The 2009 Off-Season - A Case of Deja-Vu for Raptors Fans?
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 8:03 AM EDT
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It has been a summer of spending for the Raptors while league-wide, every other team has braced for the economic situation while looking for bargain players. Will the Raptors' spendthrift ways come back to haunt them in the future?
I still remember the day.
It was July 18th, 2001 and the Raptors announced that in a coup, they managed to re-sign all their major free agents, those key players who helped take the team within inches of an Eastern Conference Finals appearance. Then GM, Glen Grunwald, explained to the public how the Raptors had secured their future and we the fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. We were convinced that we were lucky to keep our young core together for the next few years and it would be the beginning of a legacy of playoff runs.
Of course after a few years, a wonky knee, a few bad seasons, and some mild controversy turned all those deals sour. The fans and the media who once praised the signings, suddenly turned around and talked about how much those same long-term contracts hampered the team instead of helped it.
The lesson I took from that time as a fan was to always careful of what you do with your so-called star players. There was no doubt in our minds that Vince Carter was worth a max-money contract. Heck, in this day and age, Carter still manages to command a higher contract than the stars of the draft class of 2003. However, the contracts that really poisoned the Raptors seemed to be those of Antonio Davis, Alvin Williams, and Mr JYD Jerome Williams.
Today, we have slightly different concerns, but there are lessons to be learned from our past.
No longer do we live with that same stigma that all players dislike Toronto as a destination. The feeling back in 2001 was that the Raptors simply had to pay that amount to their free agents because they just couldn't attract the players they needed at an appropriate salary. It's more of a choice nowadays that Bryan Colangelo will pay what he needs to, in order to get the piece he wants. The perception of Toronto as a city has changed, but as is the case with any NBA team, it's hard to convince players to come to a team has hardly been a juggernaut in terms of playoff success the past few years.
At the end of last season though, Bryan Colangelo made a firm commitment to revamp his 2008-2009 roster. There's no doubt he's managed to do this and most fans have fully endorsed his roster shake-up. Though, how he's done his makeover in regards to the length and price of the contracts he's handed out has given some reason to pause.
Is the man they call the "Turkish Michael Jordan" really worth $53 million over five years considering he wanted to come to Toronto more than Portland and was offered slightly less from the Blazers?
Is Andrea Bargnani, with barely half a year of improvement worth his reported $50 million dollars when the salary cap is projected to fall even further next year and there was a large possibility that Bargnani would be squeezed out of a top dollar contract?
Heck, is Jarrett Jack worth $5 million to become a capable backup combo guard on a team that already has over $14 million dollars (Calderon, Douby, Banks, and Ukic) in contracts tied up in their point guard position?
For those that scoff at this and look at the finances of our team as being inconsequential and not of concern, we should turn our attention to the recent trade that brought in Hedo into the Raptors' fold. Locking Turkoglu for five years, the Raptors have made a substantial commitment to a player who is already 30 years old. At a contract that continues to increase over the span of five years, Turkoglu will be a player who will be paid in excess of $10 million dollars at the age of 35.
And looking at a slightly bigger picture?
The Raptors have now committed about $35 million of their cap space per year through the next four years in the form of Jose Calderon's, Jarret Jack's, Andrea Bargnani's, and Hedo Turkoglu's contracts. Toss in an extension for Chris Bosh, and we're probably talking over $50 million tied up in five players through to the 2012/2013 season.
Now stability can be a good thing for a club that has already proven itself but Toronto of course does not fit in this category at present. And now with so many long-term contracts for several key players, there will be little room to maneuver should the Raptors find that their new team just isn't as competitive as anticipated. Colangelo will be left with no choice but to stick with this team throughout his tenure and hopefully play the Euro-centric, run-and-gun style that he's advocated from day one. Focusing again on Turkoglu, if the Raptors find that they need more rebounding from the Small Forward position, they will be hard pressed to find such a player on the open market at the mid level exception next year. Maybe more importantly, would the Raptors or their fans be comfortable having Turkoglu come off the bench at $10 million a year later down the line, should this experiment fail?
I am not here to be a doom-sayer, nor am I as pessimistic as my Raptors HQ colleagues about the upcoming season. I have always admired Colangelo's ability to fill his needs, make changes, and keep a roster that allows for flexibility. However, with so many contracts tied into the Raptors for the next few years, it's admittedly a little bit worrying that Colangelo has mortgaged future flexibility in order to acquire players that will help retain Chris Bosh now. It's even more troubling that two of those long term contracts are for players that haven't even played a minute of Raptors basketball and it is hard to evaluate their worth or their fit with this current roster.
Bryan Colangelo seems to be betting with his entire reputation on this summer's moves. If the Raptors cannot gel together and Chris Bosh bolts from Toronto without any compensation to the team, the Dinos will be stuck with a roster full of great B-grade talent without a true anchor for the team. If CB4 stays and the team doesn't work out in the long run, Colangelo could have quite a difficult time finding takers for the large and long contracts he has handed out this summer.
Essentially BC is going for broke.
And while I'm glad major changes were made and am quite happy with the results overall, I think like most Raptor fans, I'm just hoping that we don't look back on this summer in two years and realize we were witnessing the summer of 2001 all over again.
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14 million at PG
Not really relevent.
Your sentence could as easily read:
Heck, is Jarrett Jack worth $5 million to become a capable backup combo guard on a team that already has
over $14 million dollars (Calderon, Douby, Banks, and Ukic) in contracts tied up inno significant backup at their point guard position?
