On Rudy Gay and the Raptors

Tweet It is seeming more and more likely that Rudy Gay will be a Toronto Raptor in the very near future. Multiple sources (including ESPN and Yahoo) have leaked details about the trade and if these details are correct, Raptors fans should be outraged. Before getting into it, here is the breakdown of the trade:

Toronto Gets

Rudy Gay (and his 18 million dollar per year contract which runs for two more seasons after this one)
Darelle Arthur (maybe, the details are dusty on this one)

Toronto Loses

Jose Calderon (for who Memphis is trying to find a third team, more on this later)
Ed Davis
1st Round pick
Another player likely to be a throw in to make the salaries match

So Memphis sheds Rudy Gay and his crazy contract, gets a draft pick, and a young player who has emerged as a solid contributor on the Raptors. For them this is a great trade as it gives them some flexibility, while allowing them to keep the Gasol-Randolph-Conley core for the next few seasons. For the third team that will likely be involved (and my money is on the Lakers, if any team can luck into Calderon and Pau Gasol off of the bench its them) they get a very good offensive player whose contract expires at the end of this season. The Raptors? They cement Colangelo's reputation as an overrated GM who only made Phoenix a contender because it was his dad calling the shots there. Here are some reasons why.

This trade is a panic trade, plain and simple

The Raptors have (over the past few seasons) managed to assemble some young exciting talent (Val, Ross, Derozan, Ed Davis) through the draft. Remember all those "fans" who were mad at the Terrence Ross selection? Where are you now? Anyways, the key point here is that the Raptors were on he right track going forward. This trade will cost them yet another first-round pick, a young player, and could hinder Derozan's development as he and Rudy Gay have similar games. By constricting their ability to draft, the Raptors would have to rely on trades and signings (cut to Kapono, O'Neal, Marion, Turkoglu, Aaron Gray, and Pietrus sharing a laugh) to improve, and Colangelo's track record there is certainly nothing to be hopeful of. The bottom line is that this season would have a completely different outlook if the Raptors would have had some (pick one of at least 12 games that was blown in the last 2 minutes) results go their way earlier in the season. This is a young team that will struggle to win close games, but they are very competitive and despite their poor start they sit about 5 games out of a playoff spot. That does not sound like a team that needs to make a panic trade, it sounds like one that has to be patient.

The Bargnani Conundrum

By making this trade, the Raptors PF spot will be shared between Bargnani and Amir Johnson. Is there any Raptor fan alive who is happy about this? How many more chances will Andrea get here? It is very clear that he needs a change of scenery and fast! The Raptors have played much better basketball without him and keeping him here will be counterproductive to all parties involved.

Expiring Contracts are a GOOD thing BC!

Jose Calderon's contract (around 10 million per year) is set to expire at the end of the season and with it the Raptors would have much more financial flexibility. Being under the salary cap is a really good thing in the NBA. It enables a team to take on unwanted but talented players, and it helps them stockpile draft picks when other teams (like the Raptors in this case) panic. Keeping Calderon and letting him sign elsewhere would have been a far more logical move than shipping him mid-season so one team can get the benefit of his expiring contract.

Another note about this, why exactly are contenders not lining up for Jose? He is a more than capable offensive player and would be a fantastic back-up PG for a contending team. Also if he doesn't work out guess what? Just let him become a free agent. It is literally a no-lose situation. You're telling me that Western conference teams wouldn't be furious if he went to the Spurs? the Lakers? Thunder? Come on.

The Art of Negotiation

So Memphis is the team desperately trying to dump salary. Memphis is putting in the effort to make this trade happen, Memphis, Memphis, Memphis, it is all on them. So why then are the Raptors giving up a first round pick? How does BC let the Grizzlies management bully him like this? Thankfully he had the sense to make Ross "untouchable" but giving up that first-round pick just seems insane to me. What is even more troubling is that this trade would really not change much. Sure the Raptors could maybe sneak into the playoffs but what then? Are they beating Miami or New York? Answer: NO. It seems like BC feels that giving up the next two years of the draft is also an option because of the potential Val and Ross can exhibit. At this point, he is risking his career on that.

