Out With the Old, In With the New - The Triano Era Begins

An article so late? I like it. So Alex English leaving eh? I would like to hear more about that. I'm excited to see how Triano does. If he lead Canada in those Olympics with no talent at all (really lets be honest there was no solid talent) imagine what he will do with this team. I see great things on the horizon for this team. He shaped Nash into who he is today. I expect the same if not more for everyone else on that roster (seeing that no one else in the NBA was really playing for team Canada). I'll miss Sam but there has to be a changing of the guard to lead this team. I think Triano will stick with this team for a few seasons and lure in a top notch free agent come 2010.

The following is something I found from Michael Grange from February 12th, 2008 before Triano coached the Raptors to victory over the Nets, due to Smitch's father-in-law passing away.

Chris Bosh even trusted Triano to help him alter and improve his shooting mechanics, and even though Triano will be the head coach tonight, he will still be on the floor with Bosh putting him through a 30 minute warm-up routine they do together before each game.

"He's cool and collected," Bosh said. "And he's an Xs and Os guy, so he'll have some plays for us."

It's high praise from an NBA all-star, particularly if you talk to players whom Triano coached early in his college coaching career and who considered him a player's coach first and a technical coach second.

But good players work on their weaknesses, as do good coaches. And Triano has made himself a valuable NBA coach.

Just this past summer, Triano was invited to work with Team USA, which wanted to draw on his expertise in preparing for teams such as Argentina, Brazil and Puerto Rico. The hot-shooting kid from Niagara Falls, Ont., had the full attention of Kobe Bryant, who looked at him not as a Canadian, but as a basketball expert who could help him and his superstar teammates prepare for an important competition.

Which, ultimately, is why tonight's game is so meaningful for Triano and the small but intrepid Canadian coaching fraternity, who through him and his success can at least validate their own technical know-how and basketball dedication.

Not because Triano is the first Canadian to have the chance to be an NBA head coach, even if it is in the briefest of cameos.

But because he has earned the right to be called coach first and Canadian second.

I personally found this interesting, as if Bosh and Kobe fully trust him, then that is good enough for me too. I did not pick up Bosh's comment back then, alluding to Triano having some plays for them (an indirect shot at Smitch at the time).

I love that he will be cool, calm and collective on the bench, a refreshing change from Smitch. It will take some time for Triano to implement some real sets that will work, and also define everyone's role. By January I expect this team to really get going, and the word interim may disappear by year end, as by then the personnel will also have to change for the better, as right now, even Triano can only do so much with this roster.

Look at what Kenny Smith said about Jose in this NBA TV interview.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2008/12/04/nba_20081203_gt_mitchell_fallout.nba/

"They think he's a great point guard???!!"
Haha. So true, so true...

That was def pretty Feschunkish. What I read it I groaned! I don' think too poorly of this team at all. Obviously the current personel is not what you expect from a championship team, but you have a lot of pieces. And BC has us very well positioned to take advantage of opprotuities that may a rise. This season's struggles haven't changed my long term out look for the team (except I'm kind of wondering whether the calderon jersey was the best move).
Well I agree this isn't a group that you pencil into the conf finals,you have to admitt their talents are being very mismanaged. As was pointed out, we don't really have a system: how depressing was watching the LAL offense compared to the raps? It was like the difference between a symphony, and some kid randomly striking a xylophone. Clearly Smitch doesn't have th same instruments as PJack, but you don't need a string section to make music.
I agree with the observation that Bosh seems to have out grown Smitch. Bosh has developed from a young dweep to a well adjusted humble all star (and with the right supporting cast, a champion). Sam deserves as lot of credit for this, but I think Bosh is there right now. He's ready to lead.
And with Jose at the point, we need some coordination on offense. I have every faith that jose will effectively and efficiently execute and game plans we give him. he's not the musician who will carry a band with ad lib solos. Thattt was TJ. Perhaps if that situation worked out better, sam would be employeed.
But this team isn't built as a defensive juggernaught. We should be able to run an efficient game plan on offence, and hopefully more Kapwnage.
All that said, we still a few moves away from the promised land, but sam was one that had to be made. Luckily, it was done ina classy way, I think there is still good will in that dressing room, and I'm excited to see what happens from here.

Triano FTW!

