Quote Matt52 wrote: View Post
I am truly on the fence with this trade with regards to this franchise.

I could argue the positive and I could argue the negative.... and I think I've done both on these forums.

It will truly depend on what comes next to get my opinion.

Some things I would point out are:

1) the Raptors have a upper tier SF for the first time..... in a very long time. A glaring hole has finally been addressed.
2) the Raptors "core" has no one currently over 26. They are lined up to have the guys currently entering their prime to be exiting their prime as the young guys enter their prime (if that makes sense).
3) barring injury, my opinion is this team is a playoff team. The question becomes how far can they go assuming things work out for the best?
4) The Raptors have their top 2 prospects still on the team after the trade.
5) With no draft pick this year (most likely) and sad trade assets, how were the Raps to acquire young assets? Calderon was the most valuable and he could only get a washed up prospect and an aging former champion. I was all about dump your shit for prospects and picks but maybe that wasn't an option and just staying with what the Raptors had was a losing proposition.
6) DeRozan is a trade asset you left out. If DD and AB are traded, I'd much rather pay Gay $18M than those two $19.5M.
7) The Raptors front court has a rookie showing promise in Acy as an energy 12 minute guy and JV coming back from injury. In my opinion, it is not much thinner than before w/ ED and JV out. Also, and this comes back to what is coming next, some wings and Bargnani need to go to get that starting PF that is now needed (Amir is a great backup).


What comes next is crucial and the franchise is never going to advance dwelling on the last 17 years, in my opinion.



I could also argue either side. But I was giving my opinion, not showcasing my argumentation skills.
Anyways, here are my symmetrical counter-arguments.. haha
1) The Raptors filled one hole and opened two more. Not enough fingers for the dyke it seems.
2) For contractual reasons (too much money tied up), and development reasons (Ross and JV too raw), I can't see this scenario working out. Colangelo constantly calls this a build. Well I think the foundation here (of bloated salaries for mediocre players) is dog shit.
3) I'm not sold on this being a playoff team. We are razor thin at the point and up front. I don't think these issues can be sufficiently addressed by trading Bargnani.
4) True
5) The economist in me does not like the idea of devoting more resources to a failed venture. Maybe the present course was predetermined by trading away our first round pick last summer, but that goof can't really be a reason to continue on this path to nowhere, can it?
6) Derozan may be an asset, but I suspect the market for volume scoring, non-defensive, overpaid (at this point) shooting guards is not as brisk as you imagine.

It's not good to dwell on the past, but important to learn from it. This process has played itself out before.
All I do at times like this is appreciate the development of the young guys and pray for better management in the future.