at the trade deadline - yup, that’s right, Devin Harris + picks! Instead, Colangelo was continually cocky in addressing the media about the issue by insisting that their “2 guard rotation” was the envy of the league.
He allowed the controversy to not only emerge, but grow, and fester, until it ultimately divided and destroyed this team’s chance of making any type of run in the playoffs. And then, come the summertime, teams knew that Colangelo had to move one of the PGs and the only choices on the market for fair value included players like JO and Gerard Wallace. Now don’t get me wrong, I like the JO deal and I have endorsed it from day one, but in tying up 21 million this year and 23 million next year in JO, Colangelo has tied his hands to making other moves, especially because he felt compelled to include a #1 pick in the deal when there were at least 5 potential swingmen on the board at #17 who may have been able to help the Raps this season.
Colangelo’s second biggest mistake (and another one that up until today he was unwilling to move on) was the 4 year extension he gave Sam Mitchell. Yes, it was not Colangelo who brought Mitchell to Toronto BUT it was Colangelo who gave him a contract extension. He didn’t need to re-sign Mitchell. Remember, when Colangelo took over in January if 2006, Mitchell was coaching a team that ended the 05-06 season 27 and 55 that’s almost 30 games under .500. But at the time it appeared that he held onto Sam Mitchell to hold as a scapegoat so that if the roster did not look stronger in his first year of GM he could simply fire Mitchell and move on. And boy did that plan backfire. Instead, Mitchell led the Raptors in 2006-2007 to a 47 win season and even won Coach of the Year BUT and here’s the BUT - his contract had expired and even though Sam was the reigning COY, no one would have balked if Colangelo had come forward and said that he wanted his “own guy” in there.
Instead he re-signed Sam to a 4 year contract and at that point Mitchell became Colangelo’s guy and he was committed to him - even when the team started off 2007-08 poorly (1-4), or when Bargnani appeared to take a step back in his second year, or when they got embarrassed at the hands of Orlando in a first round match-up they should have won a year after being exploited by NJ. Time and time again, Colangelo stood back and let “the process” play out as he backed his guy and as top notch coaches like Stan Van Gundy, Larry Brown, Jim O’Brien, Scott Skiles, and even Mike Dantoni took their services elsewhere.
And this is why the timing of the firing seems strange. After all, if he didn’t fire Mitchell after the embarrassing loss to Boston on home court that saw the team fall one game under .500 and to 12th in the East only days after Carter humiliated this team in overtime against NJ, then why would you fire him in the middle of a west coast road trip less than ¼ of the way into this season? With an almost certain loss coming Friday night in Utah and the potential of up to 8 more losses before a truly winnable game on Dec 19th against Oklahoma., why wouldn’t you wait until after December when the schedule gets lighter and you could use the coach as a scapegoat for the teams play in December?
The potential reasoning for the firing may be that the 40 point loss in Denver was more than any respectable fan could take, especially when the coach’s response to it on the FAN 590 radio station this morning was very nonchalant when talking about the disgusting effort his team put up in allowing the Nuggets to shoot 60% - a feat that has been accomplished more than once this season against the Raps. Maybe bloggers on this site were right when they mentioned how Mitchell had lost the confidence of Bosh and the dressing room or perhaps the chance to get his hands on Eddie Jordan or PJ Carlesimo who were both recently fired appeared too lucrative to pass up?
But more likely than not, it appears that once again Colangelo’s hand was forced and against his own better judgment he had to publicly come forward and again admit that he was wrong. Lets face it, if he didn’t have to, Colangelo would not have fired Sam Mitchell. How else do you explain how Mitchell has lasted this long?
You see Colangelo had to fire Mitchell because he needed to make some changes here and everyone knows that, but unfortunately there is no real wiggle room for him to make any player movement. This is a roster that has some serious holes in it due to Colangelo mistakes. He miscalculated the importance of guys like Garbajosa and Delfino by letting them both walk and then not replacing either players’ grit, basketball IQ, defensive toughness, and versatility to play more than one position. And with no real trading partners out there and with the team too close to the cap to even pick up a player at the veterans minimum, the coach became the only viable choice for change.