I’d have to say…. yes.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, those 14 M in contracts (except Jose) aren’t going to play anyway, so it doesn’t really matter what positions they occupy.
by dhackett1565 on Aug 11, 2009 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree. Douby and Ukic aren’t in our long term plans and Banks will be an expiring next year. BC tried to pick up top talent as every GM should. Fortunately for us, MLSE is loaded and didn’t have to cut costs this year. The majority of our roster is very young vs the 2001 crop. Jose would have to forget how to play basketball to make his contract an issue and Bargs would have to regress back to his form from two seasons ago. I really don’t see that happening and at roughly 10 million a year, this contract could be a steal for the Raps if Bargs maintains his averages from last season and bumps up his rebounding total by a couple (even if he doesn’t I’m not concerned). Jack is a PG I wanted for the Raps years ago and proved last year that he can be a number 1 point guard. That fact that he is so versatile and brings some perimeter D makes his 5 million moot. Now onto Turkoglu. How can you even mention this guy coming off of the bench next year at 10 million if the experiment fails. Did you not watch him in the playoffs last year (except for the shoddy free throw shooting in the last game against LA), come on people. He is a very talented player who will not be relegated to the bench if he can’t improve his rebounding numbers. The fact that Dwight Howard is not in the picture tells me that his rebounding numbers should increase this season. We are spending too much time focusing on the minutia. He is only 30 and is not showing signs of slowing down. Even if he does in year 3, he will be an expiring in year 4, which I don’t think will hamper us too much. Other than Turk, I am positive that if one of these players don’t play to their potential, some GM out there will convince themselves that due to the young age, a change of scenery can make a difference. We have a pretty good roster and I believe that we secured the best free agent of this class at a minimal cost (compared to seasons past). Are there holes in this roster? Yes! They are definitely not as glaring as a year ago. I am just going to sit back and enjoy this revamped roster. Somehow, I think that the Turk is exactly what a player like Bosh and Bargs need for their game…just my thoughts. By the way VD…great article. I’m not trying to be negative, just wanted to share a different point of view. Thanks again for your post!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I hear ya. I believe that Colangelo has the potential to score big on some of these deals, especially if Bargnani develops into what we need him to be, but we are right now locked in for the next few years with regards to a bunch of contracts. It just feels like we’re paying a lot on potential, which is never a good sign as GMs should usually pay on performance only. Bad contracts happen because a GM believes in the potential for a player to “bring it to the next level” and it never happens.
Turkoglu had problems in the playoffs, especially against L.A. and the Magic placed him on the bench for part of that game. I’m not saying it WILL happen, I’m just saying that if this bus doesn’t get the right momentum, it’ll be really hard to turn around with all the contracts we now have locked into certain players.
But yeah. Just a concern. ;) Still really, really want to see this team on the court.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions
The Deja-Vu was 2006-07 not 2001
Can you feel the fear?
I guess we could just ask BCo to trade Bosh for draft picks and we’ll try to develop a new squad like the Thunder is doing? Five long years of maybe we’ll be good one day – not really what we had in mind? Based on what BCo had done since he arrived – going for broke isn’t a bad description of his style, although he has shown to be a lot better at escaping his mistakes than previous GMs. Would we rather have a chance at a very good team or play it safe and know we won’t?
And, this remake of the Raptors feels a lot more like BCo’s first remake in 06-07 than that let’s reward the boys contract fiasco of 2001.
There is risk in signing any long term deals, but if the test is paying for performance – well the Turkoglu signing would define that situation. And Bargs did achieve 17.7/ 5.9/ 1.3 in 59 starts last year, that’s a whole season for a lot of players. And his numbers went up to 19 & 6 after December. Unless someone is counting on the bad economy to hold down salaries next season, Barg’s deal doesn’t look out of line.
The risk in BCo’s current signings is less that he may have overpaid someone and more of can the coaching staff turn these individually good players into a successful team – that no one can see for sure until they play. I believe BCo did get our attention.
More or less. I’m just saying it’s all in one position, which to me is problematic. If it was spread out at other positions, I’d feel at least a bit more comfortable just because by that virtue, you don’t have depth at other positions. Oh, and at $14 million, that’s about the same price as having Calderon and Ford man the position again together. lol.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions
I agree about paying for potential, which is really only the Bargs situation. I personally would have preferred that we wait for him to have a full season with those numbers. I just can’t see him regressing at this point. Again, you never know! JJ is solid at 5 million because you know what you’re getting. Could we have had him for 3-4 million if he was unrestricted? Probably. The Indiana luxury tax situation dictated that move and price point. I really am curious to see how this all fits together! Thanks for the response!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 11:24 AM EDT up reply actions
Tough to see Alvin and Jerome lumped in with the big contract quitters, but your point is well made. If this team doesn’t work out the next makeover will not happen so easily.
dhackett is right, though. Please stop referring to Banks as a PG. His position is PF (“paid fan”).
I've been looking at the sky
by Back In Black on Aug 11, 2009 9:34 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Please stop referring to Banks as a PG. His position is PF ("paid fan").
This made my morning!!!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 9:45 AM EDT up reply actions
lol. Made mine too.
I’m not saying that they necessarily quit, but that’s how the media and people have looked at those contracts through revisionist history.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:20 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh, I’m the one calling VC and AD quitters. Because they quit.
Alvin sacrificed his knees for a playoff run. Misguided perhaps, but you can’t say he didn’t do his absolute best to live up to his contract.
I've been looking at the sky
by Back In Black on Aug 11, 2009 1:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Disagree, for so many reasons
In 2001 those were ABSOLUTELY the best moves at the time. Williams may have been questionable, but sill necessary. Similarly, all current signings were necessary and I doubt we could get similar skill sets for better money. The moves suit the (global) culture of the organization, make the players more comfortable and puts us in a position to be competitive.. Being displeased with someone’s production after three years is not a Toronto thing. Hell, that’s not even a basketball thing – that’s the nature of contracts where sports is concerned. There is a greater likelihood that not that at some point the production will not be consistent with money..
Being displeased with someone’s production after three years is not a Toronto thing. Hell, that’s not even a basketball thing – that’s the nature of contracts where sports is concerned. There is a greater likelihood that not that at some point the production will not be consistent with money..
Teams can put themselves in positions where they do not face as much risk of these inflated contracts/dead money. All it takes a little self-control and patience.
Grunwald re-upped everybody before Vince resigned, and Colangelo is trying to put together a squad in similar desperation. Hedo is the new AD.
The difference is that AD battled injuries even before resigning and took a beating playing the centre position in a PF’s body!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 10:29 AM EDT up reply actions
"Ow! My eye!"
He was a very hard worker before he quit.
