Not really sure what to make of the Q&A. The person answering the questions seems to think Belinelli is a weak player but a lot of the other fans seem to like him. Personally, I think the Raptors are hoping that having fellow Italians around will help him develop his game. Worse case scenario, they opt out of his contract next summer.

I’m still trying to get my head around on this trade.

GSW gave us Belissimo …….. for what again?
Oh yeah – 1.6 million bucks (or thereabouts).

Way I see it, if we look at George for what he was going to be, we basically bought out his contract. And going with that line of thinking, we picked up Belissimo for nothing. And forget the value of an expiring contract (George’s) for a future trade — we made them already. At least the important ones.

The first upside is, we had no minutes for George. Now we don’t have to worry about that issue – we have that with Banks right now, although he’s made it easier to just disregard him (Summer league no show that he was).

The second upside is — it’s only one year (at this time). And should we decide to move Mr. B before the trading deadline, I’m sure we can get MORE FOR HIM, then what GSW sold him for.

The third upside, is a potentially positive side for Andrea. Besides having a fellow Bocce player, and Italian swearing partner (on the court), AB gets a chance to boost his own confidence to a greater level. Being a 3rd year Raptor, Bargnani could be that mentor who brings Belissimo’s ability out, and in turn make Andrea feel important to the Raptors cause – as mentoring tends to do.

But no matter how this all turns out, I’m still sitting here wondering … GSW traded Belissimo because …………………..

Gotta say …. your last line in that update “Silly and Unnecessary ….” …… I completely disagree on that.

Personally … and I’ve watched all but 2 or 3 games last year (and sometimes twice – it’s the PVR thing) .. but I’m getting sick and tired of this ABSOLUTE focus on AB’s rebounding. Yeah, Bargnani’s numbers could be better. But if you watch some games, and take away those uncontested rebounds (when the opposition heads back to set up their defense), I’d think his percentage of total team rebounds would be higher then it is now.

I remember on MANY occasions, when Moon would come flying over top 2 or 3 Raptors (with no opposition in site), in order to grab a rebound. Hell, in Miami they thought they were getting Marion lite. Then the Mavs sign him to 3 million per, for 2 years. wtf.
But enough of the Moon rant.

I know rebounding was one of Andrea’s problems, but for me, the bigger issue about last year was …….. we PLAYED 5 on 3 for most games. Our production out of the 2 and 3 (pre Marion) was horrible — I kept hearing how these positions are occupied by some of the best NBA players, while we were the opposite. And when Jose went down, that just made things worse.

I may be delusional about AB, but I still think he still has a lot more upside to him. And for a Centre (yeah .. not his real position blah blah blah), I see a healthy individual (knock on wood). Look around and see the issues with the Big guys. Somehow I feel confident that the Andrea extension is not so foolhardy.

Wanted to mention, that I think the site is great.

Love the EASY connection to other NBA blogs – great way to get a perspective on players (like Mr. B) who make their way to the Raptors.

One small complaint though — the red is overwhelming at times. A little more subdued (or some different shading) would make things easier on the eyes.

All in all though …. Great views, and perspectives.

RapthoseLeafs

George wasn’t gonna give us anything – it seems like If Belinelli can give us anything we are ahead. Giving up on a 23 year old Eoropean seems premature. I hope he gets the hance to compete.
Amazing how the depth issue has swung. All of a sudden, we are among the deepest in the East. All of a sudden no-one is all that concerned about Bosh resigning or being traded(was a big fan of it). BC has now put us in a position where we can comfortably start the season with the players we now have and see how things play out. Preseason is about two anda half months away!

To put things in proper perspective, at this time last year I was cheering the signing of JO, singing the praises of Coach Sam and calling for home court in the playoffs….. but…..

it all comes down to what Triano and Iavaroni can do with this group that Colangelo has assembled, The talent is there, arguably two deep at each position, to compete for 48 minutes. with any team. The NBA is one league where a coaching strategy can make a difference. If Triano can press the right buttons, if Iavoroni can help our defence we can make some noise.

