With the Nets falling fast in the standings around Christmas time, and injuries to Nenad Kristic (out for the season after having surgery to heal a torn ACL in his left knee) and Richard Jefferson (out 6 weeks after having ankle surgery) the front office needed to think about the future. What they did was assess their current assets. They first deemed an aging JKidd who’s still playing at the top of his game as a guy who would attract some attention from clubs looking at making a big push for the playoffs, especially seeing that they drafted PG Marcus Williams this past year who looks like he’ll be a nice fit in the league. Unfortunately no teams bit at Kidd, probably due to the fact that he has a guaranteed $40M coming at him over the next two years. The Nets then turned their attention to the poster boy of the team, the aforementioned VC. Do
you know what happened? Even with his contract expiring after this year (he’s got a player option for $16.3M next year) no one wanted him! Carter is not a team player. He’s not the guy that will take a beating and keep coming back. He’s not one to put the good of the group ahead of his own personal accolades. It seems as though he’s more interested in finding other NBAers to add to his group of facebook friends than he is with winning at all costs and maybe, just maybe, pissing someone off in the process. Vince hasn’t done anything of substance in the playoffs. He constantly reminds you why he’s not mentioned when discussing the top players in the game. He takes plays off, and doesn’t hustle on defense. To be honest, what playoff team would want a player like that?If the Magic make a move this off-season to add Vince to their line-up, which has been a terribly
kept rumor throughout the year, they’ll be making a terrible mistake. They’ve got a great thing going with a group of young talented players, led by a monster in the middle in Dwight Howard. To mess with the chemistry and cohesion of a group that is growing and learning how to survive life in the NBA is not on the agenda for GMs around the league. Bringing in Vince would do this, however. He would immediately become the face of your franchise, the guy with the ball in his hands during the final 20 seconds, the person others on the team are looking to for guidance and leadership. These are not Carter’s most attractive characteristics.One place that would work for Vince though, and would please a pissed off giant, would be in the land of a thousand lakes, Minnesota. Pairing Garnett with Carter would work better than most situations. KG wouldn’t put up with Vince’s shit. Carter wouldn’t be the man running the show, which will be permanently reserved for KG; a real OG. Bringing the fire and drive back into his game that he showed can be there during his first three years in the league and at the 2000 Olympics (when he did this) would be phenomenal, not only for the KG and the TWolves, but more importantly, for Carter himself. I won’t argue with the fact that he can jump out of a gym, hit miracle shots, and be the go-to guy, but what I won’t accept is that he is a leader, a warrior on the court, and someone you feel confident going into battle with. Not yet at least. If this wasn’t the case, why would New Jersey want him out, or maybe the better question is why anyone else doesn’t want to let him in?
Now, we’ve got all of Toronto and the rest of the NBA jumping on the Chris Bosh bandwagon, deservingly so. When you look at Toronto and how they’ve been able to turn the season around, it happened when CB4 (terrible nickname by the way, we seriously need to find him a new one along with CP3, and any other guy who uses their initials followed by their number) was on the DL. Prior to the injury, if you had heard that Bosh was out of the line-up for any extended period of time you’d probably be safe to assume that the team would go on to win something in the neighborhood of 10% of their games. Wrong! Colangelo’s hard work is starting to come together and much earlier than anyone thought, myself and brother excluded. The team has been playing well due to the fact that everyone on the court is in motion, penetrating the lane, swinging the ball to the open man, making that extra pass and helping each other play better, more efficient basketball. That sounded something like what we’re seeing a team in the desert do right now. Toronto Suns? Already?
