If Bosh does decide to stay, the status quo will not do. Improvement from Demar, Sonny, Amir, and even better coaching will not make this team a championship contender. So what does BC do this off-season to right the ship. There are really only a few scenarios that come to mind.
Firstly, Calderon has to go. Look, I love Calderon’s offensive game, he’s a true facilitator, not the greatest shooter, but knows his role. However, he is a huge liability on defense: the raptors worst one-on-one defender, always looking for help, which brings other players out of position. Jack on the other hand was noted as a defensive leader throughout the season, and this is exactly what the raptors need. Moreover, Calderon has value around the league.
Look at the Pistons for example. Dumars has made his intentions about this off-season fairly clear. This team is a collection of talent that does not mesh, they need a remake. It appears that Rip and maybe even Prince are out. And weirdly, they will be looking for a point guard too. They see Stuckey as more of a scorer, so bringing in a facilitator like Calderon is probably there best option. A trade scenario with the Pistons seems like a perfect fit. We could package Calderon with the expiring deals of Reggie Evans or Marcus Banks for Rip and Will Bynum, for example. Who knows, maybe we even convince them to take on Turkoglu in exchange for Prince. While I would jump at the any of these scenarios, I believe that if we get rid of Calderon, Turkoglu’s value on the team increases. Sure Turk underperformed this past season, but maybe that was a motivation/team role situation. With Jack at the helm, the ‘ball’ will be back in his hands more often, like in Orlando, and maybe he goes back to form. Imagine a front nine players of Bargnani, Bosh, Turkoglu/Prince, Rip, Jack, Amir, Demar, Wright, Sonny and the story begins to look pretty good.
Hire former Toronto Raptors head man Sam Mitchell as the new coach. Forget about his being fired by Bryan Colangelo. Despite a losing record in his four-year tenure, Mitchell advanced the Raptors to the playoffs his last two full seasons. He’s well-respected by executives because of his old-school mentality combined with his new-school speaking skills. Plus, he’s a former player. He has worked under great coaches such as George Karl and Larry Brown. And he’ll never tolerate laziness or apathy from his players, which is desperately needed in Philadelphia.
Rajon Rondo was the 21st pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. The first pick that year was Andrea Bargnani. And I would trade Bargnani for Rondo in a split second …
If Chris Bosh ends up signing as a free agent with the Miami Heat, the Raptors will only have themselves to blame.
You see, the only way Miami has the cap space to sign Bosh is because they have this large expiring contract in Jermaine O’Neal, from a previous deal with the Raps.
And it’s not just that: The next time the Raps make the playoffs, Miami also takes Toronto’s first-round draft pick from the O’Neal deal.
And what would Toronto have to show for it?
Well, the Raps have Marcus Banks and his $5-million contract and Hedo Turkoglu (via the Shawn Marion deal).
Not exactly the way to build a champion.
This could be the little fire that LeBron set to smoke Chris Bosh out of Toronto and to a team with more “heart” and “drive” than the Raptors. A team that will push to the very end. A team that will not let down the fans. A team that will have a stellar supporting cast. Hey, wait, does anyone remember who missed that last-second shot against Golden State at the end of the year? Oh, hey, Chris Bosh. How you doin’?
LeBron James just wants Bosh out of Toronto and in New York where they’ll take the Knicks and turn them into the new Boston Celtics, or, re-sign with the Cavs, get the rest of the team axed, bring in CB4, and (hopefully) bring a title to Cleveland.
Either way, the subtext to this message was loud and clear. ”Chris, get the hell out. Toronto sucks”
In a year filled with lack-luster inspiration and inconsistency, one of the few bright spots to emerge from Raptorland was power forward Amir Johnson -whom the Raptors acquired in a deal that sent Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic to the Milwaukee Bucks. Just turned 23 years old, 2009-10 was already Johnson’s 5th season in the association, with the first four being spent under the guidance of the always talented Detroit Pistons. Given the opportunity, Amir prospered making the most of it, and becoming the first Raptor big man off of the bench throughout the entire season for Jay Triano. Let’s take a look at the numbers AJ15 put up: