So...What's Next?

Lots of ifs coming up this season. I have a guarded optimism, but I think the talent is there, it is a matter of chemistry/coaching.
A lot of the raptors are playing in the FIBA Championship, will you guys be giving us updates on performance? I heard Garbajosa was 0/5 on threes the other day...

Sow was slightly better then Arujo and equally useless. He had some heart and all that but he looked like he was handicapped on the court. I would definitely trade Peterson, he can't finish 2 on 1 plays, consistently makes bad decisions and he'll want some crazy money next year. Plus, I always thought that Peterson had a slight case of down syndrome. Hopefully Graham and Parker are good this season so that the Raps can move Peterson.

I think Ford should be a solid starter this year. Dude was amazing last year and I look for him to keep progressing this year. I read somewhere that Ford's potential is that of a Brevin Knight!! LOLZ. Hopefully thats not true.

Also the Raps gotta get rid of Calderon, the guy is too shook to play in the NBA.

im not so sure why anyone is worried about TJ Ford. He played for one of the worst coaches in the league last year, and still put up respectable numbers. I think TJ is going to shine in this new situation.

also... how about a column about how its ridiculous that MLSE is now expecting people to pay to watch 25% of the games this year after they just finished a 27-55 season?

As much as I would like to think that the raptors are a better team, we now have to think that many of the new players have no NBA experience. The international game is much different the nba game. I can see this team having some big problems ajusting. Yes we have a few veteran players. But not many. We traded away most of our veteran players who would help in a situation like this. Chemistry should be ok, as there seems to be one old guy, and one young guy from the same country/team (so that will help with familiarity) and plus most of the euros can speak good english. Jose - Garbojosa, Bargnarni - Gerhidii, Solkar - Nesterovic.

I am really hoping that nesterovic helps this team big time. He could be glue guy. He is a veteran. Has a Championship. has played along some greats(duncan and garnett), with top class coaching. Is eurpopean so can understand the move to the NBA game. And finally is the center, and will be the anchor of the defence, and will hopefull be vocal and direct people on the floor (not sure that is going to happen though)

Another question that I have is will Sam Mitchell and co try to change the euro players into nba players with an nba game, or will he try and implement the european game? We have all seen how well the European game has done against the nba game recently, and with all of the players that know how to play the euro game, it might be better if the raptors play the euro game. I guess that is a descion up to Sam and Bryan

Sorry to be slightly off topic here, but I am a mortified Raptor fan right now. I feel like Colangelo is out of his mind. The raptors had an exciting player and a future star in Charlie V , without question in my mind. Mike James had a year that would be enviable by almost any point guard averaging over 20pp and one of the leaders in 3point% in the league, 6 assists pg to go along with that, and showed himself to be a tremendous emotional leader and spark. I thought Bosh wouldn't stay without him. What about the great chemisrty they had???
Why the heck didnt they keep James, and Charlie and draft Adam Morrison???? Does anyone realy think Bargnani is the next Dirk?? I have a feeling he will be a huge bust. Instead they lose James and get nothing for him, and trade their next big star in Charlie V for a questionable (injury prone?) and unproven guy in TJ Ford???? If you break it down its a no brainer: Mike James, Charlie V, and Adam Morrison Vs TJ Ford and Andrea Bargnani. WHAT!!!!! How can this be????

Please help me understand as I am not claiming to be a guru of basketball operations and knowledge but it seems to me that Colangelo is setting himslef up for a big fall and that his WIN now solution will backfire. Soon we will be left to dream of what could have been if this madman had not come into play while we watch Morrison, Charlie and Mike james light it up elsewhere and view Bargnani bust and TJ Ford ride the of into the sunset of mediocrity!

AM I Crazy?????

Why should Sam and Bryan play the euro game, these are euro players coming to the NBA therefore they should try to play NBA games and if it helps the Raptors then put a little euro game in it.

