Already Looking to the Off Season

by Robert Archibald on Mar 28, 2010 10:07 AM EDT

If these past few weeks have proved anything, they've shown that even if the Raps are lucky enough to make the playoffs, any ideas of the Raps being anything close to a contender in the East has been stomped out. A first round win seems impossible and already fans are starting to wonder they would rather forgo the embarrassment of backing into a playoff beating to have their first round pick in this years deep draft. Our best line up does not include some of our core pieces, ones that are signed to large contracts for years to come. This team is a mess and there are no easy options looking ahead.

One option is to just stay put for a while. We will always have a good chance to re-sign Bosh since we can offer him the most money. This late season swoon looks just as bad on Bosh as it has on the Raps, and I am sure that potential suitors have noticed. Recent headlines in NY point out that Walsh would be reluctant to even offer Bosh the max, preferring to hold onto David Lee for less money. Who knows, if Bosh were to stay, DeRozan given another year to develop, re-sign Amir, force Turk to back off on the Turkish Jordan act... I seem to remember this past summer, people thinking that we had a team that would be good for years. Maybe this late season collapse is all part of this team's growth.

However, sitting tight when there are so many signs screaming the alarm might be fan cruelty through neglect. This team has gone from being an bad defensive team, to one of the worst defensive teams in league history. Not one of our usual starters is even an average defender, the only help are bench players that don't really have the potential to develop into starters. Once again BC faces an off season where radical changes will probably need to be made. With this teams current cap and contracts situation it will be more difficult than ever for the Lego master to do his thing. The pressure will be squarely on BC from an ever more cynical fan base that has watched too many moves blow up in his face. The Raps have long needed an athletic wing that could rebound and defend, especially to compensate for the drafting of Bargnani. Instead Colangelo has twice spent FA money on acquiring Jason Kapono and now Hedo Turkoglu. The Hedo signing this summer is quickly looking like the worst move of the year. If the Raps are going to start making changes, addressing the Hedo situation is going to have to be the top priority.

Admittedly, this was not my idea, but it made a lot of sense. How about we trade the worst 09-10 FA signing for the worst 08-09 FA signing. Philly is needing to dump Elton Brand and his massive contract. He can't run with their gazelles and hasn't fit since he arrived, suffering through serious injury. After losing Dre Miller this off season, the 76's are also missing a true point guard and feature PG's that look better finding their own shot that looking for teammates. Philly may be the only team in the league where acquiring Hedo makes any kind of sense. If TO offered Hedo and sweetened the pot with the expiring contract of Marcus Banks and possibly even Sonny Weems, Torontoshould be able to get a 1st rounder or a Thad Young to go along with the heavy contract of Elton Brand. Similar to Orlando, Philly has the defensive athletes to better hide a Hedo and he would definitely be a better fit to their offense than Brand. They would also be paying less for a starter and get nearly 6 million in cap relief after next year. Toronto could use Thad Young as the athletic starter they have lacked for years OR use a lottery draft pick to continue to address team needs and upgrade talent. The Raps also have players in Jose and Andrea that excel more in the half court, similar to Brand. In fact, Brand's post game might fit in better with this core than Bosh's jump shot. Also, signing the Clippers' former franchise player, would be insurance when we lose our franchise player.

Yeah, I wrote 'when' not 'if'. If we miss the playoffs, there will be no way CB will resign with this team. He does not want to have the legacy of being the best player on a bad team. Heck, even if the Raps get their butts handed to them in the first round, that is the message bringing CB4 will be - 'Yes we sucked with him, but at least we won't suck more without him.' There is no way we will get a player of Chris Bosh's caliber back in any sign and trade, so BC has to be looking for ways to improve the team overall in the future. A team like the Knicks would be looking at signing CB4 mainly to help lure in one of the really big fish. To do so, they would need do a sign and trade to get Bosh, so they still had cap space for LeBron, Kabe or Wade.