Thor - Well, I don't believe the Raptors at the end of the season would fire Triano only to put in ANOTHER Raptors assistant as the head coach, and English has made some noise before (two or three years ago) about wanting to take a head coaching job elsewhere. I just don't see him staying here if that's his wish, because that opportunity for him will just not happen here for a long, long time. More importantly, since he's made his feelings known in the past that he wants a head coaching job, I think he might feel a bit slighted with the fact that Triano got the job over him considering how some perceive him to lack experience.

One more thing that I forgot to mention. Colangelo has made it clear now that his time line is to now get another look at his players to see if a huge further change will be needed, or just some minor tweaking. It also means he's probably looking for Triano to hopefully boost the value of certain players who have underperformed (ie Kapono).

I also believe that people are reading way too much into Colangelo saying that this team is far more talented than its record shows. I believe that he has to say these things for various reasons.
1) Triano can’t be given a team that has their ego shattered, because that would just exasperate the situation.
2) Perception around the league is that the Raptors are under performing so people are looking for bargains. Colangelo, if anything, is extremely good at establishing a position of power when dealing with other GMs, and it undermines his trading position if he says that he needs changes.

Wow, be careful of what you ask for???

Did Sam desire to get can like this – Not Really but we all see this coming

Is the Raps a better team now – LMFAO HELL NO!!!

Is Utah going to beat us by 40 points – As a raptor fan I’m embarrass to say this but I hope they do. Here my reasoning…this has nothing to do with J. Triano but BC needs to realize that this team is not athletic enough to pass the first round much less make the playoff in a weak Eastern conference Team.

Let face it guys Sam was a bad ‘x’ & ‘o’ guys but he makes up for this in other area. This is not obvious to us fan because we not there at training camp and in the locker room. Also, let give credit where credit is due Sam did have a lot to do with the development of Bosh and Jose, gave players like AP and Moon a NBA career. The problem is the Bad always overshadow the good especially when you are losing. I’m not defending Sam by any means but he was not that bad of a Coach but he was far away from great.

Sam is no gone, a part of me will miss him but when I think of all the on court non-sense he does and been out coach in Boston New jersey and other games, I have to say yes it was time for a change.

Do we still need a SF and a new starting SG – Hell Ya…Parker is OK but is inconsistence is killing me.
Moon is Moon content on been a NBA player and that’s it. Very low basketball IQ and absolutely no defense

We need a real change and unless BC makes a real move by Dec. 15 we still going to be a subpar .500 team with a lot of inconsistence.

BC did say teams propose trade to him that will put him over the salary cap but he needs time to truly analyze the team to make sure he is make the right move. I hope he does not plan on shipping away the Italian stallion Bargs????

Sam's legacy is his contribution to Bosh's development - on & off the court. Sam certainly had his limitations as a coach but he didn't have the best roster to work with either. Like I said in an earlier blog, I had the Raptors 4-5 games under 500 by Jan.1. They will probably be 2-3 games worse than that. They don't have the roster to compete with half the teams in the league - period.

Great post as usual. I think mitchell had to go too but stil think this roster is pretty weak in places - just like your comparison to the benches of other elite teams. Something else that you gotta wonder about - if triano does a good but not great job, then what? Could force bc into the same situation all over agin?

interesting night for sure. the practical and tangible things I see happening right off the bat with the change:

- bosh has said himself that he can't play at the level he did at the Olympics because of the amount of minutes he's playing. so triano calls him out and says fine, we're going to cut the minutes so put up or shut up. (not so harshly, I'm sure)

love that.

- now of course if bosh is going to play less, I'm pretty sure that means hump is going to play more. which is fine. tell the kid to play balls out on defense and then run like hell.

love that.

- also, as I've said before, I think calderon has been effectively slowed to the point of uselessness with the one and only play sam liked to run every time down the floor. maybe triano gives him more of a leash to get out and do some things on his own. that, we'll see.

- transition 3's anyone? welcome back kapono. it would be great to see the guy revert back to what he is - the best 3 point shooter in the game.

I feel bad for sam, but I'm now looking forward to the game on friday for sure!!!

but let there be no doubt: if the raps lose on friday - FIRE TRIANO!!!!!

