Every Tuesday this offseason, two of our NBA experts will go at it with a Debate in the Paint. This week, the topic is the Toronto Raptors, and whether they are moving toward being contenders in the East.The Toronto Raptors never have won more than 47 games in a season, and they probably never will, which makes this whole debate kind of sad. It's a wonderful city with a lively international flair, but it has a franchise that is destined for a life of basketball mediocrity.
They should have stuck to hockey.
Ziller: Fear the Raptors
Yes, the basketball fans are a little excited now because the Raptors wheeled and dealed all summer, thinking they were growing stronger when mostly they were just spinning their wheels, making noise and going nowhere.
The Raptors won 33 games last season and they'll probably win another five now, letting them contend for the eighth and final playoff spot before the inevitable happens next summer.
Chris Bosh is going to break their heart again, just like Tracy McGrady did in 2000 and then Vince Carter did in 2004.
American-born players love to visit Toronto. They just don't like to stay too long, which is a fight the franchise has waged since its inception in 1995. When Bosh becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, the lure of Miami, New York or even Cleveland will take him away.
The Magic figured they already had seen the best of Turkoglu, 30, and they weren't interested in watching him start the downside of his career with a fat, new contract. The Pacers could have kept Jack as easily as matching the offer, but they declined, deciding their future was elsewhere.
They Raptors gave their own Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 Draft, a $50 million extension, still hoping he lives up to his potential. None of the three has been, or will be, an NBA All-Star, which means they spent a lot of money trying to compile a supporting cast for a player that may not stick around very long.
Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo knows that it's the international players who will enjoy Toronto the most. Turkoglu is a good fit culturally. Yet he won't be able to repeat his performance of the last two years when he had Dwight Howard clearing his path.
Bosh is outstanding, but he doesn't always make teammates better like Howard does now, or like Shaquille O'Neal used to do with his presence.
Toronto will improve, but so will almost everyone else in the East, leaving the Raptors no room to go. Rookie DeMar DeRozan might have been the most athletic player in the draft, but it will take him a couple years. They got Amir Johnson in that multi-team trade of Carlos Delfino, and they snagged Rasho Nesterovic again, but both are there just to provide depth.The Magic, Cavaliers and Celtics all made major moves to improve and they have left the rest of the East behind. Atlanta will retain it's spot as the fourth best team in the East just by keeping it's team intact. Philly, Chicago, Miami and now Washington will slug it out for the last few playoff spots. Maybe the Raptors can jump into that mix.
If a .500 team gets the blood pumping, then the Raptors might get you excited. It's a great city, but building a great team there is an impossible task.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-25-2009 @ 11:19AM
DanH said...
Philly, Chicago, Miami?
What do they have that TO doesn't?
Oh, and Colangelo signed Jack to a contract that exact size because the Pacers already had 3 PGs and wouldn't go into the luxury tax to keep him.
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8-25-2009 @ 11:55AM
d57fan said...
What writers like this need to understand if if Bosh can't get past the first round of the playoffs with THIS talent improvement around him, then he is NOT the superstar that the dopes who never actually WATCH Raptor games think he is. He never makes his teammates better and unlike Wade or LeBron never plays well against the best competition. He is a sidekick, not a franchise changer...but that said, he is a good team player and this team will surprise unintelligent "analysts" (I use the term loosely) like this who will be unprepared for Boston's decline.
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8-25-2009 @ 12:24PM
burt said...
oh, tim
you are so cynical
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8-25-2009 @ 12:50PM
Loveball04 said...
Why is it an impossible task to build a great team in Toronto? Toronto sports teams don't have salary dumps or poor attendance. Cities like Charlotte, OKC, New Orleans, Atlanta, New Jersey, and Oakland will never have GREAT teams because they can't and won't support them.
(Yes, Warriors and Nets had one run each in the playoffs in the past years...but hardly great teams)
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8-25-2009 @ 1:09PM
ovimr said...
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but this article sound like a statement more then an opinion.
I agree with the fact that Toronto is not a magnet for NBA superstars, and for good reasons. But to think that we will never be able to put together a team that is a contender I disagree with that. Even if we use mostly international player we could get to that level. Just look at the way team Spain faired against USA at the Olympics.
You, Tim say that Raptors will not win more then 38 games next season. If nobody gets hurt that would be a huge underachievement.
You mention the contract for the two new comers Hedo, Jack and extension of Bargnani.
They are not NBA all-star money. They are money for two starters and a good backup.
In regards to “clearing Hedo’s path by Howard in Orlando” I would say that both Andrea or Bosh could be even more effective because they can stretch the defense and shoot from the outside. It all depends how you play and know how to use your advantages and that would be something that might take a while for the team to come together. That is the only disadvantage when you have an overhaul of 12 players.
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8-26-2009 @ 9:24AM
khandor said...
Povtak,
Point 1, re: the difficulty of building a champion in Toronto
It will be a difficult task to build a consistently excellent team in Toronto, no doubt but, with the right people at the helm, it is one which is far from impossible.
To this point, the right people have not been involved with the franchise in Toronto.
The capacity to build a championship team in this city has been there for a number of years now.
It's the resources which have been wasted to this point that's been disappointing to observe, from a front row seat since the franchise was given birth 15 years ago.
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Point 2, re: making a big jump this season
Essentially, I agree with the point you've made here. Yes, the Raptors have improved their base of talent compared to last season, but the East is getting much better, on the whole and the wiggle room for improvement by the Middle-of-thePack teams ... which Toronto is one of, to this point ... has been reduced considerably.
Ultimately, in all likelihood, it will prove to be yet another exciting but unfulfilling season for the Raptors ... if the long term goal for this franchise is moving closer to eventually winning a NBA championship, which it has always been for me [and other fans like me].
Mixing and matching players to this extent is almost never indicative of a plan that will lead to a championshion one day down-the-road.
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9-01-2009 @ 7:12PM
Craig said...
Let's see...
Phili - lost their floor general and leader in Miller, gained nothing significant
Chi - lost their leading scorer in Gordon, gained nothing signficant
Det - lost Sheed and McDyess and gained two inconsistent offensive players that can't defend their positions
Miami - 2nd best scorer is a space case in rehab, lost one of their most athletic players in Moon
Charlotte - lost their only reliable big in Okafor for off-injured Chandler
NJ - lost their best scorer and best shooting big for chump change
Mil - lost their two best forwards for perennial back-ups
... so how exactly did most of the east get better?
Cle, Atl, Bos, Orl, Wash and Tor are the only East teams that helped themselves this summer. The rest were busy cutting costs. Don't be surprised if these happen to be the top six teams in the east this year.
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