So the only way BC can make a trade with the Knicks work is to take back salary, and again try to add value with young players or draft picks. Unfortunately, the Knicks don't have a whole lot of useful high salary players to send back, though they do have a good pick and some interesting prospects. Rather than losing CB4 for nothing i would offer him to the Knicks in exchange for Eddie Curry and Danillo Gallinari or their 1st round pick. Before i get murdered for uttering Curry's name, his true value is in his expiring contract. He will be in the last year of his disastrous contract paying him 11 million. If he is healthy maybe he can play 15 minutes as Bargnani's back up, if not takes O'Bryant's place on the bench behind Rasho. Maybe he could even be translated into something useful by trading him to a non contender looking to get out of another contract (Biedrins?). The real point of the trade would be to get our hands on another young player with potential such as Danillo or a draft pick. Without sounding too much like Maurizio, it just might motivate all three of the Team Italia teammates to be playing together in the NBA. If D'Antoni won't let go of the kid, then once again this year is a good draft and NY has a good pick.

I know trade ideas are like assh---s, we all have them and they usually stink. However, I do believe that both these blockbusters are feasable for all teams involved. The 76's and the Knicks would both get the opportunity to offload expensive contracts and acquire talent. The Raps would get a chance to radically change their core to a younger and better defensive club, while improving their own cap flexibility over the next few years. A peek at the depth chart:

PG: Jack (for his defence), Calderon (really sparks the second unit)

SG: Bellinelli (more ready, team cheesy Italia concept), DeRozan (playing back ups helps confidence)

SF: Gallinari (Good prospect, good on boards, Italia), Young (Uber athlete, plays D, Pushes Danillo)

PF: Brand (vet presence, full seasonpast injuries), Amir (re-sign him and keep upping his minutes), Evans (thug)

C: Bargnani (BC's big gamble must pay off), Curry (who knows), Nestoric (problem slover)

Well this is my first ever FanPost, really curious for some feedback. Thinking about the rest of this season just seems too disappointingly predictable. End of the day, still a fan!

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i like it...

but what i see from this years mock drafts is that new york’s pick goes to utah. (from the stephon marbury trade). which is unfortunate as i would really like to see a trade go down with the knicks, because i do believe thats where bosh intends to play next year.

im not sold on gallinari, he takes way too many 3 pointers, same as his other two italians in bargnani and belli. you know raptor fans not itlaian are gonna chase down BC, especially when this team starts sruggling which i believe they will with your projected line-up for next year, for making this team full of italians, (euros) not known to be athletic. which this teams deserately needs.

although i would accept to take eddy curry only if they dont give up lee, and use him as trade bait.

and lastly i really do hope your trade with philly actually goes down cause im sick and tired of hedo. he just cant play well on this team. lets take brand which may actually help this team play better in the half court, and pick up one of my favourite players in thad. young.

by tea time on Mar 28, 2010 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks

I admit, starting all the Italians is just a little too indulgent. Though I sincerely believe that them playing together would push make them challenge eachother – and no I’m not Italian. Ideally there would be a genuine competition for positions. Start who beats out who, or look at match ups. Thad Young is the type of player Rap fans have wanted forever, with our soft center we have to be looking at big SF’s. I don’t care who Triano starts, this line up would have us 2 deep at each position. I would hope that Triano would just choose the player that actually earned it, something I feel he has yet to prove he can do.

Walker McKenna

by Robert Archibald on Mar 28, 2010 5:10 PM EDT reply actions

no...

Put bargnani at his natural position at PF.

PG: Jack…Jose
SG: Demar work out in offseason…sonny…marco
SF: Trade Hedo for someone. not gallinari. need someone tougher…then wright
PF: Bargs…aamir
C: (get from trading hedo)

I've often thought of becoming a golf club

by Amacaps on Mar 30, 2010 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

Couple of problems

I’m not convinced that Barg’s natural position in the NBA is PF. He’s a kind of weird SG-C combo. Defensively, he does best against big slow guys so having him guard the quicker PF position could be more of a problem. Bargs is also best on offense when he’s matched up against Cs who are reluctant to leave the paint. If he’s playing the PF more, he’ll face more guys willing to play closer to him on the outside.

