As we discussed last week on our site, Raptors' GM Rob Babcock had some interesting comments with regard to our team's hopes next season. Since Babcock's statements various parties have come out to object to them with the latest being the Raptors' own Jalen Rose. Rose, a frequent guest on The Best Damn Sports Show Period, spoke out concerning his GM's comments and was not impressed.
Others in the media have however echoed Babcock's predictions. Both ESPN.com and SI.com have already stated that the Raptors will finish dead last in the Atlantic Division this coming season and based on the upgrade in talent on many Eastern Conference teams, on paper, these predictions seem quite reasonable.
However there are many in the same media who feel that even with a tough season ahead, there is light at the end of the tunnel. With the continued development of Chris Bosh, and solid contributions by new draft picks Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham, the Raptors have more updside then they have in years. In fact, Tyler Sherkin, of RealGM.com, believes that Babcock has the franchise moving in the right direction.
"The long-term outlet is that the Raptors will be a perennial playoff team with a nice mix of youth and veteran leadership in a year or two," he said. "Sam Mitchell and Babcock are creating a team that will soon be fundamentally sound, hard-working on both ends of the flour and able to make some noise in the playoffs."
In other news, it looks like the Utah Jazz are going to hold onto point guard Keith MacLeod as expected. The Raptors therefore continue their point guard search with the next target looking to be Jay Williams. This will be the Raptors' second attempt at wooing a former Duke point guard as their overtures towards Chris Duhon failed when the restricted free agent was re-signed by the Chicago Bulls. Williams auditioned for both the Raptors' and Cavs' brass in Chicago last week and then flew to Miami to work out for the Heat. The Raptors have had interest in Williams for a while now and he would make an interesting addition to the team as the third point guard. And while it would seem that Miami would be an ideal place for him due to the Heat's loss of Damon Jones, the fact that Gary Payton's name is being mentioned in connection with the team may go a long way in bolstering the Raptors' chances of acquiring Williams.
Franchise