I notice a lot of you have been mentioning MO Pete, but he is the only defensive player on this team, you guys should stop making changes and try to figure out how they will win, teams that win basketball do not change their players all the time and most of all look at all the teams in the NBA that has won a title, they do not consists of a lot of euro player the have very few euro players, this is the NBA it is not going to change, I rather like my nba players.

It is ok to migrate the euro league but slowly because some of them are very soft and are not defensive. The Toronto Raptors will be the laughing stock of the NBA if they do not even make it to the play offs, with all these euro players.

Sadly, I think that the *worst* thing Toronto can do is become an "average" team again... they need to either show signs of greatness (ha), or hit rock bottom and get back to the top of the draft and hope for a star.

Otherwise, they will end up in overpaying mode like they were with Antonio Davis, JYD, Alvin Williams, etc. when VC was still around. I can already see TJ Ford and Mo Pete both having career years, getting $8-9M per season, and then the Raptors are locked in with 4 expensive starters (Bosh, Rasho, TJ, Mo).

The one way I can see this working is: Toronto becomes a near .500 team, but because they play a 10-deep rotation, TJ and Mo have goor but not great years. Then maybe the Raps can get $6-7M/yr contracts and not break the bank.

Tony:

The jury is still out on the CV for TJ trade. Most people agree that CV has more potential then TJ did, but at the same time, everybody realized Torontos need for a pg. Sure Mike James assist numbers showed that he got 6 a game, but really anyone who watched the raptors this season realized that mike jamews did a poor job of being a floor general, and running the team. BC is taking a stab hoping that TJ will pan out and be a top tier pg, and run the team well. Plus pg usually take a fwe years to mature. WHen did Nash become so good, he has been in the league fora while. And CV really shouldnt not have been playing the 3. HE is a 4, but I am sure you would want Bosh playing the 4 and not CV.

Now, I think the raptors team will severly miss James shooting ability, and the passion that he brings to the floor, but I for some reason think that another year of Mike James chucking and not getting the ball where it needs to be, would have led to a pissed of Bosh.

As for Morrison...well, I would have liked to pick him, but at this point in time, the draft is still a crapshoot. Can you really tell me Morrison is better than Il Mago, or Roy, or Lemarcus, or Tyrus etc etc. We have to wait and see. I think Bryan C was thinking that Bargs is young, they had great scouting on him, he can play the C position, and he can shoot lights out. I think BC is hoping that Bargs is goign to be come the next generation C. Kind of like amare in phoenix played C, but this is a different style still. Plus you can not include mike james in your comparison of players we lost, because that was a team descion not to sign him. The money used on mike james went to sign guys like slokar, garbajosa, parker etc etc. So really it is CV and Morrison Vs TJ and Il Mago.

Also, I dont think parker is injury prone, I have read many sites and according to all accounts, he back is as likly to be injured as anyother regular player. So, no not injury prone.

Marcia:

I was just wondering if Sam and Bryan play the euro game because a) the "american" game has not done too well in the past worlds championships and olympics and b) there are many euros style players who are on the team and it might be easier to implement that type of game plan and win.

In response to your most nba championship teams do not have euros....what about the Spurs with Rasho, Parker, Ginobli, Nazi (dont know if he is N.A. or not) and Luis Scola and/or O'berto, (dont know his exact name), and sean marks. What about phoenix (granted they didnt win, but did damn good with out amare and kurt thomas) with Barbosa and Diaw (for some reason I thuoght they had more, but I cant remember), and the Mavs, with Dirk, Diop, Podkolzin

There are always busts and soft players, but that also happens with NA style players as well. Think of players like Owlokandi (#1 pick), Kenyon Marton now (#1 pick), heck even looking at the 2001 first round, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Eddie Griffin, Rodney White were all TOP 10 selections. 2000 draft, stromile swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizor at
Demarr Johnson, Keyon Dooling at #2,3 and 4, 6, and 10 respectively. You get flops, and soft players regardless if they are from the states or overseas. I could go on and on, but I think I have proven my point.