I have to hand it to BC because this is actually a bit of a risk on his part. By firing Sam now instead of in the new year (when I thought he would make the move, if this year) he is telling his players he believes they are good enough to win now. If he is wrong (and I am not sure that they are) then he is exposing himself a little (i.e. putting his own job at risk). If this team ends up the same as before the firing or *gulp* worse, he will have to pull the trigger on a deal ( a killer deal) or MLSE will have no choice but to look at his performance and maybe curtail some of his authority. I know a lot of people may think I am crazy but this is now Colangelo's mess as he no longer has Smitch to pin things on if things go wrong. That is why waiting until the new year was a safer play (if they are out of the race he can fire smitch, test Triano for the remainder of the season etc but no matter what happens he will get less scruntiny as the team might have been already completely out of it).

My main question here is this though (regarding Triano). If he is a better x's and o's guy, then why wasn't Sam leaning on him for that help? I mean does anyone know that Triano wasn't involved heavily already in the way offence and defence played? If he was, then how does installing him make a difference? If he wasn't then Sam deserved to be fired. I guess we will find out in the next few weeks.

Comments from Triano on raptor.com:

Triano envisioned an offence with more running. That, of course, will require more defence.

Running, he said, is difficult "when the first thing you do is take the basketball and take it out of bounds (after an opposition basket)."

"A defensive philosophy and a system will take a little time to put in. There are things that will be different defensively but for right now it will be tweaks here and there."

An emphasis on running, Triano said, will certainly mean fewer minutes for star forward Chris Bosh who is averaging 41.4 minutes, the second most in the NBA.

"If we’re going to play high intensity basketball, Chris will not be able to play as many minutes as he has in the past," Triano said.

The Niagara Falls native became the first ever Canadian to coach an NBA game last year when Mitchell had to leave the team to attend to a personal matter. In the rush to address the players and begin preparations for Friday night’s game in Utah, Triano hadn’t even considered the history-making angle of being the first Canadian head coach.

"The way things have transpired, I haven’t even thought of it (the Canadian angle)," he said. "I’ve always been a proud Canadian playing and representing my country. If this is seen as another way of representing my country, I’m very proud of it."

This team is better than most think.
Joey could be a a very, yeah I said it, A VERY good 2nd unit guy.
JK should be a guy that you just don't notice until he kills ya. (He used to do this for the Heat against us)
Roko needs seasoning but has a ton of enviable skills.
Hump can be good too if he JUST rebounded like Millsap or even Rodman. He's got the tenacity, but in his mind he thinks he's Charles Barkley.

9 deep right there.

This team has talent including 4 in the starting rotation that could play in the all-star game in the next couple of years.
Bosh- already an all-star
JO- look at the East's other centers besides Dwight
Jose- was an early candidate for the game until about two weeks ago.
AB- on his way?

My point is this. I believe this team should be able to compete with the big boys in the league. Not be a dominant powerhouse but not a team that folds against anyone with a winning record.

I wish Sam well but Triano your time is now! Don't blow it.

Howland #4 FTW - Bosh just can't keep listening to the same broken record. Even if it is the roster that was more of a problem, that obviously is a much tougher problem, that doesn't buy BC any time. Now BC has the rest of the season to make a move before the critics can really start up again...

I hope Mitchell gets a fresh start somewhere though, I think he has a future in the league.

I also believe that JO had something to do with the Mitchell firing as well. I remember during the preseason JO made a mention about the team's practice habits (I just don't remember what he said exactly), but not in a positive light. JO has played for some decent coaches and I think that he too may have expressed his lack of support/belief in Sam's teaching/coaching practices.

Interesting reading (from Realgm)

"One thing I think you can look for is much less play calling from the sidelines. The Raptors want to run some, if not a lot. One of the obstacles in doing that to date has been Sam's habit to call a play on nearly every possession. It became instinct for Calderon to come up with the ball and pause to get the call before getting into the offense. And, as one source put it last night, "seven out of ten times it was the same call," that being the ubiquitous horn's up.

After Sam drew up that awful play against the Nets in Game 6 (it stunk I don't care what anyone says) I immediately bet the guy next to me $50 he wouldn't be back next year.

I know...I figured he'd be up for coach of the year and it was a dramatic swing year over year, but I was after consuming a few cocktails and let the passion out. He should have been gone then and the extension was a joke. They've done nothing but take steps back as a team since despite several players making HUGE strides forward.

I'm not going to get the $50 back but felt somewhat redeemed this morning even if it is some 500 plus days since then. Boy can I harbor a grudge or what?