NBA: Discussing the Raptors

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Daki: I don't think that there could be a better way to reunite the founding members of the Millennium blog than with a discussion about all things Toronto Raptors and some NBA talk. So I hit up Jovan and Luka with this message after another gritty effort by the Raps fell short (a 6-point loss to Brooklyn without 6 rotation players). Guys, we may or may not have placed a decent sum of money on the "over" for the Raptors win total (which we thought was a hilarious number of 'only' 32.5). My question to you is: On a scale of one to ten; with ten being "we may as well have lit our money on fire" how depressed are you right now? Furthermore what do you guys think is the matter with this team? Things have gotten so bad that even Amir Johnson lost his cool in a very bizarre manner and threw his mouth-guard at a ref. Reading the RealGM forums is making me clinically depressed about this team, and the Leafs are outselling the Raptors and they don't even have a season! Please share your thoughts.

Luka: Hate to answer your question with another question but what isn't wrong with these guys? The defense that Dwane Casey managed to squeeze out of the rag-tag line-up we had last year (shout out to Uzoh) is completely gone. I'm pretty sure we hold the record for allowed wide open threes after several blown rotations followed by a guy standing and watching instead of properly closing out. Our rotations are an absolute disaster as well because Casey refuses to play Davis (really improved this year, looks legit and plays well every time he gets minutes) and Valanciunas (love everything I've seen from him this year, will make mistakes as all rookies do) at the same time, instead giving those minutes to Amir "Can you believe I am making almost 20 million for the next 3 years" Johnson, Aaron "You couldn't move slower if you tried" Gray and Bargs who quite frankly isn't worth mentioning the way he's played this year. Jose continues to troll the organization by looking fantastic as a starter and then like absolute garbage (compliment) as a bench guy despite playing against weaker opposition in the latter scenario. It's almost as if he wants another PG controversy so he can win over the job and then become absolutely mediocre once he gets it. You could say I should cut the Raps some slack, their top 2 small forwards have been out for most of the year after all until you realize they're Landry Fields and Alan fucking Anderson. The few bright spots this year have been Davis, Val and DeRozan whose play has quieted the critics of his contract extension. I never had a problem with the deal because that's the market price for a player of Demar's caliber and to his credit he's been much improved this year. The big reason that I've already typed this many words on a 4-19 team is Andrea Bargnani. Remember when Bargs showed us the "player he could be" last year in that magical 13-game stretch? I think Bargs drowned that guy in a big bowl of Pasta Primo and sauce before the year. All in all I've never seen less fucks given on the basketball court by a "marquee" guy. I mean if I have to watch Andrea brick one more flat-footed contested long 2 followed by that completely blank stare, I'm going to lose it. Just get him out. I don't care for who at this point. The guy is everything that's wrong with this team. 

Jovan: The scale is definitely at a 10. I’m willing to accept that we have lost our money because the way this team is playing right now, there is no chance they are winning another 29 games. They are 1-14 on the road right now and I don’t even see how they could win a second game. Lowry was a good offseason addition, but since his injury three games in, the Raps have been shitting the bed. Bargnani has reached a new low – he was never good on defense (and he is challenging Jose as the worst help defender in the NBA), and the only part of his game that was of any use (his offense) has completely disappeared. Ed Davis would be a much better option for this team, as his overall ability has vastly improved since last season, but the front office is still telling Casey to play Bargs. Other than Bargnani, we have Jose, who only knows how to rack up assists (when he starts) and do nothing else. Valanciunas has been average in his rookie season and the others haven’t done anything of any value. Thankfully, the Raps got rid of McGuire and brought in Pietrus, who is a decent defender, but lacks consistency on offense. Casey can’t coach in the fourth, and Colangelo hasn’t been able to do anything since Garbajosa’s injury. This team is spiralling downward and they need to start making some changes. They need a fresh start.

