Let’s hear Bryan Colangelo talk:
One interesting thing to note in the interview is Colangelo’s implicit frustration with Chris Bosh taking shots outside the paint and getting away from his low-post game, something he didn’t do in the Olympics. He’s also saying that this is the first time Chris Bosh was fully prepared for a tournament and that credit needs to be given to USA coaching staff. Note to Sam Mitchell: This is an indirect shot at your preparatory skills which have proven to be far from adequate.
The Jermaine O’Neal trade is hailed as the “biggest acquisition in Raptors history” which is a point hard to argue. What’s also hard to argue is that its also one of biggest risks in Raptors history with over $42 million in salary being held up. O’Neal’s longevity is up for debate and Colangelo’s saying that since he didn’t play much over the last few years and didn’t play much early in his career, his NBA life will be extended and that his current age of 30 is somewhat inflated for NBA lifespan purposes. The math actually adds up but thinking about it practically it seems a bunch of bullshit, no?
There’s no doubt that his health is factor #1 when determining any success the Raptors might have this year and we all pray that he stays healthy. But I hope this isn’t the only math the Raptors did when deciding on the trade. The faith Colangelo has shown in his medical staff is phenomenal and I hope they live up to it.
Jose Calderon is being praised for doing the “wise thing” by sitting out the Gold medal game. No names were mentioned but you could almost hear Colangelo curse Garbajosa for not doing the same last summer. Losing Garbajosa for most of last season was bad enough but watching him walk away for free in the summer was disturbing; you can’t tell me we couldn’t have shipped him off for a second rounder. He’s also insinuating that the Spanish coach favored Ricky Rubio over Jose Calderon because of Jose not showing up early enough in the Spanish training camp. Meh.
Jack’s getting into the hang of things when doing his show and the interview wasn’t all that bad but here are some questions I’d like to ask Colangelo:
- When did you start targeting Hassan Adams as a potential signing?
- Is the Raptors organization willing to go over the
salary capluxury tax this year or next? - What do you think about the offensive sets the team ran last year and what kind of things will you do to help Jermaine O’Neal get back to All-Star form?
- What do you expect out of Roko Ukic this year?
- What has Andrea Bargnani been upto this summer?
- What team in the Eastern conference improved the most this summer, at least on paper?
- What’s the expected production from the SF position this year? Do you think you have addressed this 2-year old problem this summer?
Just to name a few. If you got your own, post them in the comments section.
Rod Benson signed with a French team called Nancy.
Later.
