The Relocation Mentality

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on May 29, 2006 9:26 AM EDT

It's been a long time since the Toronto Raptors have entered into an off-season with so many questions. The face of the franchise has changed, and will continue to change as the summer months march on. But one thing must be made clear...no matter how sunny, how hot it gets this summer and how many times were are reminded of Colangelo's last job, do not be mistaken....we are, and will not become the Phoenix Suns of the East.

One thing is for sure, Bryan Colangelo has proven himself to be a great basketball mind. Although he has made mistakes along the way, his successes have definitely outnumbered the failures. The team he left behind in Phoenix is now battling it out with a tough Dallas team, the winner to make a bid for the Larry O'Brien trophy. To think all of this is being done without what were expected at seasons start to be two key contributors, Amare Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas, makes such a run equally as impressive. The factors contributing to this success are numerous, and there is much credit to go around. Colangelo obviously built a great team with players that can play a variety of positions, and at the same time has provided that city with one of the most entertaining products that the NBA has to offer. D'Antoni deserves much credit as he always seems to get the most out of his players, and obviously Steve Nash deserves a great portion of the credit as we all know the PG is an extension of the coach.

They built a formula for success and it works. Kudos to the Phoenix Suns.

As a Raptor fan, knowing that the maker of the Suns is now holding the destiny of OUR beloved franchise in his hands, we feel more comfortable than virtually any time in the past. We have a guy that can turn Joe Johnson into the Most Improved Player and a couple of picks. We have a guy that can turn perennial loser Stephon Marbury (all be it in a round-about way) into a two-time MVP. And what we really have is a guy that thinks outside the box and in doing so has been successful.

Now BC is TO's...or maybe TO is BC's? However you look at Colangelo coming to Toronto one thing needs to be made clear. Colangelo is not going to be looking to build Phoenix of the East. Will he be looking to build a winning franchise? Yes. Will he try to get some multi-faceted players who play various positions? Quite possibly. And will he continue to take risks and think outside the box? Of course. But will he try and replicate the 2006 Suns? Doubtful. And the reason is simple.....

He can't.

Something needs to be made very clear before I proceed with this article. This is not a story of national pride. This is not the anti-Chris Broussard article in response to what he wrote in February:

I know it's hard, brothas. After all, this is our sport. It's one of the few areas of society that we dominate. Hip-hop, football, basketball and boxing (though Hispanics are coming on strong). They're ours, and we ain't trying to give them up.

But y'all have to look past that. You have to put your racial pride aside, ignore the sociological implications of this, and be honest: Steve Nash is the MVP.

I'm hearing Kobe, I'm hearing Chauncey, I'm hearing Elton Brand, LeBron and Dirk Nowitzki. But it's really a no-brainer. It's really not even close.

Nash deserves it again. I know this is a phrase usually reserved for brothas, but "that boy is bad.''

Knowing this my point is quite simple...regardless of skin color, or nationality, Nash really is a one of a kind at not only what he does, but at the level he does it at. In many ways he is one of a kind. Just look at the PG's in the league today, (or perhaps more importantly those that may or may not be available this off-season), and Nash really is a one of a kind. The Raps will never be the Suns simply because the Raps will never have Steve Nash. If the Suns are a well oiled machine, Nash is the ignition and the gas. Without him it simply wouldn't run. We all know what his characteristics and flaws are and I won't lead you down that well worn path...chances are you have been there many times. Knowing what you and I both know about Nash, in particular his uncanny ability to make those around him better, you must also know that comparisons to what Phoenix has and what Toronto should become are ludicrous and a complete non-starter.

So let's stop thinking about Phoenix (outside of watching them play) when it comes to building the franchise here in Toronto, and to a lesser degree let's stop thinking about trying to find a possible replica of Nash. Colangelo knows that now his job is to build around Toronto's best player... a multi-talented PF who can beat virtually any big man off the dribble, and who continues to expand his range and offensive repertoire. This is a totally different situation and who is to say that Bosh would succeed or reach his MAXIMUM potential in a Phoenix system even if it were possible to duplicate it? The Phoenix style of play, unlike Colangelo, will not be brought North of the border.