Daki: Man, I am so glad you brought up Garbajosa, a player so vastly underrated by Raptors fans that it saddens me that some people still think he was not an important part of those competitive Raptors teams. That brings up the bigger picture, BC and the front office need to stop this love affair with Bargs and Jose. Swallow your pride and bring Bargnani off of the bench until he can prove that he deserves to start. I am a Casey fan and I think he has been dealt a tough hand, but the man needs to grow some balls and stand up to the front office. I feel that once a coach does this, the organization could move forward after being stuck in the same spot for almost a decade now. To comment on your thoughts, Derozan's play has been a major positive and its nice to see that guys on this team at least still care and try hard. I feel that the early losses, all of which hinged on two or three plays and one or two missed calls (awarding the ball to Indiana based on "inconclusive" evidence and the no call on Gilchrist when he fouled Bargnani being the examples which stand out the most) have really affected the psyche of this team. But do you know what the worst part is? Oklahoma City has our pick if it is not in the top 3! When will people realize that Colangelo is not a good GM and that his dad was calling all the shots for the Suns when they were contenders? The key to a good organization starts at the top, and right now, we should be clearing house.

Luka: It should let you know how successful the Raptors have been over the last few years when die-hard fans consistently remember a Spanish role player who may or may not have known how to shower as a franchise high point. This year's edition of the Raps and in general the team going forward is one that I believe can't succeed with Bargs as a part of it. Casey's Raptors are striving to be this tough, defensive-minded team that hustles for every loose ball and never gives up. Does that sound anything like Andrea Bargnani to you guys? No and that's why he has to go. If the rumored trade of Pau Gasol for Jose, Kleiza, and Bargs somehow happens, we’ll be forced to realize a few things. One, that the Lakers whose major weakpoint is D don't watch basketball because that could be the only reason they'd want two pylons on the defensive end (hey but at least jose does the fake hustle crap and claps every time someone shoots. Please LA, take these clowns.) and two, that we'd be on Kobe homicide watch playing with Bargnani. Can you imagine a worse pairing than that? One is the most competitive guy in the league who is only second to Jordan in completely belittling his teammates while the other guy is 7 ft tall, gets about 2 boards a game and probably feels proud of his achievements. Either way I'm praying at the altar of Gasol for this to happen.

Jovan: The trade for Gasol unfortunately won't happen because Kobe isn't stupid enough to allow it. As you said, no one in their right mind would want Bargnani right now. He still has another year left on his ridiculous contract (for the way he's currently playing, he should be getting D-League salary) and is of no use to any team in the NBA because no one wants a hole on defense. I don't understand why they keep pushing this guy to try and become the player everything thought he could be. He had the potential, but lacks basic defensive intelligence and can’t catch a rebound to save his life. Perhaps he isn't playing this badly on purpose, but the lack of effort to become the player he could have been is almost worse than what Carter did to us. At least he said he didn't want to play for the Raps. Bargs is consistently playing like shit and isn't making any efforts to help us get any wins. Either sit the fuck down on the bench or start making a contribution to this team. Colangelo needs to realize this as well. You gave him the contract (and you also gave Jose his contract) - you know, when you think about it, Colangelo hasn't been able to do anything useful in a long time. This entire organization is falling apart, and as Daki mentioned, it's time we start clearing house. We have a few good pieces, but with the record that we have now, it's evident that major changes have to be made. First and foremost however, get rid of Il Mago - he's anything but a magician. No NBA team wants to be a laughingstock, but the Raptors are at the bottom of the power rankings in my book.