I've been looking at the sky
by Back In Black on Aug 11, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions
You should lend Colangelo your crystal ball!!
The squad has holes no doubt, but this infinetly a better squad than it was last year.
The only way that you could be convinced that these were the wrong moves, is if you know of some better one’s. And if you do, I’m all ears?
Ever hear the phrase, “One step forward, two steps back”?
Sometimes it’s not the moves you make that matter, but the ones you don’t make. Look at signings like Marcus Banks, Jason Kapono. Do you think that people said – I would rather have nothing? A year or two later, the fanbases shout – “We would rather have nothing!” Teams that don’t have flexibility want it badly. Teams that don’t have it shouldn’t be in a rush to get rid of it unless they are in a position to make serious progress.
I just don’t see what the rush was to lock down some overpriced, replacable players for 4-5 more years other than it being a half-hearted attempt to repair the damage caused to the franchise over the last few years. The answer to the Raps’ problems is really not to make more poor, short-term focused decisions. We’ve been there and done that.
I’m 100 per cent in agreement bigweeze. That’s why I don’t buy the “this team won 33 games so they had to do SOMETHING.” It’s that kind of mentality that’s produced teams like the Knicks over the past decade. That’s not to say I hate all of the off-season moves, in fact I’m quite pleased with many of them. However I still don’t think Toronto’s philosophy is that sound going forward…
Again, hope I’m wrong.
by Adam Francis on Aug 11, 2009 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Actually we got the crown because Kidd, Carter and Jefferson couldn’t get along and Kristic got hurt. And to be fair, making the playoffs that year hurt our team in the long run because we lost our 1st round pick at a time where it was critical to have one.
Well I mostly disagree (all good though). I don’t think BC’s intention was to bomb a year to get a better draft pick. Did anyone want to dive another year just to get another pick? Maybe I guess.
He made big changes and got the crown, arguably the biggest achievement in Raps history. I do agree that it hurt a bit as we kept Sam and thus built a a mentality that wasn’t in accordance to the original master plan in trading for O’Neal.
That is one of the biggest failings of Brian Colangelo. He came in here guns blazing when we would have been better off picking up an additional lottery pick. Winning the division was great, but really only benefitted us in the short term as it was not in the best interests of the team in years 2+ of his tenure.
We added all of this talent in his first year (Bargnani, Garbajosa, Parker, TJ) and Calderon improved greatly. The next, we added only Kapono because he had already spent all of our money and we lost the lotto-protected pick a year too early. Not a surprise that we slipped as the others in the division rounded into form (luckily we are in the Knicks’ div.).
Timing is such a huge part of being a GM..
I see what you’re saying but I look at it a little differently. I see it as one great year (for the Raps), one good year and one reboot/total disappointment. All this coming off the heels of a terrible season in which Mike James was a go to guy. Raps fans and the Franchise wanted/needed some immediate success and BC got that done. I personally think he had to have his guns blazing, it’s what everyone was asking for.
Anyway, none of the guys from the next draft, barring Durant, would have given us anything more than what BC has acquired in trades or the like. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_Draft
I think we have to wait for the results of the next 2 seasons to really analyze what BC has done in TO.
And we now have Belinelli … the guy we would have likely taken from that draft anyway. Can you imagine the uproar if we had drafted Bargs in 06 followed by Belinelli in 07?
Well, if you put it that way.. Colangelo is a genius. But what if we picked in the top 10? Who knows how the next few years would have played out and if the players would have developed differently.
Maybe 07 wouldn’t have worked out but we would have had another seat in the top 10 in 2008 (pretty deep draft).
We added Kapono and Delfino (and Moon no?) that second year which created a logjam that Mitchell couldn’t coach and Garbo got hurt, which I think was the biggest kicker to this franchise for the next 2 seasons personally. I’d still love to have that Colangelo addition on our team.
I think ultimately I like the moves individually but it is the collection that has me worried. I absolutely love the Jack signing but it would have made more sense last year when the team could have used a good back up guard and even though the need still exists, with the addition of Turk it squeezes their flexibility going forward. I guess BC could always trade Calderon if things get dicey and run the ball through Jack who costs half as much.
I really thought the raptors should keep the cap space, and let Bosh leave (either through trade or FA) and start over again with all that cap space and Derozan. They could have easily signed some cheap players and made a run to get ping pong balls to fall their way without trying to tank.
I would have been willing to do that. Rebuilding isn’t so bad when you have a scrappy team to root for. Two of my favourite Raptors were Popeye Jones and Acie Earl. It doesn’t matter if you’re losing as long as you’re competing hard and there’s hope.
I’m sure a team like the Thunder were great to watch night in and night out last season.
John Thomas too :)
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Nitpicking.........
BC has had, what appears to be, a great offseason. He is trying to turn around a 33 win team. Comparing to 2001 is stretching it…
In two seasons, Bargnani contract will be a bargain. 7 footer coming into his own on both ends of the floor. There have been many a worse contracts given to big men.
Jack is relatively cheap, if he delivers to expectations. A healthy Jose is worh every penny.
All talk of Hedo when he hits 35 – I can count about a dozen players who are or will be making more $ at that age. Also, forget the 5 years, after 4 he becomes a bargaining chip with his expiring deal.
Add in the fact that we might well of lucked out with DeRozan, who is Raptor property for next few seaons, all of a sudden I am not so worried whether CB4 is here after 2010.
As you pointed out, having 50 million tied to 5 players …….
Is Hedo as good as those dozen players though?
And I love Jose. Only jersey I’ve got. Still my numero uno guy on this team. It’s just a matter of how to maintain contract flexibility moving forward if this experiment of Colangelo fails. It’s just a lot of tied up money on a team that really hasn’t set foot on the floor yet. To me, it’s a bit like locking yourself into a 3 year lease on a car without test driving it first. If such a thing happened, the car could be good, it could have a couple things bad… It’s just that you don’t know and it’s a lot of money to tie up for quite a while without truly knowing knowing.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Maket Value
He’s worth what the market dictated – as someone pointed out earlier, someone else would of gave it to him. Define better ? My point is much of the criticism has been for locking a guy into a deal that will bring him to age 35(five years away from now). Hedo is still young enough, plays a smart game, definately has some good years left.