And to BC:

uhhh, didnt we just hit rock bottom with 27 wins, and win the #1 selection? Im not sure that the raptors plan to be average again. I mean, to become great from rock bottom you have to pass through average.. But I do agree with your 10 man rotation, and hopefully we can keep Mo, and sign tj for cheap. Although I think the chances of TJ having a break out year are much better than Mo have another break out year.

Ok, sorry for this long rant, but maybe it is the hot weather that is making my type longer.

Scott

Well said Scot, optimistic but well justified. The part about Nesterovic being a little more optimistic than well justified. Oh! and has Sam Mitchell shown you anything to suggest he would ever be able to implement some D'Antoni - euro game? I'm no Sam basher, but Sam is a completely different type of coach. But, but it read really nicely and left me feeling all warm and fuzzy.

You can tell people have never seen TJ Ford play. You all are in for such a treat. Also, has anyone not seen our Andrea B. play yet. He looks freakin awesome. I cannot wait til the season starts.

Overall, I'm just happy we've gone in a different direction that was definitely NOT working before. A makeover was needed, and these, from what I could gather, constitute pretty much the highest level of quality player available for the dollar. Look at what Ginobli and Parker brought to SA (as was mentioned), Nowitski to Dallas, Diaw to Phx, etc., etc. The examples of successful Europeans and other international players is plentiful.

I have a feeling Parker and Garbajosa are going to be extremely high quality signings at $4 mil per season. Resigning TJ will be more important that Mo Pete (after a quality 06-07), but I think both can be had (or Mo can be used as trade-bait). That Ford and Bosh know and like each other from previous circumstances is HUGE.

I think this team can make the playoffs (in the East, thankfully). Things have to come together, but really, we're solid (if not spectacular) at every position this year. We're not counting on a Loren Woods at C, or an out of position PG to lead us to modest glory (what a nightmare to think that was the case last year!).

If we don't make the playoffs, then we'll get another shot at a solid draft next year, but I'm not thinking it's going to go that way.

And as was previously stated, you have to get to .500 before leaping over it towards contender. That is where I fully believe we're headed.

Can't wait for the season to get here. GO RAPS!!

Scott, thanks, I DO feel a little better. I guess I am sour because Mike and Charlie brought alot of fire the team and were my favorite players to watch last year. I had great expectations for Charlie and now he's gone before he gets to bud into the star i know he will be. I will have to listen to all my friends crow about it as Charlie tears it up somewhere else, siting how STUPID the Raptors were.

I hope you are right about Barg though, and perhaps TJ will impress me in long run.

Thanks for some calming words,

Tony

All that the above proves is that none of us really know the mind of BC or Sam, let alone any of the players on the team.

If anybody cares to look back at the dialogue above in March, it will be interesting to see who, if anybody was right about anything. No doubt, somebody has to have gotten something right.

I, for one, can't wait to see how the BC era goes this year. It will definitely be different than last year, and with fingers crossed, I hope that BC is a genious. BC is a James Bond type "shaken not stirred", with a license to kill. I hope the Raps kill the opposition, and not the fans.

The other aspect to mention is the fact that Garb and Parker and Nesto are all proven winners.. There's a killer instinct in there that absolutely no one had on the raps last year. Noooobody!!! (unless it was Hoffa working on his foul totals...) Even if its just an attitude thing. Watch for a bunch more close games to go to the raptors this year. Skill overall is definitely higher. Depth off the bench is higher. The raps will definitely surprise.

BC... I'm not worthy!

1) Who cares? Sow was never going to be a part of the rotation even if he was healthy.

2) Joey is going to fight for minutes this season. I would be surprised if he is still around after the trade deadline.

3) Based on age, Mo turns 29 next month, I do not think he will get the same contract as Q. Teams pay for potential and Q was 24 when he signed for what most people considered reasonable at the time. I think he gets Mike James / Matt Harpring / money but if someone goes nuts then Jason Terry money should not be matched.