As usual, raptorshq has by far the best coverage/analysis anywhere regarding this.

as a side effect to this move... we may see some gambles.

this shows that MLSE are not overly concerned about cash and Smitch's contract. Hopefully this also means they can break the luxury tax barrier and take a flyer on a PG and wing man from the D-league. I don't suspect this will happen this week... but give Triano about 10 games and I fully expect to see some gambles, if not a major shake up. We just don't have the talent right now... but I don't think Mitchell deserves to stay on with better talent. I really want to see a coach who can run the team.

This is oddly familiar to the Jeff Van Gundy coaching appointment with the Knicks. He was a long time assistant, had survived many head coaches, and was given the job mid way through the season. Now we are not the Knicks of the 90s but there is precedent to giving a long time assistant a shot, and I think Triano is more than deserving and he clearly has everyone's respect.

When Triano talks about running, and face break, he doesn't mean it in the D'Antoni run everyone all the time. Think of it more as someone like Jason Kapono not at all worrying about defensive rebounds and instead running up on offense before everyone else on the team. How many times have we seen our PG being the first guy up the court with 4 guys lagging, it's pathetic!

Go Triano!

also, JVG or Flip Saunders for 09-10!

I don’t feel sorry for Sam Mitchell because I think he gave the team what it needed when it needed it most and was at wits-end to get any more out of them. He was smart enough to recognize that BC was different philosophically and demanded a four year contract as security. The divisions became untenable and they split. Sam gets paid and BC says thanks for the effort and moves on.

What I’m not clear on is what plan in building this team was Colangelo following? Did he bring in players that would fit better in Mitchell’s system or were these new additions Colangelo’s type of players. If Colangelo wanted more running, do you choose Calderon over PJ Ford and trade for O’Neal or was it to appease Mitchell? If Colangelo plan was side-tracked, how will he be able to get back on track with this group of players unless he thinks having a starting line with three 7 footers and a conservative pg can suddenly learn to run like gazelles. Should be interesting.

The benches of the "elite" teams. The Boston Celtics bench includes the following players:

Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt, Patrick O'Bryant, Glenn Davis, and Eddie House. Hmmmm. None of them have a shooting percentage over 44%.

The San Antonio spurs have never been described as an overly athletic team.

One of what has been the most athletic teams in the NBA for several years, the Atlanta Hawks, were still sub .500 last year.

Winning situations are built in many different ways, and it comes down to being smart about how you use the pieces you have. Wishing you had better pieces is something every team does. I am looking for some creativity and an identity to this team, an implementation of a clear philosophy on how they intend to go about winning games. That is the key to the further transformation of this team into a championship contender. It's hard for us to really say what kind of talent we have until we see how that talent performs against the backdrop of an actual system. That should be Jay's first priority -- give this team an identity and see how it works. I am looking forward to watching this thing play out. And about experience -- correct me if I'm wrong but hasn't Jay Triano spent more years as an assistant coach in the NBA than Sam Mitchell did before getting the Raptors job?

What I appreciate most about this change now is it appears indicative of an organization serious about winning, not just competitiveness. As a fan, I can support that mindset wholeheartedly even if it takes a while to bear fruit. At the very least we should appreciate that.

If Raps lose to Utah fire Triano...that's hillarious. I do believe that their are really good experience coaches out there and BC should have waited until he has contacted one of them before he fires Sam. I like Triano but with these roster of players I am not sure if the team will be any better, unless of coarse Triano is able to get them to over achieve the same way Sam did 2 years ago and with JO added to the team the Raps could be a big surprise if everyone bring the way Bosh does on a night to night basis. We just have to wait and see. but I am behind Jay 100% if there is anyone that can do it that would Jay Trino...remember the 2000 Olympic team the only player on that team was Nash and they finish second to the US in the qualifier and 7th in the Olympics so he can motivate and he has the basketball knowledge and a unique play book. Why do you think the US ask him to coach the interm team against the big boys....Raps is still a good team and now that Sam is gone the onus is on the players to produce..no more Sam to take the BLAME....I wish Sam all the best A real colorful guy....will sure miss him on the morning show...My condulencs to Ted Rogers family on his passing....Raps4Life.

I wish Triano all the best in his attempt to turn this team around but what do you think of Mike Krzyzewski as a possible replacement? Just curious as it's a name not usually mentioned.