When I started thinking about who this team could trade to get better, the list is very short, in fact its really only two names: Bosh and Bargnani. You see, AP and Joey Graham may be expiring contracts but they only total close to 7.5 million dollars, which isn’t enough to bring back a player of any significance (that is of course assuming that you could get an NBA GM drunk one night at a league party and then get him to play a game of Kevin McHale and trade you valuable players for garbage). While Kapono would be liked by many teams, he has 3 more years after this season at 6 million a year at a time when most teams are very hesitant to take on any contracts past 2010 unless they are players of real substance (and Kapono is a good 6th man but not a real power player).
Calderon could be a valuable trading chip but there are 2 problems here: first, is that it would require Colangelo admitting that he was wrong, which we know he is loathe to do..BUT the bigger problem is that he has a BYC contract, which means that if they were to trade him in the first year of his new contract they could only take back half of what he makes in contracts from another team – and that means he only has a trading value of 3.5 million and that just wont get it done. And since, Colangelo may get shot if he trades Bosh the only chip that remains is trading Bargnani…ouch! Think about how tough that would that be - to admit that taking Bargnani was the wrong choice with the #1 overall pick.
You see that’s what firing Mitchell was really all about. The team needed change and Bryan Colangelo only had two choices: fire Mitchell or deal Bargnani. And while firing Mitchell doesn’t solve any of the roster issues or make the players here any better, it does buy BC time, time to sit back and hope that “the really big 3” can get it going every night. Time to hope that JO can stay healthy. Time to hope that Joey Graham’s secret twin brother decides to show up every night (that is the third twin who no one knows about who has all the talent but suffers from an anxiety disorder so he only shows up for 1-2 games at a time whenever Joey or Stephen are in jeopardy of losing their jobs). But most importantly, time to hope that there is another answer to admitting that he was wrong because apparently BC doesn’t like to do that, even when it costs his team wins and chances to win a NBA title. Just ask Joe Johnson.
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
khandor
Dino Gunners
TauEpsilonNu
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33 Raps
What if this is how it is supposed to be? Colangelo sent here to mess things up. Bosh Leaves for New York to join Lebron. Colangelo becomes New Yorks GM and has his coach in Mike DiAntoni. I smell another NBA conspiracy!
One of the best articles I’ve ever read! Congrats!
PLZ PLZ PLZZ TRADE ANDREA BARGNANI. His jump shot is inconsistent as hell and that is his only weapon. We need a wing player … BADLY.
Big’up PhDSteve for coming on board!! (BOH!!) :D
To me, the sky isn’t falling and the ship isn’t sinking. We’re a ‘Paul Pierce’ type player away from being a great team. I figure we could trade Bargs and add some extra salary (luxury tax) to acquire such a player.
I’ve always considered this season a throw away since the big one is next season (it’ll determine what Bosh decides to do).
If we are still 10-14 by this time NEXT season, I’ll be pissed. Till than, I’m gonna let BC do his thing and support the team as strongly and positively as the hardcore FANADDICT that I am!!
Welcome PhDSteve!! (Let’s go Raptors!!!)
PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZ TRADE BUTTERCUP BOSH!
“even when the team started off 2007-08 poorly (1-4)”
Great article, and I agree with most everything you’re saying - especially that re-signing Sam was a big mistake - but for the record, the Raps actually started last year 4-3.
http://www.nba.com/raptors/schedule/results_2007.html
It was good to over-achieve, but it was a mistake we over achieved in the 2006-2007 season. It gave Sam Mitchell the wrong recognition and there were better coaches that year, should of gave the COY to Don Nelson. There was nothing we can do about what transpired of us picking Bargnani and at least we had the Forderon. The worst effect it had was on us fans, it made us aim too high about this team. We won all the meetings with the Magic that year and the problem was is that Stan Van Gundy was not there yet to prove that Mitchell can be easily out-coached. Things would of stayed much greater also for us if Garbo was never injured by Al Jefferson accidentally. Garbo’s stubborness and scrapiness is what probably gave Calderon and the entire team the edge and in 2007/2008 he still was able to generate that aura on us to “make us go into the playoffs” IMO.
tonious - not to nit-pick, but garbo injured himself contesting a break-away dunk in a blow-out game.
My raptor’s world is burning around me…
“tonious - not to nit-pick, but garbo injured himself contesting a break-away dunk in a blow-out game.”
-Yertu
Oh how i miss the days when athletes compete no matter what the circumstance. That is what they are paid to do isn’t it?