4) The best part about the signings is that they are ALL tradable. None of them even make NBA average salary or are signed for more than 3 years. Those players are always used as trade cap fodder.

5) TJ Ford may turn out worse than CV but he will never be backup material. TJ was starting point on two playoff teams. Look around at the league.

Robert Archibald

No, I must admit that Sam has shown me nothing to say that he can coach the euro style. On further thought, maybe it should have been a question...do you think that Sam and BC should push for a euro style game, as it has proven sucessfull against "nba" style games (against the USA), and because we have players who are familiar with it?

Tony

Im glad you could feel a bit better with the "calming" words. But I definatly agree with you, I was sad to see both Charlie go, as I became very impressed with his game, and Mikes want to win, and the leadership he brought to the lockerroom (just not pg leadership). And I do not want to see charlie suceed while tj flops. And BC has been known to do some sketchy trades (Marbury for Kidd).

I think that I am one of the more pessimistic fans regarding the signing of all of these nba unproven euro players. Im not sure that they will ahve the skill, or speed to play in the nba...but I certainly hope they will do well.

Well All,

I think that regardless of what happens we are all pretty excited about the upcoming Raptor season. I think Dave makes an excellent point that we actually have peope playing in their correct positions. We are pretty much 2 deep at every position with players that can play those positions. When is the last time we have had a real PG, and a real PG backing him up? How about a real centre? Nesto ain't the best C in the league, but he is a legit starter. This may be the first time ever that the raps have had a real C and a real PG, the other three positions are pretty easy to fill anyways. Our team shapes up like this:

PG Ford/Calderon
SG Parker/Jones
SF Peterson/Graham/Tucker
PF Bosh/Garbojosa/Humphries
C Nesterovic/Bargnagni/Slokar

Scrimmages should be great! We have real depth! Bargnagni may be a little outmatched at C, but is versatile to pick up minutes at PF and SF too. I think we look solid in all our starting spots and have good depth at every position, and that makes us a playoff team!

I am not sure I agree with the masichists that think we have to be crap for another year just to acquire another draft pick. Teams don't jump from the basement to the Champs. It is easy to move from crap to average and I think BC has put us in a position to do this. You have to be much smarter and luckier to go from average to top tier, fortunately I do think that BC is one of those smart & lucky people that can help take us there.

Last thing, Jason is absolutely right, nobody is giving Ford enough credit. With him the Bucks went to the playoffs, without him, they didn't. When he was injured, there was a huge hole in the bucks lineup. WHen he got back, he electrified the fans and the team and was playing at a high level. Now that he is a year over his injury, I think he will continue to improve. Charlie is a nice guy, but no D PF's are a dime a dozen in this league. True PG's? Quick like TJ? I guess all any of us can do is sit back and watch!

Scott, I agree that the raps are well suited to play the Euro game, and I personally would prefer to see it. Unfortunately, I just don't think that Sam is the man to coach that team - mind you, people have been suggesting that Sam will be done during/after this season ever since BC got here.

I know some people might roast me for saying this, but Sam has done well here. HE has done an excellent job of changing the culture in the locker room. The team plays hard, support eachother and seem to have some pride in being Raptors. I don't think any coach since Butch has been able to get that much out of the Raps.

That being said, I don't think Sam is the right coach to take this team further again. Sam has been a good coach for a crap to average team, but he gets outcoached on many occasions. I think part of turning the corner into the upper echelon of teams will require a new coach. Judging from our players, a coach that wants to play a style well suited for the style of players BC has assembled.

Sam has done well with what he has, and our next coach won't really need to be a motivator because i think Sam has instilled that into our core players already. Our next coach should be a technician, that can implement a system that helps this team win more games. Sam might have changed the mentality on the locker room, but I think we need a new coach to change the results on the floor.