Daki: I am praying for that trade to happen for so many reasons. Gasol is a legitimate star, the Kobe-Bargnani dynamic would be amazing, especially because Kobe is fluent in Italian, and the Raptors would finally have a foundation. But knowing the Raptors (and the Lakers) this is more likely to happen: Bargnani would morph into Dirk 2.0, Jose and Nash will be the first point guard tandem to have the much coveted 50-40-90 percentages, and Kleiza would morph into a poor man's Robert Horry, and Sports Illustrated will be publishing "the genius of D'antoni" articles. On the flip side, Gasol would revitalize the franchise, we would make the playoffs next season and then he would leave as a free agent. I realize that this scenario is unlikely, but the fact that it would not shock anyone if it happened speaks volumes. Can the Raptors even push for the heady heights of 11th in the East this year? Just for fun: if you guys had any say, what three things would you change right now to make this season more watchable? Bonus points for creative answers.

My three:

The fans: Dust off those "VC sucks" chants and just go a letter higher in the alphabet so we can get some nice "BC sucks" chants going. Seriously, do this and not even Leo will be able to sugar-coat it, and that guy sugar-coats the Raptors more than anyone. Want proof? Here, taken directly off Raptorsrepublic (A great blog if you are a fan of the Raptors by the way)

"Gotta love Leo Rautins ripping Andray Blatche and Joe Johnson for lack of effort when we got Andrea Bargnani on the team. Who he should be ripping is the coach who, for some reason, let one of our hottest players in JV ride the bench way too long in the fourth."

-Arsenalist, Raptorsrepublic.com http://raptorsrepublic.com/2012/12/12/quick-reaction-nets-94-raptors-88/

If it’s one thing Toronto is good at, its letting people in the sports world know when they suck at their job, let’s put some pressure on the organization and run Colangelo out of town so that he can destroy another team.

Secondly, pay Bargnani by the rebound. I for one would love to see how much effort he would give if he could only earn money by rebounding. 

Luka: Because this season has been so un-watchable, I'm going to cheat and give more than 3.

Fire Leo Rautins. Watching games where Leo is doing the color commentary have become painful, the guy doesn't really have anything useful to say and it honestly feels like Matt Devlin hates him (who can blame him?). 

Take away the 100-point pizza offer. Our on-court product is embarrassing enough as it is. We don't need to cringe every time we score 100 points in a blowout and the fans react like the Leafs just won the cup. It's a slice of pizza. Just because you're getting it for free doesn't make it any more important. Just chill when you get it.

Play Ed and Val way more. I'll take mistakes from these two because they're trying their hearts out over laziness and lack of care any day.

Bring back the striped Raptors jerseys!! It seems like every single team in the NBA has had a retro night with every single jersey in that team's history except for the Raps who've only played in those Huskies jerseys which are fine but they're not the ones we want.

Make Casey coach an entire game wearing a hat. Dwane Casey doesn't know how to put on a hat. Seriously watch any of his interviews where he's wearing one. It looks like he purposely laid it on top of his head just enough so it wouldn't fall off. I'd definitely watch this game with way more interest than any others.

Fire BC and trade Bargnani. With these two guys gone (and hopefully Jose) we'll finally be able to move from the "Euro" era of the Raptors into the future. Let's get this done.

Jovan: Bring back Chuck Swirsky. As good as Devlin is, I really miss our players hitting shots from downtown Petersborough and making other teams eat Spalding. The salami and cheese would never be taken out for its intended use because of the way the Raps have been playing, but at least you could get some laughs throughout the game even though you would probably already be laughing at how bad the Raps are.

I’m going to repeat one of the points above. Fire BC and get rid of Bargs. Both of them have done nothing of any use for this franchise. I don’t understand why BC was rehired a few years back when the Raps were already going downhill. Maybe the owners don’t want the Raps to ever be a good team.

Rather than taking away the 100-point pizza offer, I would cut it down to 75 points. Air Canada is currently offering fans the chance to win a prize if they can correctly guess who will score the 75th point, but twice this year (if not more) fans lost their chance to win because the Raps couldn’t even manage 75 points. It’s kind of embarrassing. This wouldn’t make the season more watchable, but at this point, I don’t really know if anything could.

Lastly, for the love of God, start winning some more games. Otherwise, forfeit the season so that we don’t lose our lottery pick.

