Originally Posted by The Altraps Blog

Never let it be said we aren’t a passionate bunch.

I was up and online when the clock struck 12:01am the other night and was amazed at the amount of people on Twitter and in forums awaiting some news on the free agency front. Some stayed up until 3am, not wanting to miss out on the first big Raptor move.

Now, 2 days later, people are calling for Colangelo’s head, wondering why we haven’t done a deal or at least give a formal sign of a direction we are headed. To that, I say 2 things:

1) Chill
2) Blame Shawn Marion and Chris Bosh

I have always been a Colangelo detractor, but in this case he has acted accordingly and, in all honesty, has exceeded my expectations. We have 7 days to flirt, so why not check out all the pretty ladies before we need to ask them to come dance? Personally, I fully expected Colangelo to pinpoint 1 or 2 guys and go after them, possibly getting none. Sure, some of the stuff you are hearing is a smokescreen, but I have it on good authority that at least 4 of the names you hear most often are legitimate interests and discussions have been had.

Why no movement? Shawn Marion. Colangelo has said all along he is the domino and once they figure out where he falls, the rest will fall with him. Do I agree with the assessment that Marion is painting himself or the Raptors into a corner? Not at all. He will get his money unless we renounce him outright, which would surprise me. Again, as Colangelo has said all along, he wants to see it work out for both the Raptors AND Marion. No reason to believe one is going to screw the other.

You also have to factor Bosh into this. Unlike most, I still believe Bosh will be a Raptor on opening day. That said, it makes current free agents second guess any move to Toronto. Call it the fear of the great unknown. Agents will be looking at his situation, the upcoming decision about Bargnani, and also the looming CBA discussions and wondering what’s in it for their client. Most of these guys have played a good few years to have the right to pick and choose, so we need to let them take their time and figure it out.

Let’s sit back and let Bryan do his job. If he flubs it, we have every right to hold his feet to the fire and I’ll be first in line. Until then, though, I think he has done a tremendous job given the circumstances.

Originally Posted by Superjudge

Every GM in the NBA is busting ass right now. The economic climate is scary, salaries are ridiculous, and if you ask many financial planners, the crawl back from the Recession will be a levelling off, not a climb back.

Things aren't getting better out there.