Instead, let's as fans, act like Colangelo and begin to think outside the box. Who says small-ball is now the only way to be successful? Or on the flip side, who says we need toughness in the centre? I am sure Colangelo, despite what he might say when the mics are placed in front of him, is thinking about things in this way. Am I sure he looks at Bosh and his primary side-kick, multi-talented big-man Charlie Villanueva (who by the way is just now starting to realize what sort of player he could become and whose production per dollar for the next three years will be tough to beat) and really is considering adding another 7 footer who can play the 3/4/5 to the mix in Bargnani or what some are calling another CB4 in Aldridge? No, but who says that this wrong? Isn't it possible that BC could once again be building something the NBA has never seen before? Find me another starting five with three guys over 6'10" who can all shoot from a great range, can all beat you off the dribble, can all run the floor, and can all succeed in the half-court? Whose to say this couldn't develop into a 55 win line-up even with a second-tier PG? This is only an example of what we, as Raps fans may need to prepare ourselves for. The possibilities are endless....well except that of actually becoming the Eastern rendition of the Suns.

Once fans can get over this idea that Colangelo can't simply turn orange and purple into black and red, then a more sensible conversation can be had as to what the focus of this franchise should or more importantly COULD be. Obviously, there will never be consensus, and the great comments we have received over the past few weeks in particular, is a reflection of that. Everyone has a different sense of what the Raps should do. Some say toughness, some say "pass-first", others say vets. When it comes to the draft, some say Thomas, others Aldridge and some say trade. I don't pretend to have all the answers...I do know however, that shifting focus from what is and has gone on in Phoenix to what is going on here in Toronto is a must. Colangelo is building around something that the Suns don't have...and that is multi-talented bigs. Let's just keep that in mind as the off-season moves forward.

HOWLAND

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Comments

Agreed. That is one of the things that makes this draft / off-season so interesting - it will be the FIRST true indication of where he wants to go with this team. He may not even like what he ends up with, this first try, but for all intents and purposes we will learn what he thinks this can be and THEN we can speculate in high gear.

Fun, fun, fun!

by YKOil on May 29, 2006 11:07 AM EDT reply actions

Very intelligent article. The three bigs strategy would be interesting. We would get pummeled on the boards, and get pummeled in the paint, but the Raps would shoot the lights out. Mo-pete would clearly be a valuable player in that situation. We wouldn't need much from the point - get it over half, run a pick and role, be able to hit open shots. This may even make arajuo somewhat useful - when we play a team with a paint presence, he could go in and bang with him, pick up some hard fouls, take a seat. I can't see a place for Joey Graham's pedantic style of play on that team - a Quentin Ross, Raja Bell, or Bruce Bowen style player would be a good fit.

by raptorman on May 29, 2006 11:22 AM EDT reply actions

Great article. I think what is new for Raptor fans is confidence that our GM/Pres will do the right thing. I think the new NBA succcessful teams need to be able to go big and /or fast as required. Here's a scenereo (outside the box).
1. trade #1 to Port for #4 and 1 of (Blake,Telfair or Jack)
2. Trade #4 plus one of (Bonner,Slokar or E. Williams) to Bucks for Mags and #39. This way Bosh gets a Banger and we find out if Mags is great for TO or not. If not, he is a FA and we S&T or free up cap room for 2007 FAs. Bucks get the 4 they need (Aldridge,Thomas,Bargnani with the 4th pick).
3. S&T James plus one of ( Araujo or E.Williams) for Ridnour and Fortson. Solves a problem for Seatle and gives us a very good PG. Fortson expires so limited risk.
4. Sign a big FA like Nene( big and fast?)
All this uses about 10 million of available cap space and you get a line up of:
Ridnour,Mo, CV,CB and Nene with Telfair/Jose, SG FA/Draft, Graham,Fortson,Mags. All of this does not seem overly optomistic just not sure if it's realistic.
Any thoughts?
LKBaller

by LKBaller on May 29, 2006 11:56 AM EDT reply actions

that's great. if only tanenbaum will dress like the phoenix's owner and greet as wildly . i am afraid , the raps are too square . all canadians are . they don't know how to have fun !

by nike on May 29, 2006 12:50 PM EDT reply actions

Great arcticle. I say if we should model the raps after any team it should be either the Clips or the Spurs. Bosh is our man and we need to look at how other teams compete while running their offense through the 4.

by Killa B on May 29, 2006 3:51 PM EDT reply actions

INteresting comments. I really like the ideas of LKBaller. I think the main thing will be BC deciding if he wants to stay young and draft, or try and get some vetern help.