(By the way, when BC traded Kidd for Marbury I think he did pretty good. Kidd had been charged for beating his wife, everyone (the Pheonix fans) wanted him run out of Pheonix. Considering he had a gun to his head, getting Starbury wasn't too bad of a deal.)

I agree with rob arch.....

PF's can come and go like the soup of the day...but true, talented, quick PG's are rare.....just look at the quality of other teams PG's.....we have one of the top 8......if not higher...and given his passing options this year...he sould be fantastic....

BC has proven he is a "smooth operator" and quite capable of taking a franchise like the raps and moving us to the next level.....may take some time....but we are DEFINITELY heading in the right direction......and none of these players/contracts are going to kill our hopes in the future....

keep this in mind....we could still have Isiah leading the way....to the toilet....

peace....

Rt says:

I'm suspicious that the Raptors have a built in weakness and that is the belief that CB4 is a "go to" player. There were a number of games last year where Bosh turned the ball over with a dribble in the key at crucial times. In response to this, James often took over and as a result he became branded with this "shoot first" handle because he was supposed to continue to cowtow to Bosh who wasn't getting the job done.

I was impressed with James at crunch time. He didn't always get it done but was extremely determined and had a variety of ways to attack. In the final anaylisis, the coach had two crunch time performers but only wanted to use one. Exit James.

Another strange idea seems to persist that things will now be better with a "pass first guard". Fact is that scoring was not their problem. Now you have a six foot PG who can be easily posted up. How does that help your defence?.

I wish the Raps had taken Aldridge as their pick and traded a package to get Foye. But maybe it was just not possible. That would have given us a good young center with a monster wing span and shot blocking ability. Instead we got Bargs with great offensive potential looking to take touches away from Bosh. No wonder Bosh was hoping for Aldridge.

I like Sam Mitchell as a coach but he has the pressure squarely on him now. Another losing streak to start the season and he's gone. I think there is a weakness in that coaching staff. It doesn't seem that they can teach and coach defence. If I were Sam I"d find the best defence coach availble to replace Gene K. in a hurry. His job depends on it.

Rt: The raps put up a lot of points, but how many games did they lose in the last 5 minutes, often due to a lack of offense during that time? The issue was that James would dominate the ball, waste the shot clock, and bam, a last second pass or shot with little chance of dropping. The opposing defense could also cheat and crowd him to make live even harder. Our offense went dry at the end of games because there was no balance. Now, with a more balanced and better flowing offense (the typical result of a pass first PG), it should be harder to lock down the raps at the end of games.

So, it should be a 'better' offense, not in terms of total points scored, but in terms of how hard it is to disrupt it with solid defense.

sam will be over his head in the coaching challenge next season. if he is not able to record a credible number of wins in the first 15-20 games , sayonara to him.
i think the next changes will happen during next season when the tj tuckers and others show what the've got . until then , it's a wait and observe time .

I'm with raptorman - James never ran an offence or involved other players and was easily defended. They say we lost more games by less than 3 points than any other team - if you watched James handle the ball in the final minutes you would know why. He sucks. By losing his dead-weight we basically paid for a proven six-man and the best player in Europe, not a bad deal at all.

On CV vs. TJF - look at it this way...CV was soft on D but was well-sized and had a decent jump shot. With Bargs, we have a young seven-footer with a great jump shot and endless potential. In Ford we got one of the league's best young point guards. Will CV be 'better' than TJF? Who knows? Who cares? From our perspective, Ford was much more valuable than CV, plus CV was the only trade bait we had. A good deal which scored us a pg without destroying our cap space, which we instead spent on depth, experience, and skill. If we keep CV we spend big bucks to sign an overpaid free-agent and can't bring in two of Garbajosa/Parker/Jones.

