Colangelo said he’d be looking to sign a center so I figured let’s take a look at what’s available in the market. These names are taken from here:
Kwame Brown, UFA: Improved rebounder, good active defense, not much of anything else. Has gotten better with age, but you can technically say the same thing about Sobey’s wine.
Nazr Mohammed, UFA: He’s a center, hence he is on the list. At 33, he’s too old and he sucks.
Tyson Chandler, UFA: Tried to get him last summer, is still the ideal fit if the Raptors have a hope in hell for making up for Bargnani floating at the three-point line. Not sure how much it would go against the whole rebuild thing.
Nene, ETO: An absolute beast who will command a lot of attention this summer, if there was ever a use for that TPE this is it. Too bad it would mean abandoning the rebuild, not that anybody would be too upset.
Yao Ming, UFA: Remember the Ming Dynasty? Me neither, whatever happened to T-Mac, Yao and Jeff van Gundy building a contender in Houston? Yao is 30 years old now and has played in 57, 48, 55, 77 and 5 games in the last five seasons. What he would do is sell some seats so I wouldn’t count him out.
Jeff Foster, UFA: Jeff Foster has been in Indiana for 12 years, his entire career. He’s averaged 7 rebounds in 20 minutes for his career, that is a rate almost identical to Reggie Evans. What am I getting at? If Jeff Foster played in Toronto he’d be worshiped.
Theo Ratliff, UFA: Never recovered from this.
Joel Przybilla, UFA: If it’s rim-defense you want, Przybilla gives it to you in spades. At 31, he’s got at least a couple good years left and could be an addition that won’t demand touches and do his job silently. He made $7M last season, and will likely command the same. With teams looking to make defense a priority, expect him to receive attention in the market.
Marc Gasol, RFA: He’s 26, already a proven player, plays hard and plays great team defense. Rebuild or no rebuild, the Raptors would be wise to open up the bank and target Gasol as their center for the next five years. He’s not a shot-blocker but the Raptors have that base covered with Johnson and Davis, Gasol’s defense, passing and post-scoring would be an ideal fit with YGZ®.
Erick Dampier, UFA: Time-waster.
Dan Gadzuric, UFA: He’d come cheap.
Ronny Turiaf, UFA: Always liked his game, but he’s not a starter which is what the Raptors are looking for.
Spencer Hawes, RFA: I’d rather stick with Bargnani.
Greg Oden, RFA: The Frankenstein of the NBA. He intrigues me in the same way an expired carton of milk does. Remember, he’s only 23 and can’t get any worse. If Colangelo’s willing to give James Johnson a chance, why not Greg Oden. The former #1 pick would appear to be a good defender until you look closely and realize he can’t guard anyone without fouling and appears to have very low basketball IQ. Nothing to lose here.
DeAndre Jordan, RFA: Could be a great fit but I don’t see the Clippers not matching any offer with Blake griffin to please.
Samuel Dalembert, UFA: The story goes that when Dalembert was born he was immediately called for a three-second violation for staying too long in the “painted area”. A good rebounder but an overrated defender who every Raptors fan would be frustrated with. Still, I’d like to see him here just to piss Leo off.
Kyrylo Fesenko, UFA: I’d rather sign the Pillsbury Doughboy.
Francisco Elson, UFA: He’s 35 years old.
Ryan Hollins, UFA: He could start a fight in an empty house. Makes Bargnani look like a decent rebounder.
Troy Murphy, UFA: I do believe Colangelo said the new center should be able to play defense, so let’s scratch Murphy off the list.
Solomon Jones, UFA: Great example of an athlete confused for a basketball player.
Hamed Haddadi, RFA: Believe it or not, this guy can actually rebound and block shots. If he wasn’t so slow and had even a little agility he could be a serviceable player. I often think my TV is frozen when watching him play.