Which brings me to an interesting point. We are asking a lot of questions in regards to effort with the Raptors. What exactly are we paying these athletes for?
Is it to:
A) Put a ball in a basket
B) Put on a show for the fans and be a draw at the gate
C) To win the game
D) To play as hard as you can and to the best of your ability
E) Show up prepared (body and mind)
F) Act as a role-model for the community
Now obviously some of these inter-relate, but i have a feeling that different franchises have these ranked in different orders. What do you guys think is the order at MLSE?
I’ll have to disagree on some of your points.
1)Mitchell was COY … do you honestly think letting Sam depart would go over well. BC was handcuffed on that one. He might’ve had the balls to do it, but the timing sucked big time.
2)Last year, TJ did his rant … where is he now? From what I hear, paradise in Indiana is not happening.
3)As for … Trade Bargnani. One minute we all love him, then we lose a few games (and his play is not there) and it’s …. TRADE HIM. Wtf.
What happens if JO goes down. If you think our bench is “Bench Light” now, imagine it then. You can certainly count on a lottery spot. And yeah, I know some people would like a shot at the lottery, but not making the play-offs will also mean …. see ya CB.
From my perspective, AB played not bad last night. Better then a few players we label as “bringing it on” kind of guys.
I’m as frustrated as others, but this isn’t the year to remake the team. It’s the year to GROOM parts of the team, like Ukic, AB, and Jose. Yes … Jose. We all talked about how he’s our Superstar PG, but the truth is, he needs seasoning. He needs to learn defense.
Hopefully, Triano can bring all this about.
Personally, I just want a good effort. And I want to see guys like Ukic be a lot better when this season ends. Screw the 2nd round. We ain’t going any further than that. If we do, it’s because guys like Ukic developed at a faster pace then one might expect. We can all dream.
What you see is what you get/got …!!!!
To be perfectly frank, if I were a GM of another team, I don’t think I would want any of the Raptor players in a trade .. they’re too unathletic.
Also they don’t seem to be displaying much bball IQ either .. and combined with their lack of athleticism, I wonder how they manage to win any games at all. Maybe it’s some kind of statistical thing that the Raptors catch some teams off guard or something.
The lack of consistency within the Raptors and their inability to close out games is beginning to make me wonder if they really know what they are doing out on the bball floor. Even if they lose but display some sort of discipline, that would be admirable .. but what I see now is …. unexplainable. Is incompetent coaching the reason why Sam was fired?
Perhaps time will change things because Triano is trying to play more players perhaps in an effort to establish some trade value with them .. if they show well as individual players .. like diamonds in the rough. I fear the Raptors have no quality trading chips … but, BC could prove me wrong.
What is really of concern to me as a Canadian is the growing feeling that really good US college bball players and established veterans don’t see their bball careers and earning power being enhanced playing in Toronto Canada. I really don’t think they take Toronto seriously basketball-wise .. and those who do play here have no other choice in the NBA.
I think the ‘euro-ball’ experiment has essentially failed, and the Raptor team is in a state of disarray now. What to do next???
RapthoseLeasfs,
Keep a core of players (CB4’s final year, Calderon and Jermaine O’$$$$Release), but we have to tank it and indulge a terrible disappointment. This will also tell us how much of a stomach CB4 has with this set back and to see where Colangelo really stands in the 2009 Summer. If you want changes, and somehow (or stupidly) keep Bargnani or not, waive or trade our spare parts for 2nd Round picks or other athletic nobodies or bench-warmers from other teams that have a “future” or actually they are hidden gems…. wild idea, but that’s what “tweaks” we can make instead of watching Parker cough a garbage game these days.
Ball-less gutless wonders…. it just has to be “nice”…
The team reflects its leader… passive, weak, complacent….and that good old Toronto touch of unearned arrogance…
… when losing isn’t a big deal, you tend to lose a lot…
What will it take? Not making the playoffs?
Totally different topic. Michael Grange writes that Devin Harris is one of the top 10 players in the league. No way. Let’s make a list of 10 better or on-par players, trying in Alphabetical order starting from Atlanta (I’m going to miss teams, but who cares cause my point will have been made).
Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Lebron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony, etc.
