Re: Contenders? Re-Sign Bosh, and a 2nd option SG. Calderon is a good PG to have around. you guys are like us and need a consistend 3rd Option IMO and Marion is not/was not it Edit.. 2nd Option. Calderon is a good 3rd option.
Re: Contenders? High quality defensive players at shooting guard, small forward and center and one of them needs to also be a dangerous scorer, preferably the shooting guard or small forward. Calderon is a gifted player on offense, but the Raptors will need a great team defense around him to make up for his defensive ineptness. And while Calderon can shoot, the Raptors need a wing who can slash and collapse the defense.
Re: Contenders? More than that. 28 teams would have to fold, and the other remaining team would have to be run by Donald Sterling.
Re: Contenders? Hmm... not to sound like a jerk, but I think that the Raptors need pretty much everything. They have Bosh, who clearly is a huge asset, and they have Calderon, who's a solid PG, but other than that... ? There's not much there. I think that defense is something that the team is lacking. Bosh will never be considered a defensive stopper, and it seems to me that their other top players (Calderon, Bargnani) don't guard their positions well at all, either. Ed O.
Should be some SARS masks leftover. Everybody remember SARS? Isn't it awful living in this post-SARS hellscape? Strange that Raptors discussion needs to be drummed up in the Blazers forum. In order for Raptors to be contenders, the Magic need to change their name to the Raptors. The Raptors are the Washington Natnals of the NBA. After following this franchise for 14 years I've come to the conclusion that it's time I'm never getting rewarded for spending. The Raptors are destined to be a middling team with more excuses than successes.
I may sound dumb for even mentioning these, since I think that I've watched less than 4 TOR games this year. It seems that Bosh is gone in 2010. Why not explore what you could get for him, and use that as a reload point? You could probably get a decent stash from CHI like Noah and Deng, you could have a relatively decent and young lineup going fwd of: Calderon/Draft SG (Evans? Curry? Holliday)/Deng/Bargnani/Noah with Kapono coming off the bench.
Kapono's worse than the Holocaust. Bryan Colangelo needs to figure out a way to add a player to the team that is better than Bosh without losing Bosh in the process. Bargnani is getting better but his ceiling comes down more each season. Whether or not Marion stays, he isn't enough. Calderon is a good but not great point guard. The team needs an infusion of talent Pau Gasol-style. He missed his chance by wasting O'Neal's contract. I don't know when his next chance will come up.
I like it though. Maybe during the dead months of summer we should make a thread in every teams' forums on how to turn them into a contender. For me, the Raptors need to rebuild, and they have to start by trading Bosh. They aren't going to win a title with the current team, so Since him leaving is pretty much a foregone conclusion, and all the teams with 2010 capspace pretty much rules out a S&T, the Raptors need to get assets for him ASAP. There's no compensatory draft pick in the NBA, so you need to get at least something for him. They should be able to get the next Devin Harris, a youngish (but not rookie) player, preferably on their second contract, waiting to blow up (I like the Luol Deng idea) plus some picks, B level prospects, or dump a bad contract. It's important for them to get a guy on his second contract because he'll be locked up for his prime years, there's no threat of bolting for warmer weather at the end of his rookie deal just as he's reaching his prime. The same with Calderon, who will, if the Raptors are lucky, be coming off a strong Euro 2009 to (re)boost his stock. Trade the pair of them, draft a good prospect in June, and the Raps will have some hope again.
Well the first thing Toronto needs is a dose of Reality. (KP, if you are reading this, you could use one too with our PG situation, since we haven't had a good one since Greg Anthony was here.) 1. Anthony Parker has been their SG for a couple of years now, and they have made no move to replace him even though he shoots below 40% from the field. Ok folks they call this shooting guard for a reason. They don't call it the "Missing Guard". Get a good shooting guard. Even a middle of the road but shoots a high percentage guy would be an upgrade. Mo Peterson was way better than this guy. 2. Center-Bargiani isn't a center. Period. He is a 7' SF. Your other centers are Jake fucking Voshgul, and Patrick Obryant. What a wrecking crew that is. How about you just go find the 2 first 7 footers you can find, anywhere, and sign them to a contract, because they are going to suck so bad you are going to play Bosh out of position anyways. Upgrade those 2 positions, and you are in the playoffs in the east.
For a long time now I've been saying they need to get a shooting guard, and they don't listen to me. Anthony Parker plays like 4 good games a season. 1. Get a center that and defend, rebound and dunk the ball so Bosh can play PF at least 75% of the time. 2. Get a SG that and shoot and drive. 3. SF that is a good defender. Bargnanny can provide scoring off the bench. This is if you absolutely want to keep Bosh. You should trade him now for something good cause he's not staying around in 2010.