This seems like a good spot to end it, hopefully things will improve and the team will start to play better, otherwise; fire everybody. Cheers!

The Sad State of Going to Raptors Games

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The other night I decided to go to a Raptors game out of the blue, I did not plan on it and literally decided while sitting in a lecture at school. The reason? Rubio and Love (even Derick Williams to an extent) were in town and this would be the only chance to see them this year, a couple of friends agreed to come and it was all set. The Raptors under new coach Dwyane Casey were all about effort and defensive intensity and through the first week of the season it looked like the team bought-in to Casey's philosophy. This years version of the Raptors made it more enjoyable to watch them on TV and their newfound intensity is a big reason for that. Needless to say, the Raptors handled the Wolves pretty easily and even held Kevin Love to his worst game of the season, but one thing stood out for me: the horrific display of the Toronto crowd.

Look, I get it, the team is not that good. In fact, they may not even be mediocre and the odds of the Raptors making the playoffs are lower then the odds on Kobe reducing his shot attempts. But if you are already going to come to the game at least bring some enthusiasm with you. Within five minutes of walking into the arena my crew and I were in our seats. We did not go to buy concessions (seriously, eat anywhere else then come to the game, you will save about $20), we even grabbed some empty seats that were way better then the ones we paid for. Our rationale: when the people come we will move. This is the first problem I had with the Raptors faithful: the game is starting and you are not in your seat. About halfway through the first quarter fans were still filing in, many of them carrying their over-priced concessions. Look, if you get caught in traffic, or decide to go last minute getting in late is fine, its borderline unacceptable to miss the tip-off (of a game you paid to see no less) so you can buy a snack. Did someone come to claim their seats? Nope, as a matter of fact, many other fans did what we did and snagged better seats; unfair to the people who paid more? Definitely. What can be done to fix it? The Raptors could just move everyone down until the lower bowl is filled making the arena seem more full and raise the noise level. They could make tickets more affordable (especially given the quality of the team). They could even slash prices pre-game if the place is not filled up so the people that paid more in a section would get first dibs on a lower-bowl seat. Would they ever do this? Absolutely not. So we have a half empty arena, an organization that cares only about the amount of money we put into their pockets, and a team that will not over-come its lack of talent, no matter how hard they work. The result: One of the worst experiences I have ever had at an NBA game. Not all the fans were to blame, some of them brought it, but the other 80% mailed it in just like the Wolves did. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the players (and from the top balcony that is tough).

The fans are not entirely to blame for the brutal atmosphere, I would blame the Raptors organization just as much. 2 minutes into the game the scoreboard prompted us to chant "DE-FENCE" 2 minutes! Chants like that should be reserved when the team really needs it, or is making a big momentum push. Chanting for the entire game would just tire the fans out too, not even the Warriors crowd chants for the entire game, they pick their spots. Teams also love to play music while the teams are playing. I never understood this, there is absolutely no point, and you drown out the fans with it. How about playing music only during stoppages? I guarantee you that road teams couldn't be less intimidated by loud music. One last thing: as much as you may hate the Lakers, do you see how their crowd behaves at the end of games? During a sequence where the Lakers may put away a team the crowd rises and gives the team a standing ovation. The only standing ovation the fans gave during this game was to some guy who won a free dinner at the Keg for doing "Teach me how to Dougie" during a time-out. One more thing, I cant resist: Stop chanting for a free slice of Pizza! We all know that if the Raptors score 100 points that fans walk away with one slice of Pizza, does it matter if the Raps are up 10 and trying to do the sportsman like thing? No, the fans just want that Pizza, the fact that their team played their ass off and won the game does not matter one bit.

Is it worth paying to see the Raptors at the ACC? Is the time it takes to get there, park (or commute), leave (even more crowded) really worth it? It saddens me to say that it is not. Call me when the Raptors fans show up and the game experience is enhanced, otherwise I will just enjoy a game on TV; they mute the crowd noise during telecasts but sadly the volume is the same as if you were there.