BlueDevil

played against thompson and Josephs bro Devoh pretty excited to see how thompson has developed, he wasnt sensational last i saw him, but he was a gr 10 at that point and has since moved on to the states and with the buzz hes been getting i expect hes improved dramatically

very good point, but considering the state we were in last week, these two trades really make up for it i really wish he would just swallow his pride and commit to rebuilding though

The revolving door that is the Toronto Raptors' off-season keeps on spinning. We all knew Chris Bosh was on his way out of town. Who knew that both Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon would be following him? It is a new beginning for many Raptors fans who have accepted that next season should be a sombre one. With the trading of these two, Raptors management has put themselves in a position to spend in upcoming free agency classes (Chris Paul/Deron Williams, anyone?). The Raptors opened with trading Hedo Turkoglu, last year’s prize acquisition turned disappointment extraordinaire, for a serviceable backup in Leandro Barbosa, along with a trade chip in Dwayne Jones. This will allow Barbosa to either become a starter for the first time in his career, or give the Raptors a former 6th man of the year who provides explosive scoring and savvy perimeter defence. This alone would be a fantastic trade for Raptor fans. Toronto would ultimately be shedding away two years off Hedo’s contract. Both players make roughly the same amount per year. On top of that, Barbosa is one of the quickest players in the league, and able to defend multiple positions. While I won’t disagree with Turkoglu being the better player of the two, having Barbosa on the team will allow the Raptors to run a very up-tempo system. They already have one of the most athletic back-courts in the league with the likes of Demar DeRozan and Sonny Weems in the fold. The pairing of Jarrett Jack and Barbosa would also be one of the best defensive back-courts the Raptors have put together in quite some time. What the Raptors lose is one of the premier point-forwards in the league. Turkoglu has the ability to stretch the floor, create mismatches, and make plays better than anyone standing at 6’10. The only problem is that he didn’t fit in with the Raptors, and was not worth the money they paid. Now for the second aspect of this trade: Sending Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans, along with the newly acquired Dwayne Jones, to the Charlotte Bobcats for Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler. This trade may have ensured Brian Colangelo’s extension with the team. By turning Calderon’s three-year, $30 million deal into Chandler’s one year, $12.8 million and Diaw’s two year, $18 million contracts, the Raptors are now in position to make a big splash in free agency as soon as next year. Worst case scenario: Both players are unable to play to their potential, and become bargaining chips in possible trades for teams looking for expiring contracts. Best case, both play to their potential, and give the Raptors fans some hope this upcoming season. If Chandler can have the same chemistry with Jarrett Jack as he did with Chris Paul, he could very well turn back into a legitimate double-double threat. Especially with the lack of rebounding from the Raptors front-court to begin with. A better, and more realistic hope is for him to simply be healthy, play defence, and rebound. If he can do that, he will fit in nicely with the Raptors. As for Diaw, he could be the wild card in the deal. With a potential logjam of power forwards on the Raptors roster, it is definitely a possibility he gets flipped to some other team. Rumors have the Raps looking for one more trade this off-season. With as many as six power forwards on the roster, look for one of them to be moved. Considering how bleak (and expensive) the Raptors future looked last week, these two trades are no doubt a success. These were not made in hopes of building a championship contender (even playoffs still seem a lofty goal), but simply to shed salary in order to prepare for life without Bosh. We in Raptorland have grown used to Colangelo’s flipping of players, and until he commits to rebuilding, we will still remain pessimistic towards our future. For today, though, I must congratulate Raptors management. You made the right decision. And these Toronto Raptors will be fun to watch. Just hope they don’t pull a New Jersey. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419347-gm-turned-miracle-worker-how-bryan-colangelo-saved-the-raptors-future

this trade just keeps getting better dumping Evans is huge, as he would just be another overpaid 4 guy for us, id rather see our young bigs get playing time I have renewed faith in BC now, as long as he doesnt try anything too big and screw us over again lol

this for sure tops that dunk thats just plain crazy

I have a renewed faith in Colangelo now like was stated above, Raps arent gonna win many games, but this makes them more athletic and they will be fun to watch. Its not like they were gonna win much with Hedo anyway, and getting rid of that contract makes them in a much better position financially. PLUS, with Calderon and Barbosa (or weems) coming off the bench, we will have solid depth to make teams hustle all game. very happy with this, fingers crossed it goes down.

ahh i gotcha that makes sense, i just read some article and they mentioned that cleveland got a tpe but didnt mention the raps

from what i read it seems that they didnt get the TPE from Miami, it went to Cleveland. all the raps got was their pick back and miamis 1st rounder correct?

glad to see you finally see what weve been saying all these years if it helps, i would love to see Cleveland win it all next year, just to rub it in lebrons face

finally the chosen one has arrived in chicago all that hype for lebron was just a cover for this signing

i dont think its working

wouldnt hate the team so much, but i dont wanna see lebron or bosh with a ring if they had just told their original teams that they would jump ship, and let they get out with something, id have more respect for them (mainly bosh, i lost all respect for Lebron long ago) basically dont want Lebron to win a ring, dont want bosh to win a ring yet, wouldnt mind seeing wade win again so ya, ill be rooting against them, but wont make a difference, theyll be damn good

if the knicks get azubuike id be so jealous, hopefully he comes back strong after last years injury hes one of those ultimate glue guys you can plug in and ask anything and he'll deliver

that is a bold statement my friend, one im sure you would take back but seriously, Colangelo's [expletive]ing up

why? why must it be so difficult to be a raptors fan we need a gm who loves to rebuild, then we might actually stand a chance at least were in the running to pull a New Jersey Nets, im predicting 13 wins

and walton, two of the most overpaid players in the league after eddy curry

lol wow unreal what ever hes having, ill take one too i have never seen someone love something that much

dont worry bft, we might be getting david lee too so 9th place in the east is a lock

they should blow it up, but not with any of the ideas you have proposed id rather see them get young talent back as opposed to just getting salaries to shed in the next year or two

JUST REBUILD ALREADY!!!!

hed fit our system, athletic pf with no defense, we have a pass first pg in calderon, and a center that shoots threes the only difference would be going from the desert to the tundra of a toronto winter that being said, seriously doubt this happens for basically every reason u mentioned

I agree with BFT, its not pessimistic, its realistic i would rather have the money to either grab someone who fits the system, but even more so, id rather dump these long term contracts that do nothing to upgrade our team and instead hinder the raps from rebuilding. with bosh leaving, its clear that playoffs are gonna be hard to come by, so id rather watch a team with young, cheap pieces and watch them grow rather then wasting money on average players who will do little to really help our team and either get traded again or leave as free agents raps should just fully commit to rebuilding, take a page from the thunders book and use the draft to actually get players of worth rather then trading for average players who will do nothing to help our team long term that said, if the raps can shed calderon/turk's contract and somehow pick up a young pg like collison, id be thrilled and consider this offseason a success i would be thrilled if the raps could get a lineup along the lines of pg: collison/jack sg: demar/ belinelli sf: weems/ another pick up (hopefully a defensive minded player) pf: davis/ johnson c: bargnani/alabi i wouldnt expect more then 25-30 wins, but it would be a young team that would have the chance to grow, with little pressure to deliver wins Toronto fans are used to underachieving teams (leafs lol) so theyll understand

glad the grizz get to keep him, 16 mill is a lot, but with his age, he should hopefully blossom into an elite player when his next contract comes up

lol at him requesting a trade he was already being shopped regardless, just trying to make it seem that hes leaving on his terms now hope the wolves can get some good young pieces for him, im a big fan of his play

1st step in building a dynasty