Chisholm: Colangelo's plan about to be revealed

jeffb · 06-25-2012, 03:03 PM

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Are you ready for Phase Two of Bryan Colangelo's oft-cited plan? Because this week, Raptors fans, the curtain finally gets pulled back for a peek at ‘what's next' in Toronto basketball.

This week brings the NBA Draft (Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt on TSN), the unofficial start to the off-season feeding frenzy that will dominate league headlines for the next several weeks. The draft not only brings with it the promise of 60 new youngsters entering the league's ranks, but also a bevy of trades that will reshape the rosters of those involved as much as any teenager picked on Thursday night. How the Raptors figure into this story is the big question on everyone's mind in Raptor-land, because it would be the first real tip as to where Colangelo has this team headed going into next season.

The options that are currently lying at Colangelo's feet are plentiful. He can use his eighth selection in the draft to pick up a promising youngster to add to the team's young core. He can use his pick as trade bait to pick up a veteran player. He can use his draft pick and a young asset to pick up a veteran player and acquire another pick elsewhere in the first round. He can use his eighth selection and then try and swing a trade to absorb a veteran player into his cap space. For a guy that lives for exploring all options, he has no shortage of them to sift through over the next few days.

Already Toronto has been linked to a trade for Andre Iguodala, a trade for Rudy Gay, a promise to Syracuse guard Dion Waiters, a trade for Kyle Lowry and picks, an interest in North Carolina forward John Henson and a free agent signing that looms over all of this in Steve Nash.

The Nash story looms large because every move that is discussed with relation to the Raptors always manages to get looked at through the prism of acquiring the two-time MVP. In some cases the line is clear, like asking what happens with Nash if Lowry is acquired or Weber State's Damian Lillard is drafted, since both are stud point guards. In other cases the line is more tangential, like trying to acquire a veteran like Iguodala or Gay to make Toronto a more attractive destination for Nash in free agency. The potential impact that Nash could have up and down the organization, though, warrants the unending speculation. If the Raptors are in a position to get him (and they are) then they too are going to be looking at each move as it relates to Nash, which might be the closest thing that Raptors observers have to a framing device for the next couple of weeks.

In fact, it's the closest thing that Raptors fans have had to an idea of Colangelo's new formula since it was kicked off two years ago. After Chris Bosh bolted in free agency, Colangelo began a tearing down process that saw the roster gutted to its core as he began the process of acquiring young assets and cap space so that when he was ready to flip the switch from “rebuilding” to “winning” he would have the assets he needed to make that transition smooth and successful. What the team is left with now are lots of directions that they could go in, but very little evidence as to which path they are looking to go down.

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With the team's record now a factor as the club looks to challenge for a Playoff spot, Colangelo is shifting back into gunslinger mode, a role he admitted he was eager to slide back into at the team's season ending press conference. Colangelo loves making moves, and even more than that he loves making big moves. The hope amongst Raptors fans, though, is that his big moves are smart first and big second, a sort of hybridization of the Colangelo that that was unafraid of big bets and the Colangelo that was satisfied with smaller, smarter bets.

This week will give fans a good idea of where Colangelo is headed. Despite all of the trade rumors the smart money today is on Colangelo keeping his draft pick and using it to grab Syracuse's Dion Waiters. If he ditches it, however, in a trade for, say, Luol Deng, then you have reason to worry about what's coming down the pike in Toronto.

Colangelo has earned himself a lot of goodwill over the last two years and there is an argument to be made for keeping the spirit of some of that conservatism alive in his offseason dealings this summer. As they say, just because you can do a deal doesn't mean that you should do a deal. That was a lesson the old Colangelo never seemed to learn and it may have ultimately led to him losing Bosh in free agency. The organization allowed him to hit the reset button in the aftermath of that loss and now we'll get the first hints of whether or not the man in charge of running the Toronto Raptors will benefit from his experiences in the recent past.

Chisholm: Fans will get a look at Colangelo's plan this week

Ex2k · 06-25-2012, 03:16 PM

Meh... nothing new here..

Psi · 06-25-2012, 03:16 PM

And now we hope.

jeffb · 06-25-2012, 03:17 PM

Am i wrong or does free agency start sunday?

Windex · 06-25-2012, 03:18 PM

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Originally Posted by jeffb

Am i wrong or does free agency start sunday?

July 1

Psi · 06-25-2012, 03:20 PM

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Originally Posted by jeffb

Am i wrong or does free agency start sunday?