I don’ see it as having money tied up, I actually think that BC has put us in the best financial situation imaginable. The contracts he has given out all seem reasonable.
- Hedo, arguably the most coveted free agent available, at his market value
- Bargnani, who in two years will be a bargain
- Jack – if he handles backup PG and the 2, five million a year is not overpriced
- Rasho is definately a bargain
Remember how bleak things looked at the end of last season? Limited commodities and no financial flexibility. Big question was how can we keep Bosh? Why would he want to stay? All of a sudden, I’m thinking his expiring deal gives us options, the ball is now in the Raptors hands.You gotta admit, we have done a 360.
I just find any criticism of this offseason
We haven’t heard of any other team willing to give him that amount. My question is not about how good Hedo is at what he does. At his age, he’s found his game and shown already what he can do. My question is whether he fits on this team in the way we need a player to fit at that position. Yes, he’s the most coveted free agent this year, and yes, Colangelo’s move to land him was a stroke of genius. But no one right now can say for certain that this is a signing that will catapult the Raptors to the next level. Heck, no one can say if this move takes the Raptors past the first round, especially since it hasn’t addressed any rebounding issues on this team. And yet, we’ve locked him up at a fairly large contract for five years? There’s just a lot of potential for things to go wrong here.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions
Its all a gamble
Shaq in Cleveland
Sheed in B-Town
VC in Disneyland
All gambles, all the time.
All by the way are older than Hedo.
I see that your stretching for criticism, its a long offseason, eh.
We were a 33 win team last season, what exactly do you expect this upcoming season? What were your most optimistic expectations at the end of last year. Think back and remember. BC has given us a deeper, more talented team(yeah, yeah the season still has to play out) with much better financial flexibility.
lol. Oh, I’m far from the most critical. Howland and Franchise can tell you that.
I’m not a fan of the Shaq signing, Sheed is a steal (financially) for Boston, and Orlando’s core is already good enough to get to the finals. All of them are teams that are already perennial playoff teams that have advanced past the first round, none of the contracts are longer than a couple years. It’s not the same comparison because the Raptors core has only gotten to the first round of the playoffs, and yet we’re giving out large, long term deals.
But I agree that you have to gamble some times and you pay financial flexibility to add pieces that you (hope) will improve your team. You don’t get something for nothing in this world. But regardless, rebounding was one of those issues that has haunted the Raptors for 3 years already. I’m all for the fact that we’re deeper and better, and Colangelo has done a fairly good job. I’ve wrote that in my article too. I just think it won’t be so simple to make those adjustments with the kind of contracts we now carry.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
You just don't get it
Not fair to compare the moves of proven contenders(Celtics and Cavs) and the Raptors. They are established(Celtics) and one has Lebron(Cavs) and both are expected to be near the top of the conference. They didn’t need an overhaul just tweaks. Both these teams are considered title contenders. The Raptors are not.. Raptors won 33 games last season.
You over-rate the Magic. Everything went right for them last season.
Uhm. You’re the one that wanted to compare the teams and the moves dude. I just pointed out to you why the comparison doesn’t work. Glad you agree.
And even before last year, at least the Magic got out of the first round.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I am still very stunned at all of this negativity surrounding our offseason moves. We had little to no room to improve this team before free agency. Yet we managed to overhaul our roster filling MANY holes in the process. The fact that we didn’t fill every glaring hole doesn’t concern me because I was realistic from the beginning and didn’t believe we would be able to. Heck, I didn’t believe we would have been able to fill as many holes as we did this offseason. BC worked a modern day basketball miracle to make this team relevant again. If it means that we only make it to the playoffs this year and that’s it, so be it! It sure is a lot better than last season. I gag just thinking about how we suffered collectively a year ago.
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Haha. I guess how we feel at the HQ is that Colangelo isn’t merely aiming to return to the playoffs. He’s never really looked at it that way and I highly doubt that’s his goal for this year (or beyond).
Last year, it was just a big blockbuster move that busted our team. The statement at the end of the year conference was to get more athletic and “mean” and I’m not entirely sure he accomplished that. People will point to Evans and DeRozan, but those are merely two players and players that I’m not yet counting on giving us significant minutes (DeRozan may do so by the end of the year). And before people start saying that Evans is “Charles Oakley” part 2, Oak was a guy who could at least stay in the game because he was a decent shooter and could make a few free throws, on top of the toughness.
Now this team could still be very good. I think there’s potential here. But as I’ve stated over and over again, should there be problems with this team, Colangelo will have little room to maneuver with.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I Disagree
I am still very stunned at all of this negativity surrounding our offseason moves. We had little to no room to improve this team before free agency.
I completely disagree. The Raptors had plenty of opportunities to improve their team this summer:
(1) The $9 million worth of cap space
(2) A lottery pick in the draft
(3) An excellent trade asset in Andrea Bargnani
I’d be very disappointed in any general manager who couldn’t use those assets to improve a team.
you have to factor in the tax differential between Portland and Toronto as well which the additional money basically cancels out (maybe not completely but somewhat) and that is one of the issues that the Raptors will have to deal with going forward (or at least as long as Canada has Universal Heath Care and higher taxes and the US does not).
But no one right now can say for certain that this is a signing that will catapult the Raptors to the next level. Heck, no one can say if this move takes the Raptors past the first round
I think that’s expecting too much from Hedo + most $10 million per annum players.
It’s not even like he’s being added to a team that won 33 games either … he’s coming in at the cost of a good small forward (very good power forward) in Shawn Marion. It’ll be difficult for Hedo, and for nearly any $10 million per annum player, to change the Raptors fortunes by that much.
I think the expectations need to be lowered.
My question is whether he fits on this team in the way we need a player to fit at that position.
#1 — For me the biggest issue facing the Raptors was to add a wing who could create offense for both himself + others — (because for my liking Calderon doesn’t score enough to be the main offensive threat on the perimeter for a team).