The second problem is that you won’t get C worth anything for Hedo. About the best talent-wise you might do is Brand and that’s only because he’s been a disaster for Philly. Otherwise, we’re talking about a getting a C who’s a second line center with a bad contract and probably also having to take another bad contract just to make the deal work. Essentially, Hedo is worth very little in terms of trading.

by siggian on Mar 31, 2010 11:58 AM EDT up reply actions

re: NY trade, Team Italia Bargnani Motivation, and Brand

They also further depleted their assets by trading their 2009 lottory pick (Jordan Hill) and 2011 first rounder to Houston in the Tracy McGrady deal.

re: Team Italia
One thought I took from Bargnani’s high Caliper score is that not caring about what others think can extend to teammates and coaches as well. If anyone would be indifferent to having countrymen on his team, my guess would be him. He’s going to play his game regardless, and make the changes to it that he deems necessary. I would also venture a guess (and a mere guess is all it is) that an in-your-face coach would do little more then make him more stubbornly cling to his indifferent facade. Being coached by someone he respects as a great tactician, with a rep for treating players fairly, would likely gain more traction in making changes to his game / routine.

re: Brand
That is an awful lot of money invested into a player who hasn’t gotten themselves all the way back to their post-injury self. i would sit on that deal until Brand has had more time to recover, and improved his performance on the court next season. He’s an undersized PF, and can’t afford to lose his athleticism as much as someone who is already really tall. I do like the idea of taking on more long term salary in exchange for a tangible asset.

by Yardly on Mar 31, 2010 2:44 PM EDT reply actions

re: Brand
That is an awful lot of money invested into a player who hasn’t gotten themselves all the way back to their post-injury self.

Yes, for a player who hasn’t gotten himself all the way back from injury, you’d be trading a player who hasn’t gotten himself all the way back from signing a big contract. Neither is very palatable. That’s the point, really. To get rid of Hedo’s bad contract, you’d probably need to take a bad contract in return. However, if Brand does actually recover somewhat, Philly won’t want to trade him for Hedo. They’d want more.

by siggian on Mar 31, 2010 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Bad contract for bad contract is likely the only option if trying to deal Hedo with so much money and term left on his deal. I would be in favor of paying a higher price in exchange for more proven performance on the part of Brand. I guess you could call it reservations left over from our trade for JO. While the term may be shorter, the yearly amount is just too rich for someone with pre-existing health concerns.

I am under no illusion that there are a bevy of suitors lined up to take Turkoglu on. Robert Archibald outlined how philly’s roster is one of the few that could incorporate a point forward like Hedo without too much roster shuffling. I am of the mind that either Calderon or Turk has to go, and if Calderon yields the better return/greatest number of potential trade packages then I would opt for sending him out.

The x factor is Archibald’s talk about how this would help even out Bargnani’s lack of rebounding. Trading Turk opens up the starting SF slot, and a BC mentioned in his fan590 interview that he was looking for an athletic 3-2 or 3-4 this summer.

A glance at the Elton Brand SB page has an ominous recent injury list. It also features someone with three years left on his deal (after this season), meaning he would expire at the same time as jack and calderon. I can see the merits of this proposal, but figure it would have to take place BEFORE any potential Bosh trade. If you know Brand is coming in, then it changes both the players you seek from the other team and the amount of incoming salary your willing to absorb. Decisions, decisions…

by Yardly on Apr 1, 2010 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

If for some reason Bosh decides to stay..

I think we should try and trade Bargnani. They’re too soft to co-exist as our center and PF, it just won’t work.

by SPENCEMAN on Mar 31, 2010 11:10 PM EDT reply actions

Interesting points

I do agree that the only reason why we would be abe to do the Brand deal, is that both contracts are awful and risky. Brand is for more money but less years. Also, if Bargs is going to be around, we really only need a second complimentary big. Even if Brand remains average, it allows us to develop an Amir or use a journeyman like Evans or a Gooden type off the bench.

As for shifting AB to PF, i think it is possible. However there are more available PFs that can actually play minutes than there are centers. I actually think that if Andrea could play the 4, he would post up more and be able to use his height to see his shot better, but you would have to find an adequate starting 5. I have been trying to figure out wans to get Biedrins on this team for ages, as I think he would be a great fit.

I also agree with Bargnani’s motivation. I definitely don’t think he is a big rah rah guy. However, I do think he sees himself as the best Italian in the league. I think if there were a couple of more Italians here getting some burn, AB would acutally feel motivated to show who is the top dog – something he seems less likely to do in other scenarios.

Either way, this off season is going to be a tough one for BC, and unless it is more of the same, he won’t have many options…

Walker McKenna

by Robert Archibald on Apr 1, 2010 5:04 AM EDT reply actions