Raptors to Either Extend or Replace GM Colangelo...if He Doesn't Resign First

Today could be a landmark day for fans of the Toronto Raptors.

Or tomorrow. (More likely tomorrow or later.)

There have been multiple reports flying around the past couple of days regarding an imminent decision on the future of Toronto Raptors' President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo, with many indicating that today would in fact by D-Day.

Yes, D-Day as in decision day, the day where we as fans and followers of the club potentially find out which direction the club goes.

Also, D-Day as in "Doomsday," where potentially Tim Leiweke, MLSE President and CEO and man apparently making the final call on BC's future, decides to re-up on the former Legomaster for another season.

Because for me, this indeed would be the Doomsday scenario.

Let's walk through this one for a second, as up until yesterday, this was being reported as the leading option for MLSE.

Under this scenario, essentially Leiweke says "ok BC, I haven't had enough time to really dig into this, so we'll give you another year to prove yourself."

And under some circumstances maybe that makes sense, like say last year. Last year the club was looking at a top pick in the draft, had a good chunk of cap space to use, had some young assets to work with, and seemed positioned add a marquee piece or two and potentially take that proverbial "next step."

But we saw what Colangelo did with "last year."

He burned his cap space, added under-performing pieces, and ended up with a club that while statistically better record-wise than the previous season, still did not make the playoffs.

He had his shot.

And in fact, if you count the Jermaine O'Neal and Hedo Turkoglu attempts, he's had several shots.

So to extend him to a one-year deal makes no sense to me at all. It's that gutless middle ground which only postpones the inevitable. After seven seasons, you either believe in Colangelo's process (however muddled that may be), or you don't. Get on with it.

And on top of this, the one-year extension idea carries with it the potential bear-trap that next season, the club indeed shows incremental improvement, which is enough in the forlorn bottom half of the Eastern Conference to make the playoffs, and thus Colangelo is lauded for moving the team ahead again, and given another long-term deal.

Luckily though, things appear to have changed in the past 24 hours.

For starters, the National Post's Bruce Arthur reported yesterday (updated this AM) that Leiweke is leaning towards replacing Colangelo.

Based on follow-up emails yesterday afternoon though, Leiweke still sounded like he and the board hadn't come to a final decision.

Then this morning, Sportsnet's Michael Grange reported that due to the lengthy delay invMLSE's decision regarding his status, Colangelo may in fact resign.

Woah.

Talk about a change in direction!

Apparently in his recent meeting with Leiweke and the board, Colangelo faced some "tough questions" regarding his team's performance and lack of playoff appearances over the past five years. BC may feel that the board is leaning towards finding a new voice at helm, and may strike first by walking away. In addition, the longer the delay in MLSE's decision, the more his credibility takes a hit. If indeed he was the right man to continue the process he began, wouldn't the club have already extended him by now?

So we'll see what happens here.

Obviously my hope is that the team chooses to go in a new direction, but I also understand that it's not exactly a great option either. If a new GM is brought in to start fresh, he's going to have limited assets to work with, and a lot of salary cap baggage to dig the team out from under.

However it's still the lesser of two evils to me, and again, it sounds like we should find out which way the club is leaning in the next 72 hours or so.

These are the days of our Raptors lives...