I thought that out-weighed all other problems facing the Raptors because that skill-set is so rare + difficult to acquire. I thought it would bring great balance to the Raptors offensively and help turn them into a very good to excellent offensive team. Adding a wing who can score well was achievable, but I thought it was important that the player was also a very good passer and someone who could create easy shots for others. I wanted some of that pressure to be removed from Calderon’s plate.
I also thought the defense + rebounding flaws could be addressed in other ways — trading Bargnani, targeting specific two guards, and filling the bench with those sort of players.
#2 — I don’t like the idea of building a squad around Andrea Bargnani’s flaws because I don’t think he’s good enough to warrant it … but since he’s here and will be here for the foreseeable future … Hedo Turkoglu is a poor to very poor fit rebounding wise + a so-so fit defensively.
The JYD Signing Hurt...
I think the Alvin Williams signing was necessary, and had it not been for the injuries then the contract wouldn’t have looked so bad. However the JYD one was a COMPLETE reach, even at the time, and I feel was done simply to placate Vince.
That in itself was frustrating as hell because I don’t really think Vince in the end cared if most of those guys returned deep down. I can remember going to his charity game two years after those signings and he gave the most apathetic acknowledgement of a re-signing ever. He walked to center court and got on the mic and said: “we got Mo Pete back…” while tumbleweeds blew across the court…
Alvin, and I love him to death, is a guy that I think was super valuable to that team. But the Raptors and other teams all knew about his issues with his knee. It was talked about in that trade that was rescinded, it was talked about sometime before his contract signing, and heck, there was a policy built into his contract that was basically an injury clause so the Raptors made sure that they wouldn’t have to pay the full amount if he couldn’t play.
I think JYD was done to placate the Tie Domi-logic of MLSE.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions
Mortgaged the future?
Nice article although I disagree with most of it. I think BC made the best moves AVAILABLE to him. Acquiring quality players cost money and we needed the players we got. The other options were to not acquire those players and continue to suck or to live in the future by holding on to that money and hoping to acquire a Lebron James at some point down the road. Well that could be a long road, go ask the Clippers or Grizzlies or Hawks (over the last 15yrs). The future is now and I believe in making the moves available to us today and those moves cost money; if we din’t pay Hedo someone else would have, if we didnt pay Andrea some one else would have, if we didnt pay Jack, someone else would have and if we dont pay Bosh, someone else will.
Amen! Interesting thing is that not many of us are talking about Bosh leaving since these signings. Had we not paid these guys, we would still be on this board coming up with best possible trade scenarios for Bosh this offseason or at the trade deadline (ad nauseam). I much prefer the discourse we are having!!!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
So you would rather MLSE spend money on players just to distract you until at most, the all-star break (when such talk will resume)?
Money on good players. Players that other teams coveted. If the Raps are 10-15 games above 500 come the all star break, will we be as concerned?
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t think either guy the Raptors got was particularly coveted at the price the Raptors paid.
Even though Hedo is a good player, Blazer fans are generally happy that they dodged that contract. Hedo’s got another 2-3 years of not qute all-star level play in him, but he could break down quickly considering his eating and conditioning habits. Even when players don’t particularly rely on speed, if they lose another step, it can really make a huge difference. Speed, or maybe more accurately – lack of speed kills.
I’m not going to say that the Indy braintrust is particularly smart, and one thing you cannot accuse them of is being thrifty, with a > 60m payroll for many years now. Even though they expressed how much they enjoyed having Jack, they still let him walk. And promptly gave Earl Watson a 2.8m/1yr contract. That shoots dead the “too many PGs, not enough minutes” theory as Jack could’ve theoretically picked up SG minutes while Watson cannot.
Their refusal to match the contract of Jack was simply a money issue. They couldn’t afford to resign him at that amount for fear of going over the cap. Like i said in an earlier post, had Jack not been restricted, I’m sure that the Raps could have had him for 3-4 million per. They had to overpay him so that Indy could not match. I still think that there is value in his contract.
Re: Turkoglu…I still feel that he is the type of player that we need. Would it have been better to sign him for 4 years? Possibly, but knowing the alternatives and the fact that 10.5 million per year isn’t outrageous, I am thrilled that BC pulled this off. Yes, I would rather BC go after the best players available. I would much rather have a team that can win games and is fun to watch to help distract me from all the Bosh drama vs. making no moves while the drama plays itself out. My point was that if the Raps are 10-15 games above 500 at the break, we won’t be as concerned because there will be a good chance that Bosh sticks around. If not, at least we know that we have a team that can compete and replacing Bosh won’t feel like its do or die for the franchise!
by Assistant GM on Aug 11, 2009 11:58 PM EDT up reply actions
They overpaid him but there is value in the contract?
I know we’re expecting him to be a live body and not another Marcus Banks. But if you think they overpaid him, it’s likely he is in fact overpaid and sucking resources away from other areas of the court (not value in the contract). Value would be signing a 5 million dollar player for 3 million – saving 2 million. Not signing a 3-4 million dollar player for 5 million + years.
You can think of the overpayment as an acquisition cost. Hypothetically, suppose they could have traded a first round pick to the Pacers and signed Jack for $4M. The extra million per year on his contract is an alternative acquisition cost to that first round pick (or whatever it would have taken).
There is also the point that sometimes it’s better to pay 5M to a 4M player than to pay 2M to a 2M player. The latter is more cost-efficient, but the former is a better player.
I've been looking at the sky
by Back In Black on Aug 12, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
No, I agree about 2010. I think holding on for that ship is a huge risk and we have our own guy to worry about for 2010 anyways. As far as 2010 is concerned, we saw it the last time everyone became a free agent that there really wasn’t all that much movement by the class of 2003.
