Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptors Blog
Under a new contract at the maximum salary permitted, Chris Bosh would earn about $16,500,000 next season. (The numbers will be rounded; they’re so big it hardly matters.) Because the Toronto Raptors are Bosh’s current club, they can offer him 10.5% raises in each year of the contract. So in the sixth year of the deal Bosh would be earning about $27,000,000.
Another club trying to pry Bosh away from the Raptors can only offer 8% raises and a five year deal. So Bosh would have to leave that guaranteed $27,000,000 at risk of injury, changes to the CBA, or just an inability to get a team to pay him that much! This is the real explanation for why players who can sign these deals don’t run off and sign with another club.
"The scope of the makeover definitely changed from what we originally thought but it wasn’t because we didn’t feel like we should do some of those things," the president and general manager explained. "It was because we were limited in what we thought we had available to us."
That all changed after a bold four-team, double sign-and-trade transaction centred on Hedo Turkoglu and Shawn Marion which gave Colangelo the resources to complete a rather remarkable makeover that will be fully unveiled at the team’s annual media day today.
"We’re much better off for it," said Colangelo. "With all the new faces it’s going to be a challenge … but we really did want to make some changes.
"We’ve accomplished it on paper and now we have to put it all together."
But the drill, if the methods of 14 previous years holds, is:
The player saunter in, get their pictures taken at half a dozen or so “stations” before running a gauntlet of media outlets where they do those “I’m So And So And You’re Watching Raptors Basketball On Whichever Of The Hundred Networks We’re On Tonight” promos.
They’re herded around the room (this year we’re in the fancy-schmancy new atrium instead of the practice gym/sweatbox) by a member of the staff and then we get ‘em, usually in rather unmanageable scrums wherever they break up.
But it’s after those scrums, when we’re standing around awkwardly wondering what to do, that you get to actually stop and say hello to a player or a coach or a member of the staff.
That’s the good part. You can get a bit more work done and catch up on the comings and goings of the summer and have a normal conversation.
Basketball reporter Michael Grange looks at the five burning uncertainties ahead for the Raptors as they break camp
The problem was there didn’t seem to be many obvious paths to correct the problem. A tear-down was a perilous approach, considering the economy was tanking and season-ticket renewals was already softening. But Colangelo hardly seemed in position to build on the club’s existing strengths: solid point guard play in Jose Calderon, and the apparent blossoming of Andrea Bargnani and Bosh.
But what to do?
I like what the Raptors have done this offseason. What they had clearly wasn’t working, so a big change was very necessary. Their new additions added depth, versatility and experience, which should translate into a much improved season. I expect the Raptors to climb back above the .500 mark this season and find themselves in the playoffs yet again.
The Raps must have some fascination with European players because their roster is beginning to look like the Dream of Team of Europe. Signing Andrea Bargnani to that extremely lucrative contract extension was far from financially intelligent (jae, you get to do the honors with ripping that apart gain), but it did ensure some long term talent after Chris Bosh departs.
The extension also probably played a role in bringing ex-Warrior Marco Belinelli over in a trade for nothing. Hey, Marco and Andrea are buddies – why wouldn’t they want to play together? And yes, yes, we’ve over-analyzed that trade here at Golden State of Mind and even compared it to some furniture. But that’s that.
Rookie DeMar DeRozan didn’t have the greatest Summer League performance, but nor did our boy Stephen Curry. Too early to tell where he’ll lie but he has some raw talent. Look for him in 2 years.
So where does that leave the Raptors?
R Dizzle’s Prediction: 6th Seed of the Eastern Conference, First Round Exit, Chris Bosh Exit.
Enjoy CB4 while you can!
All in all that’s not too shabby a lineup – on first inspection anyways. Look a little closer and you’ll see that this team is lacking in several areas – several areas that will have them floating in obscurity for most of the year.
Area #1: Defense. A quick look at who is the best defender on the team and you should say DeMar DeRozan. That’s not good as he’s fresh out of college and still getting a handle on the big-time. Not since Magic Johnson have we been able to not worry about our best defender being a rookie. DeRozan shouldn’t have to carry this responsibility in his rookie year especially given the last guy to try it – Corey Brewer – showed perfectly what happens when the defensive load is placed firmly on a rookie.
Received my season ticket package on Friday and I am a bit disappointed. In the past, season ticket holders received some nice swag. For example: I got a gym bag and a basketball (signed by all Raptors) last season. This year we get a BBQ cover with a Raptor logo on it. I understand it’s a recession but couldn’t MLSE try a little harder, it’s like they are on a mission to piss their loyal fans off. I have been STH for quite some time (since 2000), and I have been very loyal for many tough years, and I have been disappointed many times by the product and the service at times. Anyway, I don’t really want to rant on this anymore, since this is not the forum nor the audience that I should do it in.
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