This trade is hardly worth it’s own post but since we’re all Raptors fans it’s mandatory to beat a topic, however inconsequential, to it’s ultimate death. If you’re sick and tired of hearing about the trade deadline and would like a more entertaining and humorous read, look no further than funnyman Dinosty’s take on the situation. For those of you who like to suffer, read ahead:
Reasoning for trade
Juan Dixon was doing very little as a Raptor and wasn’t being utilized to his full potential. With Calderon being a vastly superior player, the introduction of Dixon at the point was a significant drop-off and he never cracked the regular rotation, even falling behind Delfino at the PG spot. He was unhappy and felt that his talents deserved more playing time, obviously it wasn’t happening with the Raptors and Colangelo moved him. That’s what we know for sure. Was Colangelo’s primary intention to improve the team? No, otherwise he would’ve made a “real” trade, not a journeyman for journeyman swap which added nothing but a different ass for the bench to warm. The trades that were being discusses earlier involving Joe Smith and Mickael Pietrus were the trades Colangelo was trying to pull but failed to do so. The Juan Dixon trade was nothing more than respecting a seldom used veterans trade request (not demand) and in return bag another expiring contract. I’m sure that if Brezec had even a single more year at the same numbers, this trade does not happen.
What does Primoz Brezec give us?
Nothing much and it’s not a slight against him. He can’t possibly be looked at as the solution to our rebounding problems, he’s a hardly used player who’s already behind Andrea Bargnani and Rasho Nesterovic in the depth chart while his Per 48 rebounding is well below the undersized Kris Humphries. We already have a big body going to waste in the form of Maceo Baston and Sam’s as stubborn as a mule when it comes to the rotation. If he thought cracking the Detroit lineup was hard, wait till he gets a sense of how Sam works. I can’t seem to figure out what Brezec will give us that his fellow Slovenian Rasho Nesterovic can’t. Therefore, one is forced to conclude that this trade was nothing more than a convenient swap which came with some cash. A can’t lose situation. I read an argument in the now legendary 70+ page thread that Brezec will be able to help us out in case we face Cleveland in the playoffs. I have a hard time believing that even a washed up Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao or Big Z will be intimidated by Primoz, at best he’ll be good for 6 fouls. Well, let’s see how he plays (if he plays) and talk about his game then. Until then, Primoz, meet bench. Bench, meet Primoz.
Should Colangelo have pulled a Cleveland-type deal?
No, I think he was wise not to jump into the trade market with reckless abandon. Cleveland did end up making their team a lot better with the acquisition of Ben Wallace, Joe Smith (who the Raptors liked), Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. In the process, Danny Ferry also acquired Wallace and Sczerbiak’s behemoth contracts. No sane Raptors supporter would’ve been an advocate of a drastic makeover which is sure to put a financial straight-jacket on your club for the next few years. If Cleveland fails to click with the new additions, it’ll be one of the worse trades ever. If they manage to get to the NBA finals, Ferry will be known as a proactive GM that saw in Wallace what others didn’t. I’m of the opinion that this was a trade made to keep Lebron happy, they had already missed out on Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd and wanted to give Lebron some help, any help.
The reason why fans are disappointed
Nobody is expecting anything from the Dixon deal, nobody is saying that we got robbed. That would be crazy talk. Fans are upset that we’ll be entering the playoffs with the same weaknesses as last year. What adds to the frustration is that players such as Francisco Elson, Kurt Thomas, Reggie Evans, Drew Gooden and Joe Smith were all available at reasonable rates and Colangelo failed to orchestrate a trade. This is a legitimate grievance and even the staunchest of Colangelo supporters can’t deny. Excuses such as rebuilding and being cautious with the salary cap are just that, the bottom line is that this team had a very obvious need which still remains unfulfilled. Maybe, just maybe, Bryan Colangelo might be totally cool with making a first-round exit as long as his plan of building around Bargnani and Bosh and adding a free agent a summer from now remains intact.
Where do we stack up?
Cleveland has upped the ante in the race for 3rd and looks to have the edge on Orlando. I’m ready to hand Cleveland the third spot which might be a good thing for us. If Cleveland finishes 3rd, it means the Raptors will finish somewhere between 4th – 6th. If Orlando finishes behind Cleveland and we manage to hold off Washington, we’ll get the 4/5 playoff matchup we want – Orlando. Taking out Cleveland in the playoffs is impossible for the Raptors, way too much rebounding for us to handle and the Lebron factor is too big to overcome. I’m a little scared of Gilbert Arenas to welcome a Washington matchup. Even with Arenas out, Jamison and Butler would cause us serious matchup issues and once you throw Arenas in there you have to think he’ll wash out whatever Calderon does. Blatche has all the skills to have a Mikki Moore type series and if Haywood decides to play, we’ll be in trouble. The Orlando matchup against Dwight Howard is the most likable. Howard can be neutralized by Bosh and I believe it’s always easier to slow down a superstar big man who doesn’t have the ball at the start of the play rather than a superstar guard, which is what Cleveland and Washington present.
The trade deadline is over and the Raptors continue to remain a very easy team to prepare a game-plan against. If you stop Chris Bosh, half the job is done. If Calderon continues to play at such a high level, he might be able to give us an outside chance in a series. However, in a playoff setting when the opposing coach has had time to devise a plan to slow down our offense, it’s up to our defense and rebounding to hold down the fort and I just don’t feel confident that we can step up to the challenge. I suppose a lot depends on whether Jorge Garbajosa can come back and spark our defense, maybe Colangelo is relying on Bargnani to have a strong finish to the campaign and doesn’t want to hinder his progress by acquiring a player who might bite into his playing time. Whatever the key to playoff success is, it’ll have to come from within. There’s no help coming anytime soon.
Thanks for reading and posting your thoughts. Till after the Knicks game.