However, for me, it’s about flexibility. I think Bargnani’s signing was extremely risky considering we don’t know yet if this team will be able to make it far into the playoffs with the types of players it has right now. I’m not going to malign Bargs for his rebounding, because I’ve already defended him like crazy to the GSoM crew as well as been beaten to death by my Raptors HQ colleagues. But the problem is, if Bargs doesn’t break out as a great rebounder, it exasperates things if you don’t have good rebounding from your SG or SF. I’m willing to live with Bargnani’s blocking out and lower rebounding numbers as long as someone else is there to help out to grab the ball. I just don’t know if Turkoglu is the guy, and it’s here where I think the Raptors have the potentially to have trouble for the next few years since both these guys are signed to long term contracts.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:36 AM EDT up reply actions
BC’s in a precarious position, not as much as JP Riccardi, but close (I like to think so anyway). He came in with more fanfare, has been here a shorter amount of time, and has a division championship to his name (in a weak year). But they are both coming off disappointing years and have both recently (July) been at a possible turning point for their respective franchises.
If BC were to have blown up the team, which may (or may not) have been prudent for the long-term, he will have admitted that his vision was a failure and possibly doesn’t get a second kick at a full rebuild.
So his only other course of action is to plow as much money into the team as possible, making it as competitive as possible in the short term, and satisfying the city/MLSE board with another highly profitable first round exit. This would also involve mortgaging the future which he may not be around for.
I would really hate it if we’re going down this path because BC is gambling that this is the best way for him to save his job and get an extension. Whether that is actually what’s happening remains to be seen, but misguided as he is, BC isn’t a stupid guy.
Actually that is the beauty of being the GM, he can blame the teams failures on Smitch e.g. “Smitch told me to sign Kapono”, or “Smitch said it was a good idea to trade for Oneal” and say a good GM facilitates his coach. Now that Smitch is out of the way, he can implement the team he truely wants and he could have started from scratch without everyone criticizing him (well at least me). As I stated during the year after the Marion trade, the Raptors could have been in an ideal situation going forward by not signing anyone and letting Bosh go because they would be massively below the cap. If the Cap is expected to fall to 50 mil next year with Tax level of say 62 mil, there will be a lot of teams looking to dump salary and the Raptors could pick up the pieces they need to play with whomever they did retain. Instead, our salary cap is maxed and we have no flexibility to make trades going forward that could reenergize the franchise. Instead we have the makings of what could be a very overpriced bad team or at best a team capable of winning 45 games and getting knocked out in the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs for the next 4 years. That isn’t horrible but this team will never win a championship unless all the teams higher then them have their team planes crash into one another at the same time.
If it ain't your money...
I love how as basketball fans we get all worked up over money that didn’t even come out of our pockets. It’s easy to say in the perfect world Hedo, Jack, and Bargs SHOULDN’T make the money they got. But even the slightly lower bids Hedo got from even Portland would suggest Toronto was not the only team willing to over pay a 2nd/3rd scoring option. And the Jack/Bargs deals may look pretty wild now, but with the vision of Bargnani continuing to develop from a season where he almost averaged 17 ppg in the second half of the season and Jack, who stole a starting PG spot from another talented PG we are all familiar with (and is also a young guy himself!), it’s hard to say that BC isn’t investing in potential. Yes, potential is a dangerous word, ask Detroit about Darko! But if the gamble turns out, you end up once again with a two headed monster at point guard, and 3 out of 3 starting bigs all with the ability to put up 20 points or more (sounds like the last team Hedo was on…). And unlike Darko, both players have actually shown signs of being able to be major players given the right oportunity. I see this as a CALCULATED gamble.
And in terms of the cap/luxury tax situation, one can’t get overly wrapped up in that when referring to BC. We all did the same moaning and groaning when word was he was going to sign Hedo to the big contract and renounce all his restricted free agents/bird rights. And yet, when it looked like our cap situation was terrible, he managed to flip a deal that resulted in not only getting Hedo, but also being able to add on Jack and Rasho. Does this sound like the actions of a man who isn’t constantly thinking of the cap and how to always stay a step ahead? Hell, he’s even mentioned publicly the ability to use Bosh in a sign and trade at years end if a deal can’t be worked out, imagine the possibilities dealing with a handfull of teams willing to do anything to get the inside track on locking up Bosh?
Whether they are spending my or your money or not is irrelevant.
Plenty of Knicks fans thought that way but Isiah spent them into luxury tax-hell and ruined all of the flexibility they had. As a result, all they could do to improve was flip the expiring contract of their own useless player for a somewhat usable player with a longer albatross deal.
Teams with money to burn tend to waste it, and bigger contracts usually come with more years attached (a double-whammy). I would rather MLSE run a tight ship now, if it means they will go into the luxury tax to keep a stacked team together later. But if we waste their money now, will they be as willing later on to spend more money when the team really needs it?
But we don’t yet know if it is money being wasted! We are arguing about assumptions. I know for a fact that this years team is more talented and deeper than last years roster. This for me is a big plus. All of these players that we are investing in are still young and have room to grow. And who is to say that Turk can’t be productive until the age of 35. There are too many “what if’s” being thrown around instead of focusing on the straight fact that we just improved our team. At the end of the day none of us can read the future. I think gambling on young talent that has shown potential and a player in his prime who was considered a go to guy on his team (and whose owner said he was willing to go into the luxury tax to keep – pre-VC trade) makes more sense than not gambling at all. I believe the odds are in favour of them producing.
by Assistant GM on Aug 12, 2009 12:13 AM EDT up reply actions
I believe the odds are in favour of them producing.
Really, can you name 4 sg/sf’s over 33 that continued to produce at a high level? How about 1? History shows time and time again that players like Turk (who need the ball in their hands etc) tend to decline with age and completely drop after 32/33. Only Jordan defied the odds and continued to produce till he was in his mid to late 30’s. If you really believe that Turk is the Turkish Jordan, then hey, all the power to you. My money is on him taking a nose dive when he turns 33 or 34 and history backs me up
“And who is to say that Turk can’t be productive until the age of 35”
At the age of 34 Turk becomes an expiring contract, which can be useful. Second, who can say whether or not he can be productive past 33. VC turns 33 this year and averaged 21 pts per game last season. Is he going to significantly decline this upcoming season or even next? Maybe, maybe not! The difference is that Turk has been relatively injury-free throughout his career. Again, all of this means nothing. I just refuse to see the glass as half empty…which is my opinion. My team sucked hard last season, which was unbearable. They have made many moves to improve this roster. As a fan, this makes me happy. You may live in a world where any player can be picked up on your own terms. History has shown us that this is never the case. Our team just addressed many of its weaknesses this offseason…Turks contract is the least of my worries…
by Assistant GM on Aug 12, 2009 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions
This team has more resiliancy
Lovin the work on the blogs!