Question: Does Sam get the remaining amount of his contract in one gigantic check or do the raptors continue to pay him bi-weekly (or monthly, however the NBA works)? What happens if he gets another coaching contract next year? Will he get paid by both his new team and the raptors?

Paul - I believe he continues on his regular pay cycle and yes, even if he gets a new head coaching job in the interim, the Raps are still on the hook.

Interloper - Scalabrine, Pruitt, O'Bryant, Davis and House? House and Davis aside the other 3 average about 6.5 minutes a game and of the 3, only Scalabrine has played in more than 8 games. Even Davis' play is a bit sporadic so I'd hardly call this group Boston's bench. The bench really is Powe, House, Tony Allen, and Cassell when he gets healthy, with sprinkles of Davis mixed in.

So would Jamario, Hump, Graham, or Adams play ahead of any of those five? Highly unlikely.

I think what I'm most excited about is what Triano does with Bargs. Does he continue to start him at the 3? Does he play him more at the 5?

And what about guys like Graham who were always on a short leash? Does Triano let them go wild?

OS - I mentioned Coach K a few days ago while wondering if Bosh had him in his fav 5. College coaches are a crap shoot and he would be very expensive (getting college coaches to leave their coach friendly environment to the doggy NBA is tough) but if they could convince K to make the leap that other teams haven't been able to it would be an interesting choice.

PS - I jokingly said to Howland last night that I'd love to have Coach K (both as a Duke fan and Raptors booster.) He recommitted to Duke however recently (after the Lakers ponderings) so don't see it happening unfortunately.

Bsnax - We'll see who we can talk to at MLSE about getting your 50 bucks back. Apparently they're not so concerned about spending money...

I find it interesting that most fans are pushing BC to make a trade that improves the team immediately when I suspect that if moves are going be made, it may be with future seasons in mind.

BC is a rebuild on the run GM and based on waht we have to work with he might be forced into a mini rebuild with 2009 in mind (his last chance to convince CB that this is a team worth the long term commitment).

Love the article. LOL and love the Dave Feschuk remarks because we all now he turns sports into a fairy tale of big words and no physical sports presence. It is almost as if he writes off the top of his head with a thesauras in one hand, pen in the other.

So they won't be able to run up and down the floor, but at least they won't go into a half court set running the same play over and over again. Maybe just maybe they actually utilize JO, Bargs and Bosh inside and properly utilize the likes of Kapono, Parker and Calderon where they have proven to be effective (in past seasons), shooting open threes.

Well, three is my lucky number, and with the prior firings of Carlesimo and Jordan, that makes 3. But I promised yesterday I would say no more about Smitch, and what more could I say that F, D and H haven't done so comprehensively? Besides Brian Gerstein's excellent recollection of Grange's column praising JayT, and how no less than CB4 and Kobe gave him props. I shall reiterate that Jay can also be considered a "player's coach" regardless of his pigmentation; he set 11 school records at SFU, played in the '84 and '88 Olympics, was the best SG ever to play for Team Canada, and was part of the team that won gold at the 1983 World University Games in Edmonton, beating the United States in a mammoth upset. So maybe he can help our motley crew of 2/3s (Parker, Kapono, Moon, Graham and even Adams) to play within their roles and to their potential.

And regarding race, I’m just curious if Kenny the Jetski on NBA TV would be such a backer of Smitch if he was, well, white, as well as dissing Calderon -– a fricking international superstar, who has played below expectations for the past, oh, 5 games –- if he was, well, black. It's like they have incredibly short term memories, as do some posters on this board if they have forgotten so quickly the last two playoff series where Frank and Van Gundy first laughed, and then took every advantage, of whatever our ex-coach threw at them.

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Speaking of the mainstream media, a big middle finger goes out to Hollinger and ESPN, and his overly complex PER garbage. Perhaps a Fantasy ranking isn't the best metric by comparison, but Bargs is ranked #49 on the season, which suggests, based on his blocks and 3s in a C-eligible position, he's hardly a "flop" who has been "granted unearned minutes." That was last season, asshole. According to Hollinger, Bargs is still a "horrid defender", too.

Similarly, Hollinger wants Triano to "start defensive ace" Jamario, based on *last* year's performance. It's just laziness coupled with disinformation, which is national mainstream media in a nutshell. This is why I turn to excellent blogs like RaptorsHQ when it comes to local news and opinions, because someone like Hollinger knows as much about the Raptors as I know about, say, Kevin McHale's thought processes and trade rationales. (Although does anyone?)