I ‘ll give Triano credit for Bargnani’s offensive turnaround last season, a continuation of that is important to our success this season. To the critics of his rebounding and defence – take a pill. Bargnani’s rebounding and defensive game will continue to improve(no-one hardly mentions that it did noticably improve last season). I really think he will grow into a strong defensive presence. I am not of the group that says we lack defense, we need Bosh and Barg’s to step up to their fullest.
Bosh, no longer being the offensive focal point can put more of his time towards rebounding. Evans will add some boards, Turkoglu, Rasho, Jack and DeRozan – I just don’t see our rebounding worst than last season. Mark my words.

Despite some great moves, there’s one issue that concerns me with the upcoming season. Men and minutes.

But before I get to that, I wanted to say this has been a fun ride that BC has taken us on. I do worry the next few months will be painfully slow. A lingering torture of nothing — not quite unlike what one would find at Denny Crane’s "Guantanamo by the Bay" …. " I like all kind of resorts …. ".

If I was to choose a TSN turning point for the past while (and No – not the TSN2 version), I’d have to say it was the moment that light bulb came on in Fruitman’s mind.

Steve Fruitman came up with the idea – and by the way, he’s a Chartered accountant – eventually leading the Raptors to all that has transpired. If this was an episode of Sliders, the Alternate fate for the upcoming season might’ve been hard on the loyalists. And then there’d be the following year – sans Bosh. But as much as I believe that Fruitman is the type of guy an organization needs, it will always be BC who deserves a good chunk of the credit. Fruitman gave him the chance, and BC took it from there.

I remember reading, during the He-do-He-dont signing, Doug Smith saying no way in hell Orlando does a sign & trade with the Raptors. Part of that thinking was because we had nothing to really offer, that Orlando might need or want – short of Bosh I guess. I do like reading DS, even though I find him a bit condescending at times. I just didn’t agree with him on the No way No hell option – and I felt this was a classic example of belittling those who wondered.

Being in the business world for a number of years, my first reaction to Dougy’s "lack of consideration" was …. EVERYONE HAS A PRICE. Orlando has one. We just needed to discover it ………… cue Stevie.

All that being said, I’m concerned about minutes. And the morale that goes with minutes. I remember when we were loaded with some decent talent, but too few minutes. I believe our talent is better this time around, even if the minutes aren’t. Marco coming here, best illustrates how that can affect a player, and the team. Hopefully Jay can make it all work. I’d rather injuries not be the solution.

Belinelli wasn’ t going to get minutes, too deep on the depthchart, would have happened on last years injury plagued team. Golden State’s need is frontcourt beef. While D. George is a pretty generic NBA player, the W’s don’t have many players like him. I expect D. George to play more minutes for the Ws than Belinelli would have. And the primary motive for GSW appears to be expiring contract & cash.

Belinelli does have an upside, the vision of a high-scoring slasher, shooter, ballhandler and showed this on enough occasions to have a fan base. He wasnt consistent enough but rarely truly horrible. My take on him is hes a bit of a tweener, not strong enough for the frontcourt, not quick enough to defend NBA caliber guards, but he might be a good role player. Obviously yet one more Euro for Team Europe and the ladies are likely to like him, as well at least a handful of other NBA teams. I suspect at the very least Toronto could trade him for someone more useful to them than D. George.

I haven’t posted in a while, but have been reading your posts as often as I can. An infant, a wild three year old and a long European vacation will do that to anyone. I thought that you guys would enjoy this. It is just one game, but it shows his potential. His game certainly does have Manu qualities. And again, we picked him up for nothing. GS fans don’t realize that MLSE is a very wealthy company that can afford to throw 1.6 million dollars out the window. That doesn’t concern us fans. We simply want ownership to build us a team that can compete and entertain!

Re: Bargnani’s rebounding numbers. Someone should post on their site (too lazy to create an account) that Bargs rebounding numbers are lower than other C’s in the league because he doesn’t play under the basket. What makes him special is the fact that he forces his defender out to the perimeter. In addish, he bats quite a few balls each game back to one of the guards who then get credited for the board. This is what happens when you don’t watch any Raptor games!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9dK3LqtVB4&feature=related

By the way, the new site is awesome and I think it’s far more user friendly! You guys keep doing an incredible job keeping us up-to-date and informed regarding our Raps. Keep up the great work…RaptorsHQ rules!!!

Just read your post Chris4. I like your perspective! No one really loses out on this deal, unless Belinelli lights it up for us. The reality is, as your post suggests, he can probably be a good role player (if not more – or less) for us Raps! If not, we cut him loose…