I think Hedo makes about 4 million more than his actual ability. People think he’s a great outside shooter because he’s hit so many big shots, but he has missed a ton as well and his percentages are nothing great. Of course, Kapono’s were incredible, so…
Despite overpaying Hedo to be a second option, Bargnani remains the key to this team and its future. If he goes Darko on us, and I don’t think he will because he has already been better than Darko (remember everyone comparing him to Hoffa?), he can still be moved at that cost to someone who thinks they can make him a superstar. He is a very skilled big man, but he needs to continue to improve as a big man.
Bosh needs to work on his defence more than Bargs.
What I like is that this team should be a bit more resiliant. Bosh is the only one who can score when he’s being focussed on by defences, but if he goes down and the rest of the team is healthy, then they can score enough to compete – even more so than they did a couple of years ago. With Jack, the team still can compete if Jose is injured. And if he is injured this year, he’ll be allowed to sit and heal.
There are a few more weopons this year and winning will still rely on improvement in player’s personal games, rather than how the pieces fit. If Bargs and Bosh do not defend better, their scoring will be offset. The development of DeRozen could be huge, but he has a long way to go. The team needs to improve as a defence big time.
So, to address the article, the pieces of the future that we’ve locked ourselves up with are not unmovable and if they are, we’ll see more Colangelo crapshoots on Jermaine types. One thing about the guy, he keeps making it interesting going into the next season.
That’s the one comfort I have. Colangelo is one of the few guys that I’ve seen that’s been able to sell other teams on dead weight contracts and get something in return to help his roster. Now he’s put himself into those positions initially, but he has managed to get out from under those contracts when need be.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Perspective
As I recall we initially picked up Rasho on a deal not too dissimilar to Bargs – and given Bargs obvious upside vs. Rasho I can’t see how we are overpaying him at that rate.
This all seems like looking for a dark lining to a silver cloud. Keep in mind that the economy seems to have bottomed out and is slowly returning to form. Yes, it may be tight over a couple of years, but before the deals on Bargs and Hedo expire the cap will have gone back up, making those deals imminently tradeable should the need arise.
Also, if you were to create a perfect scenario for keeping Bosh, wouldn’t it look like our circumstances now? The $’s he can command will be lower next year than any of the previous three because of the economy, we can give him an extra boost in term over other clubs, we signed his best buddy to be on the squad, and we just improved in about every area (rebounding, defense, SF, bench, back up PG) that a weakness was identified that might give him pause for re-upping with the Raptors.
Until we can break the bank and pay luxury tax, I don’t see the Raptors knocking off the Lakers – but aside from that, I have exactly zero issues with how BC has handled the contracts.
Even if the economy turns around (and I think it’s a bit premature to say that it has right now), next year’s cap will still fall thanks to how the cap works in calculating league revenue. It’s basically a year behind. So Bargs still could have been resigned at (potentially) less.
Kinnon "Vicious D" Yee
Author - RaptorsHQ.com
by Raptors HQ - Vicious D on Aug 11, 2009 11:59 AM EDT up reply actions
Bargs signing
I would suggest that the signing was a long term move, not a short term one. By getting him inked to a 5 year deal we lock up a key player at the market rate – while the market is low. If he had signed a three year deal for a lower average salary, at the end of it, the cap will have gone back up, and Bargs would have less incentive to stay having been jimmied in the negotiations this time round.
It also shows BC’s faith in Bargs – which can only serve to keep the kid confident about his role with the team moving forward.
Essentailly we are complaining about nickles and dimes for a 7ft scoring center, that we just looked up for the foreseeable future.
by velociraptor on Aug 11, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Market rate would be determined by the rest of the League, not just the Raptors. Colangelo gave Bargnani too much money, too early.
For more examples of “market rate”, see Linas Kleiza — a guy many thought would fetch all or most of the mid-level exception — bolting to Greece for $6 million per year when he was only being offered the bi-annual exception by NBA teams.
Or how about the NY Knicks using David Lee’s restricted free agency to play hardball? That’s a great example of how the Raptors should’ve parlayed Bargnani’s impending restricted free agency into a much better contract that truly reflected the financial reality (read: lower salary cap) of today’s NBA.
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Aug 11, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Why is the only market for Bargs the NBA?
Truly no offence, Defensive Stance, but you kinda contradicted yourself.
Kleiza, a free agent, hit up Greece for $6 million per. Even more interesting is Von Wafer also signing with Olympiakos for $5 million per, joining Childress and Kleiza. The financial reality of Europe does not seem so constraining with no salary cap.
So why would Bargs stick with some fluctuating NBA market-rate when he can, say, return to Serie A? Does Maurizio cook that good pasta? What if, after a couple years on a less-than-satisfying (to him) offer, would he not go back to get some championships with Benetton if they offered him a $10 million tax free contract with his own Delfino-like perks like a chauffer and free housing? Or why even stop there? Maybe he choose to leave after next season as Kleiza did, being a restricted FA?
The fact is, $10 mil for 5 years secures Bargs’ rights. This is the key.
So essentially you’re endorsing overpaying Bargnani at $10 million per year, and giving him an extension way too early in the game, because of the chance that he might head back to Europe?
That’s a risk that’s always there, I suppose (although it seems more likely to affect role players as opposed to so-called cornerstones of a franchise).
But the REAL key is that NBA teams operate within the NBA’s rules and salary cap, and therefore should be dealing within that financial reality (not trying to compete with tax-free contracts and free housing, etc).
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Aug 11, 2009 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Market Rate
Defensive stance said: Market rate would be determined by the rest of the League, not just the Raptors. Colangelo gave Bargnani too much money, too early.
By what measure is Bargs overpaid? 7Ft centers with lesser skills than his have received very similar contracts, Rasho’s deal from when he was traded to the Raps comes immediately to mind.