And I’m not even trying to make cases for defensive players or some fringe guys. And I got up to D. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Does Harris deserve to be an all-star more than Calderon? Probably (I haven’t really compared the two much in different ways). Still, Grange is making a stupid statement and it annoyed me enough to write this. Ok, I’ll stop sabotaging this column by phd “i’m so insecure that i need to make sure people know my credentials” steve. I’m just kidding, man. Nice article.
Ok, I really do not think that calderon is even close to Devon Harris at this point, top 10 player might be a bit premature, but if he keeps playing like he is, one has to consider him up near the level of Deron Williams, or Steve Nash. Or at the very least Tony Parker. Perhaps not Chris Paul as his play making for others is not quite at his level, but his scoring and quickenss for a point Guard are nearly unparelled.
Also among the points you mention is inserting the #1 pick into the O Neal trade, but perhaps they did that to avoid the luxury tax that would have come from signing the #q pick. They might have needed to trade it similar to the way that Phoenix did. This would not be BC’s fault but rather MLSE.
Maybe we can swing a deal for OKC’s #1 pick. They’re on the cusp (loss differentials are shrinking) and probably need some high quality veterans to mentor their up and coming all-stars. We could end up with Blake Griffin or some other up and coming power players.
This post is crazy and I am sick and delirious.
FAQ - ‘…if I were a GM of another team, I don’t think I would want any of the Raptor players in a trade…’
completely agree. i don’t know how many hours i’ve wasted (at work, of course…i’d never waste my own time) on ESPN’s trade machine, trying to see if there’s a deal out there that works. everytime i come up with something that seems to make sense, i look at the team that’s getting whatever raptor players i’ve included, and immediately nix it, as there’s no way they’d make the deal. it’s a symptom of the home-town bias towards ‘our’ guys - we always overvalue ‘our’ guys, and undervalue guys on other teams. eg: most raps fans would think bosh would be worth, say, aldridge, lafrentz’s expiring contract, and a pick (and most would probably think that the raps wouldn’t be getting enough back) - but why on earth would pritchard make that deal?
jord - the G&M article you’re referencing wasn’t written by grange, but by chris black http://caldeford.blogspot.com/2008/12/hollinger-and-why-jose-calderon-is.html
Alright well is If I was the GM this is what I would do!!!!!!..I will like your opinion Go check salaries and let me know…..
I would trade Andrea Bargnani (Broken Italian record)
Anthony Parker (Inconsistent)
Kris Humphries (a loaf of bread)
For Correy Maggette (Consistent)
Marco Beilinelli(new Italian hit)
New Line up
Chris Bosh
Jermaine Oneal
Jose Calderon
Correy Maggette
Jason Kapono
Jamario moon
Marco Beilinelli
Joey Graham
Roko Leni Ukic
Willie Solomon
Hassan Adams
Nathan Jawai
Jake Voskuhl
And if Bosh wants to leave we want Kevin Durant next year… so what do you guys think???
And golden state warriors are not doing so good (7-18) … You know they want something new as well as we do.. I would wait to make this trade when Correy feels better with his hamstring injury.. (that just means pulled muscle) You know that feeling you get after a hard work out..
Well I think this is our answer.. If I was BC this is what I would do..
Corey Maggette is one of the most overrated players in the league. Trading for him would be a very bad idea.
Babcock didn’t even hire O’Neill….that was Grunwald.
i don’t want maggette, the guy is an injury machine who just inked a long term deal. the only good thing about this team is the salary cap situation at the end of next season. if that is compromised too with no results, i’m becoming a grizzlies fan…
agree, maggette is overrated…but i like the geniuses who don’t want him ’cause he’s never been part of a ‘winning’ team. if that’s the criteria, then how can we expect any GM to want any raptor? outside of international competition, there ain’t a (moveable) guy on the roster who’s done shit.
as for the trade…as proposed, it wouldn’t work for $ reasons. include joey in lieu of hump, and it would.
i don’t think it makes the raps any better. creates more competition for shots, and maggette is a scorer, but little else. belineli has skill, but whether that ever translates into anything is yet to be determined…he could just be a smaller bargs. plus, we’d be saddled with maggette’s contract, which doesn’t seem overly bad now, but it will in a couple years.
Acquiring players like Maggette & Belinelli are NOT the answer to what ails this Raptors’ team.
