Here’s hoping Amare Stoudemire going to New York and Joe Johnson re-signing in Atlanta will serve as the first dominoes of free-agency. Now that the Knicks have used up one of their max-money contracts on a power forward, it’s hard to see Chris Bosh ending up in New York, so options such as Houston, Chicago and Miami will now come to the forefront, with Chicago leading the charge. I’ll avoid speculating on anything because I too am guilty of reading too much into things. I’ve sworn that I’ll just shut up about free agency unless something of real substance pops up, not just Chris Broussard sounding a horn on ESPN and using phrases like “could still happen”, “possible scenario”, and “sources close to”, which basically all translate to “Oh crap, it’s time to be on air so better come up with something so I don’t look like I’m out of touch and that nobody returns my calls”. All I’ll say is that if Chicago is his destination, I hope we somehow manage to pry Joakim Noah away and finally give Andrea Bargnani a real wake up call at the center spot.
Let’s talk about the 2010-11 team. Yesterday Colangelo introduced Solomon Alabi and Ed Davis to the Toronto media, and both of them appear to be serious people. Serious in the sense that they’re no-nonsense guys, want to come in and work hard, play defense and prove people wrong on passing them up in the draft. As much as I appreciate DeRozan and Weems’ enthusiasm and goofiness, I doubt either of Alabi or Davis are cut of the same cloth. Seeing new blood on the Raptors always gets one excited, but it was Colangelo who I found most enjoyable yesterday. I’m glad that he’s not hanging onto the idea that he can still build something around Bosh. If you recall, the last two summers his mantra had been to surround Bosh with the right players so the team could win again and convince Bosh to stay. Now that that’s not possible, Colangelo’s moved on and seems focused on starting to build a team from scratch which should be music to everyone’s ears.
In his desperate two-year effort to re-sign Bosh, Colangelo has swung for the fences numerous times, always coming up short. Maybe now that he’s not looking to hit home runs, he can finally get on the scoreboard by hitting a single, stealing a base and then relying on a clutch hit, you know, the realistic way of scoring runs. After bottoming out the league in defense, Colangelo’s adapted a defense-first philosophy this summer by drafting Ed Davis and Solomon Alabi along with re-signing Amir Johnson, and so far he gets a high mark for securing the interior defense and rebounding. It’s a step in the right direction and a long way from his earlier line of thinking where he infamously told season-ticket holders that “rebounding is not a concern if we score the ball”.
It’s difficult to absolve Colangelo for not doing more with Chris Bosh as a centerpiece, after all, he had a few tries at it and just couldn’t get it to work. However, we should remember that Chris Bosh was never actually Colangelo’s man. Yes, he re-signed him to a contract extension (which he did with Mitchell too), but it’s not like he chose him as his franchise player, Bosh was an inherited commodity and Colangelo had little other choice than to build around with. Again, I’m not suggesting Colangelo inherited a bad situation by any means, but we should acknowledge that this summer is the first time where he’s going to have a chance to start fresh and not try and plug the holes around Bosh.
So who do we make a play for in the market? Hard to say but we do know that the Raptors will have the mid-level exception at their disposal and there are a few players they could offer it to, while giving them significant raises:
Tony Allen: Nobody’s mentioned him at all, but if a defensive minded guard is what we’re after, Tony Allen fits the bill. As seen in the last few post-seasons, he plays with his heart on his sleeve, gives it a 100%, doesn’t take bad shots, and drives to the rim like it’s the only thing he can do. He brings championship experience as well, and if Shane Battier can’t be had in a deal with Houston, Allen could provide some mentoring (at least by setting an example of work-ethic) for the young ones. He’s a great slasher, but a very poor shooter which doesn’t fit the Colangelo bill for guards.
Raymond Felton: Felton increased his 3-pt percentage by a full 10%, an unheard of rise, and upped his shooting percentage to 45% from 40%. He dedicated himself to improving his jumper which many considered to be his biggest weakness. He leaves a lot to be desired in terms of his assist numbers, but he’s good defensively at the point even though he gives up a lot because his height at the off-guard. Then again, why even bother playing him at the off (see Jarrett Jack last year). Last year he signed the Bobcats’ qualifying offer in hopes of finding something better this year. If the Raptors want to improve their perimeter defense, Felton is a good choice. There is some redundancy with Jarrett Jack already being here, but redundancy is just another name for options.
Matt Barnes: Continuing with the defensive theme, Matt Barnes is a gritty small forward that battles on defense. In Phoenix’s smaller lineups he was often found playing the four, and although he tried his best, he was overmatched against any half-decent PFs. Luckily, we have enough big men. Barnes is coming off making $1.6M with the Magic where he was a reserve SF, and the Raptors could offer him a 200% increase in salary. At 30, it would be questionable to throw the full multi-year MLE at him, but Barnes’ ability to guard twos and threes, hit the outside jumper, and play with consistent intensity make him an attractive option.
Ronnie Brewer: If Triano plans to run a motion offense, Brewer is the man to target. He is great off the ball and learned well in Sloan’s structured Jazz system before being shipped to the Grizzlies for cap reasons. He’s not a good one-on-one offensive player and is not a lockdown defender, what he can do for you is play well in a defined role. Even though he’s 6’7″, he’s played at the two for almost his entire career, and that’s where he tends to get beat off the dribble. It’s conceivable that if shifted to a backup small forward role, Brewer could improve his defense and consistency.
Ryan Gomes: Gomes was recently waived by the Blazers so they could avoid paying the luxury tax. At 6’7″, he’s stuck between the three and four, and doesn’t possess great defensive ability. At 245lbs, he struggles to keep up with threes and is undersized to guard fours. A surprisingly smooth offensive player with a great mid-range game, Gomes would be a good pick-up if we need scoring off the bench. Best of all, he would come cheap.
J.J Redick: Redick’s game has improved, but it’s redundant to acquire him when you have Marco Belinelli riding the pine. Redick is a good three point shooter, Marco is a good three point shooter. Redick has issues defensively, Marco has issues defensively. Overall, I’d give the edge to Belinelli for being a better handler and a much better finisher at the rim; now if only he could find some consistency, a lot of our problems would be solved. Unless the Raptors, for some odd reason, find themselves looking for an exclusive three-point shooter, Redick’s name should not come into the mix.
Shannon Brown: I smell Fred Jones.
Raja Bell: Colangelo did sign him in Phoenix and we know Colangelo’s got a memory (Marion, Voskuhl). Bell’s not the defender he once was but can bring veteran leadership to the backcourt while being low-mistake weak-side man who can spread the floor. A career 41% 3-point shooter, Bell would space the floor, guard the tough twos, be a vocal voice on defense and hopefully bring some stability to a backcourt that tends to get too low on itself at times. Think of him as Antoine Wright except a better shooter and less annoying.