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Finally, as for Colangelo himself, yes, his skin is more on the line, but so is greater flexibility on his end to make moves. Triano, given his (more amenable) personality and (less) leverage, will probably not need weekly "closed door meetings" with BC to establish a proper rotation. As a result, Triano will play the players who *need* to be played, either to improve their roles on the team, or to showcase for a trade. And remember, BC's pop didn't *have* to pick Triano to be on the US team, he's not even American; so ya think BC didn't influence that decision?

And one last thing: if BC's long-term plan doesn't work out, and his roster ultimately doesn't live up to his or our expectations, and (gulp) Bosh leaves, and BC subsequently gets turfed, that's just the way the cookie crumbled. It's not like there are 29 other teams who would rather their own team suck and other teams succeed in their stead (well, considering the aforementioned McHale and Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, maybe not). Even the (latest) Leafs saviour, Brian Burke, was canned by the Canucks after he turned them into one of the top flight teams in the league. And then he goes on to with the Cup with Anaheim. C'est la vie.

Recently started reading this site after being a longtime real GMer and have to say its got an amazing group of readers. Lots of great discussion and well thought out posts.

So on that note, if Triano doesn't work out, who does everyone think Colangelo would consider hiring?

Ok, Franchise, if we look at Kapono, Graham, and Humphries I'd say they'd give House, Poe, and Davis a solid run for their money. Allen is better than Moon, I give you that, but if Cassell is the same Cassell as last year's playoffs his shot is no more consistent than Solomon's and his game has diminished dramatically. I think the crux of my point was that given that the Raptors bench players haven't been put in a position where they can properly utilize their strengths, they are likely undervalued. Similarly, even marginal/average talent players on championship teams can often be overvalued and exposed once taken out of a system that allows them to properly contribute (see Fisher, Derek, Golden State years). The goal for Triano is to help the team figure out what it has and what it needs. That wasn't being done with Mitchell. He didn't trust these players to contribute and hadn't really established a means by which they could. All of us have lamented the under use of Kapono.

That is where I had issue with the assertion that these players would automatically be inferior to an elite team's bench. At spots, yes, but it can't be made as a blanket statement. I guess we wait and see.

oldschool - I don't think it's on Triano to make 3 7-footers "run like gazelles". The problem is being 2nd to last in fast break points - that means opportunities to run are missed. We've all seen this on the court, jose's first down the court, when it should be our wings. It seems like bosh runs more fast breaks than parker, moon, kapono, combined and he's one of the bigs who should be getting the board and passing up to the wings. Calderon maybe doesn't take enough chances, but really moon needs to straight to the hoop, and on the right side. I don't know if anyone else notices this, but moon usually comes down the same side as calderon, so he'd have to throw the ball at the back of his head to get it to him...

Will take the wait and see. Thought this team would eventually turn things around with San at the helm.

bsnax - I hate bringing up the past but that pick and roll at the end of game 6 was well crafted. Bosh was open underneath the basket. It was a bad pass from Jose.

You know that gets me thinking. Sam was always criticized for not being able to call a play with the gameon the line but I can't recall any play where we did not get off a shot in the final seconds(except recently when Bargnani couldn't inbound). Everyone was saying how Frank outcoached Sam in the OT loss but bottom line is VC hit some clutch shots.

My retrospective on Sam is this: great mentor; terrible coach. This move is overdue. Won't magically turn us around but it's progress.

IMO, JC is one of the best PGs in the NBA, and he will get better.

I love Steve Nash, but we have greater needs than PG right now - other than finding a decent backup - so I hope that won't be BC's focus in years to come.

re: the Jersey game, 7 pt. lead blown in 30 sec., that has to fall on the coach. It just shouldn't happen. How hard is it to kill 30 sec?

Franchise, you forgot the game at home against Philly. That game was an absolute give away as well. If the raptors had played semi-decent they would have won.

Sam was clearly a mixed bag, his game management left much to be desired. The question is is Triano a step up. he may have better game management, but what about having the players trust? We'll see.

BC needs to start looking in the mirror though, this team could have had Brandon Roy, or Rudy Gay, or LaMarcus Aldrige, and we've left the last two drafts without picking up any young talent.

Clarification on a couple things:
Sam Mitchell's Salary: MLSE doesn't really pay anything different by hiring Triano. I'd imagine Triano might get a slight boost in salary and they may have to hire one more assistant, but certainly not the same amount as hiring another coach.