I am in 100% agreement with raptorman about balance on the offensive side of things....if you don't know where the ball will be going...how can you defend it??...especially with a smart PG who keeps opponents guessing all game long....

rather than Jame's approach of dribble, dribble, dribble, can't shoot....dribble, dribble, dribble, can't shoot, dribble, dribble, dribble, still can't shoot...dribble, dribble, dribble, fake, fake, guess I have to pass mentality......

things will be much better for EVERYONE, including mr. bosh....confidence is HUGE in the league...and with Ford giving him easy looks on a regular basis, those tough ones at the end will seem like nothing to him.....

keep the faith.....this is a team game....and our team is much better with a 6 foot PG than a shoot first, second, third, fourth option want to be PG...

Well, there has always been the belief by most so called experts that defence wins games. Probably why the Raptors offense dried up. What were they doing at the other end?

The one area where James's critics agree is that he could play tough "D".
That was considered a strength over their previous guard Alston. Have we now improved there?

I've always been amased at how complicated the game of basketball must be. You have tremendous athletes who have played ball for years thru high school, summer leaques and college and yet when they get to the NBA, the statement is often made that they have to learn to play defense. I often wonder what has Coach K at Duke and all those other big name coaches been doing all these years.

I love Charlie, I was very hurt when he was traded but I was happy to get TJ, I was watching Bargnagni and Slokar play in the euro playoffs last night on nba tv, he is not a bad player but he got a lot of foul, and Slokar seems as if he was afraid to play the center but he was not bad. What I don't understand is how will they understand what the coaching staff is saying or even their team mates, not even so much Slokar because he has Nesterovic, and Garbojosa has Calderone, but Bargnagni speaks Italian. Right now on ESP they are calling the Rap LOS Raptors. Torontarians are very sensitive about what American says about their team, but I will see what happens this season. I would love to have feelings again of seing the Raps go to the playoffs.

Hi, everyone keeps talking about James, james used the Toronto Raptors to sell himself, I have seen him jack up those balls as if he was playing by himself, even when they are not going in he would keep jack them up, he did not care about his team mates he only care about himself, I like the scores he made when they go in but I am happy to seem him go, and he should be wiped off the books and city's memory. Thank God we have TJJJJJJ

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u15IORiDlz8

Hey all,

Check out 'Il Mago' rockin' the summer league...He's got a nice first step for a big man, and a Dirk-like touch...
Hopefully he pans out and isn't a flash in the pan...

The schedule's out.

It looks kinda of rough, first games at Jersey, then at home v the bucks, and then at home v the spurs. but then at home v philly and atlanta. before a west coast road trip. I doubt we'll start 1-15, but it looks like sam mitchell's job might be in danger.

That sked is an absolute joke

I'm just worried becuase BC took allot of chanced here. He had the #1 overall pick and lots of cap space and 2 good young players (Bosh and CV). He used up everything except Bosh and none of his moves are sure fire hits.

1st pick overall - This guy could be more maligned then Hoffa very quickly if he doesn't start rebounding and stop fouling. It could get real ugly.

CV - He was dealt for a pg with a cloudy injury history and no jumper. Ya he is young and exciting but 90% of the people rating this deal outside of TO says they got fleeced.

Cap space - used it all up on guys that may not be good enough to play here. His future cap space is gone to Rasho and TJ so dont look for much next season. If the Euro invasion does not work out its not going to be pretty.

The safe route would have been to take a guy like Morrison cause you know the kid can score. There might well be better players in the long run and one of those guys might be Bargnani but at least you know Morrison can play. Could have saved that cap space for next season when there were actually good FA avail. I'm not saying I can predict what will happen and maybe BC's midas touch will continue but if it doesn't it could get REALLY bad for Raptors fans.

First of all, just finished an article by Matt Eagan of The Hartford Couran, and he said,

"Villanueva, who was a controversial pick at No. 8 for Toronto in the 2005 draft, was one of the league's best rookies last season."

CV was selected 7th and so this Couran guy should learn how to count. I am going to miss CV

Second thing. We had number 1 this year..... and we got a player we could have gotten at 5 or (as some were saying on draft night) as low as 10th. but lucky us... we got him at 1 hmm........