I don’t see the relevance of mentioning the Kidd/Harris trade. Dallas let Nash go because they saw potential in Harris which was a mistake since Nash went on to win to MVPs. Then they tried to correct their mistake by trading Harris’ potential for a hall of famer as the last piece to win NOW while they thought the window was still open to win a championship. That turned out to be another mistake. But there’s no way they would have traded Harris for Ford or Calderon. I guarantee no GM has ever said “I think we’re just a Ford or a Calderon away from a championship”.
When BC made the Oneal deal, it was similar to the Iverson trade in that there are two potentially favourable scenarios. If it works out, awesome - we have a good team. If it doesn’t, you have a massive contract coming off the books at a good time. Unfortunately, the second scenario looks like more and more likely. Outside of trading Bosh, I don’t know what we can do but wait. This team was always based on a bunch of “ifs” and none of them are panning out.
I like what I hear from Triano, but right now this team is embarrassing to watch.
KD,
1. The Mavs’ decision to let Nash go, when they did … was NOT a mistake.
Dallas improved dramatically without Nash at the helm, and Phoenix improved dramatically under the guidance of D’Antoni, with Nash at the Point, in a 4 out/1 in offensive alignment, playing at 100 MPH.
It was a change in direction that benefitted both teams.
2. Dallas made a huge mistake trading Harris for J-Kidd.
Harris was NOT the problem with the Mavs’ team that won 67 regular season games and then lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs to the Warriors. Nor was he THE problem when their team struggled mightily last season prior to making the deal for Kidd.
What the Mavs needed to do was improve at the Center position, not the PG spot.
Potentially “correcting their mistake from Nash” had nothing to do with their plight.
3. That was not the reason Ford + Nesterovic + Baston + the No. 17 [overall] 2008 Draft Pick were traded for O’Neal + the No. 41 [overall] 2008 Draft Pick … and Delfino, Garbajosa & Brezec were let go.
Colangelo & his basketball brain-trust:
i. Did not know how to deal effectively with a disgruntled player like TJ Ford. That’s a deficiency on their part.
ii. Tried to address the Rebounding and Interior Offensive/Defensive needs of last year’s team through the acquisition of O’Neal. That’s was a mis-calculation on their part.
iii. Discovered that Ford was perceived to be a “‘Damaged Goods’ player with a possible upside” that could only be moved for fair value in return, if the Raptors would take back a “‘Damaged Goods’ player with a possible upside” themselves.
iv. Needed to stay below the Luxury Tax Threshold given the way MLSE chooses to run its basketball franchise.
Steve:
Great article here. Welcome to RR. I have to agree with Khandor here. Maggette is NOT the answer to the Raptors problems this year. Our poor wing play was exposed during our playoff series with New Jersey. Had we had Garbo AND Parker (who was defending well back then) to keep Jefferson and Carter in check, we probably would have won. Furthermore, that series exposed Bosh as the one dimensional offensive player that he was and still is. He was guarded by athletic big men who crowded him, bumped him, and got help if he got by them. I think this is the strategy that the entire league has used on Bosh since then. Boston and Detroit consistently shut him down. In part, this is due to the good defence by KG and Sheed, but the other part is due to the team defence that surround Bosh and prevents him from getting comfortable. New Jersey did a great job of pressuring/doubling CB4 and he was exposed as a terrible passer/decision maker in these situations. IMO, he has done little to improve in these important areas. The reason that LBJ, Kobe, and DWade are so dangerous is that they are able to recognize the double teams and make the correct decision which in turn makes their teammates better. If teams are able to defend Bosh with only one defender, the Raptors cannot utilize their complimentary players at all.
What would Toronto Ratpor fans say and do if BC decided the team should tank for several seasons to pick up good draft picks, since top veteran US players will not willingly play here. Toronto Maple Laff fans seem to masochistically support their hockey team .. but what about the Ratpors..??!!!
Pile it Higher and Deeper eh Steve? Looking foreward to more play analysis and less rumor mongering.
higher and Deeper- or as my dad always said..Poppa Has Dough!
I dont want to disappoint but as much as I like play analysis (and I talk about it a lot) its hard not to get excited about rumor mongering. After all, isn’t that what the internet is all about?
hey Josh, fyi- they did start last year 1-4.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/schedule?team=tor&year=2008
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