Next Year Money Wise: Some people have reported that there's an option in Mitchell's contract regarding the final year of his contract. So while they won't get relief next year, if Mitchell signs with another team, the Raptors don't have to pay him as much in year 4 (two years from now) but I don't think MLSE is sweating it too much, since we'll probably see our tickets go up AGAIN next year :p

Waiting to fire Mitchell: Right now is the best time. Wait any later and you can't figure out what to do at the trade deadline. The importance for Colangelo is to establish what he needs for this year and set things up for the next person he brings in as coach. If that means clearing the table of certain people and restructuring the team, he'll need as much time as possible. A new coach now also limits your options since you don't know who will be fired in the off season, either here or in the EuroLeague. It's also best to wait until the off season to hire a new coach so that the team can get to know him and his philosophy during pre season.

Actually, Frank did outcoach Sam in that game Tinman...and yes VC did make some big shots, but that is irrelevant. Sam didn't offer up any reason why they didn't foul VC on that last play (postgame). He simply stated that the goal was to get a hand in his face and make them take a bad shot. Well it didn't quite work out that way did it Sam?

Since we have a fresh start and are unencumbered by Sam’s perceived past wrongdoings by any of the players, what lineup changes do you think JT makes?

I hope he goes with the following rotation:
1 Calderone, Ukic
2 Parker, Graham
3 Kapono, Moon
4 Bargnani, Humphries
5 Bosh, O'Neal

As we saw against Denver, Bargnani really needs to be a 4/5, not a 3. I think if you bring O’Neal off the bench, you can have the big three on the floor at all times at 32 minutes each with Humph for early foul help. Starting Kapono will be a big help to get that high – low game going and if you run plays to open him up, it will be a big help.

It’s great discussing potential lineups, it’s like pre-season all over again!

Mixed emotions here..... wait.... what the @#$ am I smokin? The only mixed emotions I have are between which I hate more.... the Raps D or that damned pick and pop! I think it's fairly common knowledge that Sam would have been out the door faster than Oprah on a baked ham if he hadn't won the Coach of the Year award... In fact, I dare say that it was probably a conspiracy by the voting community to @#$ BC and his winning teams!

Go Triano! Love that guy.

Okay, time to be serious. Has anyone heard any rumblings about this so called "offensive genius" Ettore Messina possibly being on the Raptors radar?
I keep hearing how amazing this guy is and it seems right up BC's alley to be targetting a Euroleague guy. I'd love to hear more about this guy.

jjdyno - Thanks for bringing the Hollinger points up. I cringed a bit when posting that link in the article because while I did agree with many of his points, like you said, he obviously hasn't seen Toronto play yet this year. Bargs is a much improved defensive player and Moon, while good as a help option, might be one of the worst defenders on the club. "Defensive Ace?" Um...if we can get Moon down to falling for only one or two head fakes a game that's a start...

Chris - The Philly loss and both Miami wins could have counted, you're right. Tough at times to say where to draw the line between players not performing and the coach not doing a good job but yeah, half the games this year you could probably make arguments about. I just thought the most egregious examples were the 3 I mentioned.

And Interloper - I do agree. I've always had a huge issue with Mitchell's use of players dating back to last season:

http://www.hooplife.ca/raptorshq/viewHQArticle.php?id=426

However I'm still not sold on this team's overall talent but more than anything, I hope Jay proves me wrong and turns them into studs.

The potential is definitely there, just a matter of somehow tapping into it.

Oh Raptors fans...

http://www.firejaytriano.com/

OMG, so what are fans going to gripe about now?!?! Hopefully, Jay being a near local boy, the fans don't kill him by week 3. Our paths have crossed a couple of times and Jay seems like a great guy. It doesn't seem like it was 7 years ago since he was one of the media.

So I guess BC, you're now next on the clock. Maybe after you the Rap fans get what they deserve, another Babcock or Grunwald.

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Did anyone else get tired of listening to non-basketball people talk hoops on the FAN590?? With Eric Thomas and Roger Legois?!?! That was just awful. A racing guy and a jr Hockey expert with a call in show full of 16 yr/olds talking about basketball. *sigh*

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Oh for those who desperately wanted Corey Maggette (whom I thought was an aweful fit here) see:

Five games, five Golden State losses and a more than 2:1 turnover-to-assist ratio. Maggette's selfish play hasn't gone unnoticed by other players. According to sources, after the final buzzer against Boston, Celtics forward Kevin Garnett turned to Maggette and shouted, "Way to get your numbers."