While Bosh was watching his team move forward with him sidelined, he must have been thinking things like; Wow, we can actually win ball games with me not on the floor. I thought this was supposed to be a three-year plan that we were barely into year one of. Now maybe I
can take out these ridiculous mini-braids that make me look like I grew up on the wrong side of 8-mile instead of one of the more affluent areas of Dallas. Then when Bosh was healthy and ready to come back into the line-up, what did he do? Nothing, except for jumping right back into his role as a versatile 4 and just try to fit in to how the new Raptors played the game. He stopped thinking that everything was on his shoulders. No longer was he slowing down the offense by holding the ball when it came to him, or forcing the situation and trying to take his man off the dribble early in the shot clock, then attempting upwards of ten head fakes, only to launch an ill-advised 18 footer. Basically, he stopped trying to do everything himself (as he was forced to in years past). Now Bosh is making the extra pass with confidence, knowing the rock is in good hands and that if he moves well without the ball, he’ll get an open look himself. A similar enlightenment happened to another Raptor this year. When T.J. Ford went down, the Raps were able to learn they may possess the best PG combo in the league (Nash/Barbosa would give them a good run). When Ford saw the team not slowing down, but picking up steam, with him on the bench, he knew he had to excel his game and rehab. The emergence of Jose Calderon in his second season forced the issue. Now the Raps are able to run two point guards and not lose a step, something that is crucial in today’s NBA.Colangelo has been in Toronto for almost a year now, after coming over late last February to assess the club for the final few months of a dismal season. In that short time he’s built one of, if not the best, PG combo’s in the league. He brought in a Euro League MVP shooting guard (H&M Anthony Parker) who’s quietly making a solid return to the NBA, and the team is loving the fact that they are receiving vital contribution from two BIG rookies in the likes of Jorge Garbajosa and Andrea Bargnani. Now all of those players mentioned were those who you would have thought would be able to contribute something to the team entering the year. Someone you may not have targeted as being that big of an addition was the signing of Serbian centre Rasho Nesterovic.
He’s been an ample body in the middle of the paint, forcing opponents to alter shots and playing a pivotal role guarding the opposing teams centre. What most don’t know is that his true value lies off the court. Nesterovic comes from a background infused with productive play overseas in Europe – where he was named MVP for players under 22 in 1996 – an eight year NBA career where he has been paired in the front court with the likes of Garnett and Duncan, and even more important, the ability to fluently speak Italian; Bargnani’s first language. Rasho is somewhat of a mentor and coach to all the new players from Europe and has made the transition of the leagues first overall draft choice much more seamless. Nesterovic however, isn’t the only player/coach on the Raptors that Colangelo has surrounded all the youngsters with. Derrick Martin, although portly in his demeanor, has been just as integral to the Raptors success as anyone else. He is able to tutor and lead from a level position with both Ford and Calderon. When either of the young PGs needs advice or guidance, they go straight to Martin, who has a decade long pro career that includes stops in the CBA and even a stint on the Harlem Globetrotters. Thankfully the former NBA Executive of the Year has the insight that not only do you need talent to win games, you also need the right people surrounding the talent, and in Nesterovic and Martin, we see two perfect examples.
The rest of the squad has been playing better ball as well. Joey Graham is slowly starting to show why he was a mid-first round selection as he continues to gain confidence and slash to the bucket the way he did while playing for OSU. We’re getting solid production off the bench from Peterson, who is a great locker room guy, can hit open 3-balls and plays steady defense. And although I would have been asking for his ass to be traded, now that we’re deeply planted in a playoff race, it looks as though he’ll stay put. To be fair, he is currently the longest serving Raptor and has seen the good, bad and trailer park ugly, so his presence and determination
bodes well for anyone around him. This is also the last year on his contract, so after the season we can reevaluate our stance on him being a Raptor. Although, if an offer came up with a first rounder included, I’d take it. Colangelo works magic and I’ll invest numerous draft picks in his back pocket to ensure this team continues to go in the right direction. Rounding out the bench is P.J. Tucker who’s now back on the active roster after spending some time in the D-League, and with some steady minutes, can show you why he was the Big 12 Player of the Year, 2nd Team All-NCAA last year while at Texas and Chivas League MVP this past summer (the Chivas League is a summer league out of N. Carolina where a lot of players in the L who played for NC,NC St., or are Carolina natives return to and perfect their game). Hidden at the far end of the bench is Humphries, Jones, Slokar and Sow who have been reportedly set to join the Raptors Dance Pak to give them an added element of intrigue.Remember when everyone was saying Toronto will have a good shot at the playoffs in Colangelo’s second season and should be a lock for it in his third year at the helm? Well, it looks as though everyone was wrong. The Raps currently sit atop the Atlantic Division (25-23) and with a strong second half, will be looking to firmly plant themselves in the top half of the Eastern Conference. Toronto Suns? Playing in the weak East, who knows how far this team will be able to go in the playoffs, but a surprising first round victory shouldn’t be ruled out. If they can get hot and stay hot, who knows how far Bosh and the crew can go. Could we be in store for a match-up between Colangelo Sr. vs. Colangelo Jr. sooner than we thought? In all respect, Junior has built two very impressive teams and the future of basketball in Toronto finally looks bright again, something the folks in New Jersey wish they could be saying right now too.
- JW