As for the ‘market’, BC is part of it, and his signing of Bargs is in itself a function of the marketplace at work. By holding Bargs rights, BC had the opportunity to sign him (or not) to whatever deal they could agree on. In this case it works out to $10m/yr for five years. That’s the market at work.
As for the lower salary cap of the NBA – that is a purely temporary situation. Unexpected global economic collapses happen, but fortunately rarely – and they are reversible. Leading economic indicators from the Bank of Canada are suggesting that the recession has hit bottom and is on its way back up. Even housing markets in the US seem to have bottomed out and are slowly regaining strength. In two years this will all be a memory. But sure, lets play hardball with one of our top guys just because we can, and to save maybe a $1M a season. Gosh that could never go wrong (holds up picture of a Ryan Smyth Colorado jersey).
As for David Lee and playing hardball with his contract – hows that working out for the Knicks? Is Lee going to be happy that mgt dicked him around? Do you think he feels wanted by the Knicks, and is likely to be playing at his best for them? Or does this just signal that the two parties are better off without each other and that a trade is inevitable. Hint, its the second one.
by velociraptor on Aug 11, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree
Absolutely, this was BC looking down the road. The way this season plays out will dictate the direction this team will go.
I think Raptors will use this season to decide if Bosh and Bargnani can play together on a competitive team. And if not we have to decide the direction we go.
If Bargnani continues to get better, resigning Bosh is no longer a must. Not saying let him walk, but if they cannot play together(and after 3 years I can’t say I see much chemistry) do we let CB4 go and use that 20 million to add to Bargnani, Calderon, Hedo, DeRozan, Jack and all. For 20 million you can add 3 really talented bodies.
All these moves happened when I lived out west and really didn’t think much about the raptors because I just never liked VC as far as NBA superstars go.
A few years after moving east, they moved vince and I went to some games and became a fan.
So looking back on these deals is different for me. To me, these guys not only were overpaid, but had no upside.
The idea now, with bargnani and jack especially, is that they’ve ‘turned the corner’ and will be looked at as bargains as they improve in the next few years.
10 mil is the average going rate for a good C/PF. Look at guys like Dampier, Curry, Biedrins, Boozer, Kenny Thomas, Dalembert, Etan Thomas, Harrington,Bobby Simmons and I can go on and on and on and on; look at their salaries and many others over the years and tell me with a straight face that our starting center with loads of upside isnt worth 10mil? Let’s end the Pessimism and get real around here.
We may have slightly over paid Bargs and Hedo but thats the cost of putting a good team together and more importantly doing good business with agents who represent other players we may want to acquire in the future. Learn the business guys; last season we had good cause for doom and gloom but lets give this team a chance and not worry abt a few extra dollars. What’s the point of always having finanical flexibility when the product you keep putting on the floor remains poor. At some point you’ve gotta spend some cash to improve the product and giving up some financial flexibility is a part of it.
What’s the point of always having finanical flexibility when the product you keep putting on the floor remains poor. At some point you’ve gotta spend some cash to improve the product and giving up some financial flexibility is a part of it.
Its funny how many people last season were suggesting that the Raps need to go into luxury tax territory if they ever want to be real championship competitors. Now this offseason, they are complaining that we overpaid for talented pieces, which are designed to help us move towards championship aspirations. And please don’t tell me that this team will not be good. No one really knows anything until the games are played! Just enjoy the offseason…
by Assistant GM on Aug 12, 2009 12:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Two things
We actually have assets outside of what is currently our core that can be moved for more complementary pieces. Second, as I understand it, Both Bargs and Turk have player opt outs, Turk after year 3, Bargs after year 4 of the contract. So, if either sees themselves as being underpaid when those years come about, they could simply walk or be used as pieces in sign and trades.
At this point, the free agent I’m more concerned about is Colangelo in 2011. Given that these contracts are signed long term does that suggest he intends to stick around to see them play out. That’s the question we should be mulling over.
Honestly, why are we worrying about the salaries so much. If the product is good and meets our needs as fans, the price of making that product possible is irrelevant. I don’t hold an ownership stake in MLSE, so my concern is not the profit potential. As a fan, I do hold an emotional stake in how the team performs so my concern is wins and hopefully the potential for championships. The only financial consideration that matters for me, as a fan, is that they stay viable enough to remain in the city.
Wow. A ton of comments, I’m not going to pretend I read them all.
Anyway, great piece. The moves make the team better next season, but after that… I don’t know. If Bosh stays, I guess it worked. But, even if we keep him, we’re not a real title contender. It’ll take a few awesome moves and some luck to make the jump, with the guys we’ve locked up. I’m excited to watch the Raps next year but, at the same time, I’m worried about the long-term plan.
by Vittorio De Zen on Aug 13, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions
Yes, I think the contracts handed out this off-season will cause major problems down the road and stop the team from becoming a legitimate threat for a title … and thus … forcing the team into a rebuilding/retooling process somewhere down the line.
2011/12 looks like the earliest rebuilding opportunity — when Reggie Evans + Marcus Banks contracts expire. It’ll be difficult to rebuild contract wise whilst those two are taking up $10 million worth of the team’s cap space.
I think it’s just a matter of time before this happens.
All-NBA player + Perennial All-Star + Borderline All-Star + Notch Below All-Star = A Very Good Core
Surround that core with a high quality supporting cast and I think you should have a squad that’s a notch below being a title squad.
Switch that perennial All-Star with another All-NBA guy, and I think you have enough high end talent to be a title contender … or … add a fifth All-Star level player (DeRozan in a year or two?) and I think you find another way there.
What’s my point?
I think the Raptors have three of those players in Chris Bosh, Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon. It’s that fourth piece (the perennial All-Star) that seems to missing and that’s why the Andrea Bargnani contract is killing me. I thought that $10 million could have landed that quality of player.
I just don’t think Andrea Bargnani is worth that type of money … and with the Raptors already having a lot of money tied up in Bosh, Hedo and Jose … that fourth contract, Bargnani’s contract, severely limits the Raptors cap flexibility.
The Bargnani contract is killing me. I wish Colangelo didn’t give him that extension.
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