Decision on Colangelo's Future to Come Sooner Rather Than Later

[Built Ford Tough]

You could say that Bryan Colangelo, in the final year of his $4-million-a-year deal as president and general manager of the Raptors, is about to embark on a pivotal season.

 

But that wouldn’t necessarily be correct. A decent half season might score Colangelo the long-term contract extension he has been coveting. Heck, if you listen to the man who’ll largely decide Colangelo’s fate, you get the idea a passable 25 games could do it.

 

That’s not to say a disastrous beginning couldn’t end Colangelo’s four-plus-year tenure in Toronto. But on Wednesday Colangelo’s boss gave the impression that a decision on the GM’s future will be made sooner rather than later. And if you’re laying odds, it’s a short bet he’s not going anywhere.

 

So there’s the forecast: Barring disaster — if the Raptors play hard out of the gate, wins and losses notwithstanding — Colangelo’s pivotal season will be far from his last.

 

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/article/861862--feschuk-won-t-take-much-for-raptors-to-keep-colangelo

 

I didn't expect Colangelo to go anywhere, assuming he wanted to stay in Toronto, and this pretty much confirms my initial expectations in regards to Colangelo's contract situation.

 

Unless the Raptors start the season going 0-13 or 2-20 or something terrible like that, I can't imagine MLSE letting Colangelo go.

 

My favourite part of the article was this little section:

 

And the buzz on the inside is that Colangelo has successfully cast himself as the did-all-I-could victim of Chris Bosh’s summertime of self-serving delusion, not to mention Hedo Turkoglu’s immaturity and the Charlotte Bobcats’ late-stage pullback on a trade that could have improved the Raptors.

 

I thought it was interesting to see just how well Colangelo is able to manipulate others to buying into his way of thinking. While I do agree that you can't blame him for Charlotte backing out of a trade at the last minute, but you can certainly place some of the blame on him when talking about Bosh's departure (although to be 100% honest, I think Bosh was gone regardless, unless the Raptors won the NBA Championship or something last season) and a lot of the blame on the Turkoglu situation on him. You can't blame him for Turk's god awful play last season, but you can blame him for not realizing that he was a terrible fit in the first place and handing out a brutal deal, which could be considered part of the reason for Turkoglu's poor season.

 

Anyways, in regards to the original topic, it doesn't surprise me at all that it sounds like Colangelo will be staying. I can't really say I'm thrilled by the news or that I'm upset. I am completely impartial to whether or not Colangelo stays. The Raptors probably wouldn't be able to get anybody better (at least in terms of credibility around the league) but I don't exactly have a lot of faith in him to right the ship either. Who knows though, maybe with Bosh gone he can focus on building a team instead of trying to appease Bosh?

[Poe]

I don't know much about Colangelo. From what I can tell from how he's handled things the past few years, he hasn't proven to be the right choice, especially when he hasn't shown much result record-wise.

 

From the way the roster stands, with Chris Bosh leaving and things basically starting over to the exception of a few bad contracts, I think it's a great time to find somebody new. Building a successful team starts with the management, and the Raptors need to find the best they can possibly get. Again, what I know about Colangelo is limited, I still believe there are better options out there.

[Check my Stats]

No GM we hire will be better than BC, now that the Euro experiment is officially over I think he will give us the best chance to win moving forward. I love the pieces he has in place now, that Kleiza signing seemed meh but it looks like another sick Jarret Jack type of pickup that will help us moving forward.

 

Ideally for Toronto we put an exciting prospects on the floor that still sells tickets to keep MLSE happy, and we pick in the high lotto after winning tons of games. I don't know if MLSE understands how important it is that we add another top pick, sure ticket sales and stuff might suffer this year and even for a couple years, but the dividends could be so huge if we add a top prospect to this roster with the already good pieces we have in place.

 

Right now everything is in place, we just need to add a franchise player through the draft (yes, 'just' lol). Demar, Bargnani, Sonny, Kleiza, all these guys are awesome complimentary players, we need a guy who can be 'the man', it is imperative we get a top 3 pick this year, I fear that isn't going to happen though.

 

If BC's future lies in our record this year I don't really know what to say, his future should really be dictated by if he is able to continue to shed salary or not and continue the rebuilding/retooling direction.

[Poe]

I never liked the idea of tanking. Spending an entire year just to get one player... it's quite a risk, and not always worth the damage. If the Raptors choose to go that route, you better hope it isn't spent on another Andrea Bargnani.

 

 

The way the current roster stands, I don't see a real team in place. The only player I like moving forward is Jarrett Jack, since he seems to have the versatility to mold to any system, and bring whatever is needed. Plus he brings intangibles like leadership and composure... like Derek Fisher in a way.

 

As for the rest of the team, DeRozan and Amir are still potentials and "what if"s. Bargnani seems to me like a failed project, a player that doesn't give as much as he takes away. Calderon is of the same mold as far as bringing more negative things than positive. Players like Weems, Banks, and Andersen are all replaceable role players until they prove otherwise. I don't know much about Davis or Kleiza.

 

Come to think of it, I also like Leandro Barbosa. If the Raptors plan on going uptempo, he'd be the right player to keep. He has consistently produced each year in this league to the exception of just one bad year last season. Odds are he's going to pick his game back up this season.

 

 

 

So overall going forward, the only guaranteed player I see is Jack. With the roster so unstable, perhaps it is the best option to spend the year without the incentive of going into the playoffs, but rather just developing the young players and see which ones fit best and which ones don't, and perhaps capitalize on a trade opportunity or two in the process. Once they find a real player to boost their team through the draft, combining him with the players that developed and the players that came in through trades and the upcoming free agency, then they can go for a real playoff push and build on that each year down the road.

 

 

Anyway, that's the direction I can see being taken place. Hopefully the Raptors will eventually find a way to execute on their goals and bring the fans in Canada a team they can really cheer for.