"He just puts his head down and goes to the basket," an Eastern Conference scout said. "He doesn't even look to pass."

Word from team sources is that the Warriors are already regretting signing Maggette to a five-year, $50 million deal last offseason.

AGM - Smitch's statement after the VC inbound play was to foul him if caught the ball with his back to the basket but if he caught the ball facing the basket, not to foul because VC would go straight into his shooting motion. There's a ton to critize Sam for but that play was called and played out correctly by the coach and the players...we just should have never been in the situation in the first place.

oh.. also wondering.. when's the Oden's a bust campaign starting?

Thanks for explaining that Vicious, I see what ya mean. At the same time, Triano should be given the job seeing that hes been there for 7 years. Granted it doesn't work they should bring in Avery Johnson. He would crack the whips at the likes of Jamario..who apparently is our defensive Ace. Leave it to stereotypical American jouranalists to be ignorant. Maybe him and Feschuk hide in a closet together and conspire to make up their stories. As for that site, whoever created it is a dumbass. If Triano is good enough for Bosh, Nash and KOBE then he sure as hell is good enough for me. I must ask a question, perhaps one of you can explain the general hate for realgm? And I hope you are all going to watch the big OK Vs. USC game tonight. I know I will be after I get back from coaching.

The main reason Triano was named head coach over any of the current coaches and anyone else out there is because he is a "corporate guy" and will play whomever Colangelo tells him. BC is in full evaluation mode of his players and English, Evans or anyone else out there would not have catered to Bryan as Jay will...and I'm perfectly fine with that.

So glad the Score is showing college ball - caught the end of the NC-M State game last night. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels look scary good.

Saw the Maggette piece. Yep, ball hog but wonder if he still wouldn't be a big upgrade on the Raptors, who could at times use some more "to the rim ball hogging."

Too bad his contract is so long...

Like sprinkling sugar on a turd and praying it becomes a brownie...that is how I sum up this continued Raptor fan fascination with Corey Maggette. I don't get it. I think subconsciously his game reminds us of a poor man's version of Vince Carter's before Carter figured life would be less painful taking jump shots. It's like a guy always going after girls that sort of look like his ex.

The Raptors run? You need the basketball to run and to do that you have to rebound. When I type the names O'Neal, Bosh, Bargnani(Don't jump on me,the guy's making strides), even Humphries, it seems that Raptor rebounding should be pretty solid. It's anything but and like I said, no reboundee, no runnee.

And so it continues. Now not only do we have Kenny the Jetski laugh at Calderon's talent, Hollinger totally misreading the players on this team, but now everyone's favourite dumbass grouch, Charley Rosen, is implying that Triano is a backstabber because he "has been overtly and covertly angling for the Raptors head coaching job for quite some time":

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8889514/Coach-of-the-Year-winners-often-overrated

Oh, and didn't you guys get the memo, according to Charley, Jay is "the people's choice" too. Yah, we Canadians are so happy to promote one of our own for purely nationalistic reasons; that's why Brian Burke, Pinball Clemons, J.P. Ricciardi and Bryan Colangelo are all Canadians! Oh, wait....

What fucktards, all of them, I can't wait for CBC Sportsline to write an article that Smitch was fired because he disliked the parliamentary system.

... I meant CBS Sportsline, obviously, but I do think Leo Rautins should fired as colour commentator and replaced by George Stroumboulopoulos. At least the Canadian quotient will be maintained. Sigh.

Rosen never ceases to bewilder!
It is funny reading all the US press talking about our team. Marty Burns seems to have the best handle.Hollinger's comments disappointed. He's usually on the ball.

I'll say this much - I am gonna miss those suits. He gave Pat Riley a run for his money.

THANK GOD!!!!! That was soooooooooooooooo overdue! Let see what Triano can do, but I believe BC will be looking elsewhere unless this team and coach mess extremely well. We will see changes in players at some point as well. I do like the fact that BC will make changes.

Could you help me. I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches.
I am from Northern and , too, and now am writing in English, tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Among nch's changes that staff was a plan of broad vision sufficient rate products."

With respect :(, Nardo.