Also, I am not sure why everybody thinks that Seattle will trade away ridnour. Pure point guards seem to be in a pretty high commodity, and Seatle has that in Ridnour. I think it would take a pretty big offer to get them to trade him away. Correct me if I am wrong, but didnt he get a tryout at the US olympic team? That has to put him in pretty high regard with that, and seatle will not just give him away (especially with ball hogs Allen and Lewis on their team)

One thing is for sure, I am definatly excited about the upcoming draft, and wanting to see what the raps will do

by scott on May 29, 2006 4:01 PM EDT reply actions

got to say that this is one of the first posts that i find a bit hypocritical. if you look back at the archives, it's RapsHQ that has made many a reference to BC's past with Phoenix and used it as an indicator of the future. seems strange that you guys are switching gears here now and all of a sudden come to the realization that the Suns have Nash and we don't.

let's take a look at Nash's career, shall we? for the first four years, he couldn't even keep his starting job (keep in mind that i think he's awesome and that he makes me proud to be a Canadian). while he always had his shot, he would never look for it in early in his career and deferred too much to his teammates. it's only in the last 4 years that he's been an All-Star calibre player.

and Steve's not one of a kind. Kidd was before him and though he didn't have the shot, he was the better passer in transition and played much better defense. i think Chris Paul would do a phenomenal job on the Suns right now and if we had him on the Raps, this would be an automatic playoff team.

if you look at the Raptors, they are built to run. Chris and CV Smooth would excel in a transition game while MoPete is a great finisher.

you guys make some valid points, but this post seems more like a subtle way of justifying that the Raps should take Bargnani - who appears to be a fave of RapsHQ.

keep up the great work!

by Hen on May 29, 2006 5:16 PM EDT reply actions

Hen,

I think we will agree to disagree on the Nash vs. Kidd vs. Paul. At least when you look at them from a today standpoint. Paul is good, and he will be great but a lot of what he does in NO is half-court based. They play some up-tempo but the Princeton offence ran by Scott is not nearly similar to the Suns.

I would argue, and again speculation, that had the Nets signed Tim Thomas his career would not NEARLY be on the same upswing as it is right now with Nash.

Bargnani is not a personal fave of mine. I have only seen bits of him play and done extensive reading. None of which compares to the time I have spent watching Aldridge, Thomas and Gay. In fact Franchise and I have been discussing whether this whole Bargnani and Marcus Williams talk is just a smokescrean.

And in regards to the point about BC and the future, not trying to be hypocritical, just saying I have heard so many times about making us the Suns. All I want from BC is a winning team, and pointing out that the reality is taking the games of the big-men on the roster and filling it with complimentary players to them.

by Howland on May 29, 2006 8:12 PM EDT reply actions

The idea of three multifaceted big men is intriguing, but as a general rule, you need solid play from the point guard position to win. Where would New Jersey be without Kidd, even if he's playing at about 80% of what he once was? Would New Orleans have even got a sniff of a playoff chase without Paul? The Suns without Nash, Detroit without Billups...you can go on. On the flip side, look at the Hawks; they have swingmen galore, and they can't win. Had they drafted Paul, they almost certainly would have been a playoff team. And that's why I don't think it's a bad idea to trade down and grab Marcus Williams.

I'm not saying that a Bosh/CV/Bargnani frontline can't work, but if you're going to go against the grain, you'd better be right.

by Skywalker on May 29, 2006 9:29 PM EDT reply actions

my bad, Howland.

you stand corrected and didn't mean to get the differing opinions of RapsHQ confused. i am with you about the winning team and i share your sentiments about BC - i have the utmost confidence in him no matter what he chooses to do this off-season.

the only thing that i do disagree on is Paul. he's phenomenal in the open court and in transition. Paul's also a great penetrator like Nash and is excellent at the drive and dish (i'd argue here that David West doesn't have nearly the year he did this year without Paul). as for the Princeton offense, it still requires a heady point guard to recognize all the motion of the back-screens and cutters which Paul excels at. i think what i'm trying to say is that Paul, Kidd and Nash all share those same excellent point guard qualities and i can't see why there won't other guards of this calibre in the future. if there are, i'm sure BC will find a way to bring them here.

as always, even your comments are as well-written as your posts.

by Hen on May 30, 2006 12:44 AM EDT reply actions

I agree with Hen on the point that, while I don't necessarily think BC is going to model after the Suns, that option seems possible. Nash is a perfect fit for the Phoenix system, but not many NBA PGs have had the chance to play in such a system. Who knows how good Kidd could be if given the speed and space Nash enjoys? Same goes for Paul although I would expect a younger guard, no matter how great, to struggle to be efficient in this unique offense. Nash is ideal due as much to his skill as to his experience in the league. But it's not just Nash making everyone's stats shoot up, it's also the system.

Bosh and CV are of course different players from Amare, Diaw and Marion. But I could easily imagine both of them excelling in the Suns system because of their versatility on offence. Bosh was made to run the pick and roll and Villanueva of course has the outside shot that should get better. We'd still need a rare PG to make it work, but i don't think Nash is some sort of â€œchosen oneâ€. There can be other PGs who run this type of offence successfully.

by Josh on May 31, 2006 4:02 PM EDT reply actions