I believe so as well.
However the *wink wink* *nudge nudges* have all but finalized by now.

jeffb · 06-25-2012, 03:21 PM

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Originally Posted by Windex

July 1

Which is sunday. But i thought this year it was supposed to be July 2nd? Has free agency ever been started on a sunday?

Windex · 06-25-2012, 03:23 PM

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Originally Posted by jeffb

Which is sunday. But i thought this year it was supposed to be July 2nd? Has free agency ever been started on a sunday?

you can start talking to FA's on the 1st but can't officially sign them until July 11

DSWC · 06-25-2012, 03:41 PM

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Originally Posted by Windex

you can start talking to FA's on the 1st but can't officially sign them until July 11

The "moratorium" is one of the dumbest things in all of sports. If the NBA really wants to maintain competitive balance, they should have free agency and the NBA draft all happen at the same time, with no limitations, so that weaker teams can expedite their rebuilding process.

Dark Knight · 06-25-2012, 03:42 PM

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel with these articles aren't they.

Batman · 06-25-2012, 03:44 PM

Yeah it is incredibly stupid. I know the NHL also starts on the 1st, but you can start signing right away. It's a lot more exciting. Sitting and listening to rumours for ten days is going to be god damn annoying,

jeffb · 06-25-2012, 03:51 PM

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Originally Posted by Batman

Yeah it is incredibly stupid. I know the NHL also starts on the 1st, but you can start signing right away. It's a lot more exciting. Sitting and listening to rumours for ten days is going to be god damn annoying,

I find the NBA the most exciting league when it comes to FA. Maybe because it's a star driven league. It means nothing that there's a ten day waiting period. Everything comes out anyway. When the 10 days are up we'll all know who we've signed anyway. By july 2nd we'll know, who cares how long it takes to be "official". The NBA also has the best draft of any of the other sports.

Superjudge · 06-25-2012, 03:55 PM

The NHL draft is more fun if you ask me, all the gm's in the same room, wheeling and dealing as they go.

jeffb · 06-25-2012, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superjudge

The NHL draft is more fun if you ask me, all the gm's in the same room, wheeling and dealing as they go.

It's funny, when i was a hockey nut i always found the NHL draft pretty dull. I always found the NBA draft a lot more exciting. Maybe it's because you know you'll see the players right away and some can make an instant impact. That and with the NCAA and march madness you have a better idea of what you might be getting and have a greater opportunity to know the players to a greater extent. To each his own i guess. Same with free agency, NBA just has more excitement involved, for me at least. Maybe because it can be easier/quicker to turn things around in the NBA because of the roster size. A couple solid moves and you can improve pretty fast vs sports with much larger rosters.

LET'S GO RAPTORS!!!!! · 06-26-2012, 12:52 PM

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Originally Posted by Dark Knight

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel with these articles aren't they.

Yup.

bozonic · 06-26-2012, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Knight

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel with these articles aren't they.

Yup...could change the names and throw in Brian Burke and some Maple Leafs...

LilRomeo · 06-26-2012, 04:44 PM

If they trade Jose Calderon, I'm gonna be livid!

jeffb · 06-26-2012, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilRomeo

If they trade Jose Calderon, I'm gonna be livid!

And I would be thrilled (depending on who was brought in of course).

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06-25-2012, 03:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Ex2k is at ends with Casey Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 3,969 Representing:	Meh... nothing new here..

06-25-2012, 03:16 PM	#3 (permalink)
Psi is Only likes Hockey with 'Fantasy' infront of it Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mississauga Posts: 1,675 Representing:	And now we hope.

06-25-2012, 03:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
jeffb is EL PRESIDENTE Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: YO MAMMA Posts: 58,156 Representing:	Am i wrong or does free agency start sunday?

06-25-2012, 03:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
Dark Knight is waiting for the sun to come out so he can let his guns out. Jamario Moon! Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Electric Avenue Posts: 15,069 Representing:	Really scraping the bottom of the barrel with these articles aren't they.

06-25-2012, 03:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
Batman is a Husky fella (Rudy)Gayman Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Halifax Posts: 1,845 Representing:	Yeah it is incredibly stupid. I know the NHL also starts on the 1st, but you can start signing right away. It's a lot more exciting. Sitting and listening to rumours for ten days is going to be god damn annoying,

06-25-2012, 03:55 PM	#13 (permalink)
Superjudge is pounding the rock! Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 17,593 Representing:	The NHL draft is more fun if you ask me, all the gm's in the same room, wheeling and dealing as they go.

06-26-2012, 04:44 PM	#17 (permalink)
LilRomeo is having sexual relations with that woman Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 625 Representing:	If they trade Jose Calderon, I'm gonna be livid!