Chisholm: Having Calderon Back Might Come In Handy For Raps

[Buddahfan]

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CHISHOLM: HAVING CALDERON BACK MIGHT COME IN HANDY FOR RAPS
TIM CHISHOLM
8/24/2010 5:49:46 PM

Three months ago, it looked like a virtual certainty that Jose Calderon would not be back with the Toronto Raptors. Now his return looks all but ensured after a hamstring injury knocked him out of the FIBA World Championships that begin this Saturday. However, before all you Raptors fans begin sticking needles in your eyes, consider that this might not be such a bad thing for a club looking to hand their immediate future to a collection of athletic finishers who all have trouble creating their own offence. Having a guy who knows how to get players the ball in their best spots might be just what the team needed (if for no other reason than to boost Calderon's trade value into a meaningful territory, but fortunately there are other reasons).

When Bryan Colangelo pledged to remove one of his point guards at the conclusion of last season, the circumstances around the team were significantly different. The team could afford to lose one of them because Turkgolu was a quality playmaking option and in need of more minutes at the point. In truth, the glut Colangelo was trying to ease was not between Calderon and Jack, two players that don't really play the position in the same way at all, so much as it was to open more point guard duties for Turkoglu before he demanded a trade out of town. Going into the summer, Calderon represented a lot of skill duplication with eroding defensive abilities. Without a go-to offensive force like Bosh to dictate the tone of the offence this year, though, quality playmaking has to step-in to fill the void, meaning Calderon suddenly has a purpose on the Raptors again. While Jarrett Jack excels in several areas, he's never averaged more than 5.3 assists-per-game in a season, let alone anything close to the 8.6 assists Calderon averaged over the two seasons spanning 2007-2009. A trade may still well be in Calderon's future, perhaps even his near future, but it says here that if he winds up reporting to training camp as a Raptor, the club will have plenty of reasons to be happy about it. He didn't fit well into the team's structure last season, but this is a new year with new needs. Don't forget, too, that just because Calderon didn't get traded this summer, doesn't mean he can't get traded during the season or next summer without losing the same long-term financial benefits many were (somewhat arbitrarily) hoping for this summer.

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/tim_chisholm/?id=331546

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