I think the new assistant GM has alot to do with all the Euro signings.. and I am sure one or two of the new raps will work out..... but I think Bryan should not have gone with so many unproven NBA players so soon. Remember, the last time Parker played in the NBA he was rarely off the bench... Just cause Maurizio Gherardini pin points some good Euro players doens't mean we should sign them all.. Two players that made the big transition last year ( Jose Calderon and Sarunas Jasikevicius) we o.k but neither was all that spectacular. So why rush to load up on Euro talent when not many players from the European leagues have been overly successful in the NBA?

I AM SOOO TIRED OF PEOPLE CALLING TJ FORD INJURY PRONE.....he had one freak accident and other than that he hasnt really had a serious injury....its the equivalent of calling ben roethlisberger injury prone becuz of his bike accident....get ur points straight PLZ

Dan,

First of all, 90% of "people" also thought CV was a crappy pick and I would venture 90%+ thought the nash deal was the worst free agent signing in history.

Secondly, TJ had better 3 point shooting and free throw % than Chris Paul last year. Check it out. The risk though, I admit, is that he leaves as a free agent and the Raps get nothing just like the Pacers with Stojakovic.

If the Euro invasion doesn't work, BC can tune the roster as we only have 3 year contracts for the most part. And these contracts have value in the last year as cap relief. So its not as if BC has mortgaged the house as Grunwald did in 2001 with the $150 6-year signings of Davis, JYD, Olajuwon and Alvin W.

Bargnani will have to learn how to rebound no question, but we have enough bangers in the game today with Rasho, Porno, Humphries etc. His main purpose is to score and clear space for Bosh. The kid will only see 20 mins of action a night, and while I doubt he will be rookie of the year, I think he will be fine.

There is NO cap space for next year once CB4 and TJ's new contract (hopefully) gets on the books. This is the year BC had money to spend.

And jdog, dont rap the Euros. The NBA game is more European than ever these days and last time I checked the US wasn't even ranked in the top 5 in world basketball.

RK

Just found this site and I love it. It's awesome to here from Rap's fans who actually have a clue and can debate intelligently. I'll be brief. TJ Ford WILL be awesome, especially with the run and gun offence it looks like they will be playing. MoPete, parker, jones, bosh and bargs should benefit. The question mark players will be the knuckle-draggin half court slow footed ones like Nesterovic, Slokar, and Garbojosa. Believe it or not, Sow would have been a valuable cog this year. Too bad. As for Mitchell, you're on the clock. He is possibly the worst defensive coach the Raps have ever had. Wow. Late double teams must be his trademark. Anyways. One question for you all. What is your starting lineup? Also, first 3 off the bench? Later.

Firts of all I just want to say that the raptors have definitely upgraded their team's level of talent over the summer. Brian Colangelo is a top notch GM. My prediction is that we will be a 6 of 7 seed playoff team next year.

One player that will not be a raptor long and definitly not past this season has to be Mo pete. He has been a horrible nba player. I compare him to the likes of ricky davis and Q richardson. He is not a winner and plays for numbers. Anyone who thinks that he is a good defender should check out the game where kobe scored 81 on him and Jalen. Mo pete always gambles to take a charge and plays on his heels. Any legitimate NBA player can take a dribble and pull up for a jumper in mo pete's eye without worrying about him changing the shot. He is a terrible defender... ask anthony parker when he leisurely hit the game winner with good old mo pete playing half ass d on him. Not only is mo pete poor defender he is a streaky shooter with no ability to create his own shot. Nobody hits threes better than mo in garbage minutes.
He is a garbage player who will be gone soon, because BC knows a dud when he sees one.
When that happens this team will finally be rid of all of the talentless losers that kept the raptors from succeeding. (arujo, woods, james, davis, and any of the williams)
BC send mo pete over seas!
PS sorry to see charlie go