Decmeber 17th, 2004. A sad day in the history of the Toronto Raptors, the day we parted ways with the best thing to ever happen to this city in a long time; The franchise's best player and without a doubt, a symbol of Toronto Basketball. Although it became obvious that Vince's time in T-Dot has come to its final ticks, Vinsanity will always be alive in our hearts, and he'll be looked at wherever he is, as a Raptor. Now, we're in the middle of the season, and the Raps are not doing as well as expected after a 3-0 start, most of the L's came as a result of not doing the little things, such as an offensive rebound at the end of the game, a hustle play, a turnover, or lack of experience. Some of these have been addresed in the trade. Here's a detailed breakdown of the trade from both a Toronto and a New Jersey perspective. The Toronto Raptors: <div align="center"><font size="3"><font color="Navy"><font face="Arial Black">The End of an Era, and The Start of Another</font></font></font> " target="_blank">http://www.nba.com/media/raptors/split_041217.jpg"></a></div> Most of us (Fans, writers, ..etc) knew very well that Vince's value is at a career low at this present time. Averaging career low in basicly every catagory, his settlement for fade away jump shots rather than driving the lane and going back to his high flying act that earned him the name Half-Man Half-Amazing, Babcock was put in a very tough position to trade his best player, who more often than not appeared to be no better than a bench player, and obviously Vince's public demand didn't help Rob's case. Raptor fans and everyone associated with the orgnization knew that in trading Vince, Babcock has got to end up with one of the following: 1) Another All-Star, who will come in and contribute immediatley in Vince's spot. 2) Big men. The Raps were outrebounded in 20 out of 25 games this season, some of which the opposition got more than 60 rebounds. It was necassirly that any trade that Babcock makes has to address to this issue. 3) Future. If the orgnization is rebuilding, 1st Rd. draft picks are very important in any exchange for Carter. Not only does it give us security for the future, but it provides the orgnization with flexibility in engineering another trade. Babcock filled two of those needs. Here's a look at what the Raptors came up with in the franchise's biggest move its ten years tenure: <div align="center"><font color="Blue">Eric Williams</font> Position: Combo Forward Born: 07/17/72 Height: 6-8 / 2,03 Weight: 220 lbs. / 99,8 kg. College: Providence '95 Career Stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, 41.7 FG%, 73.7 FT%. Teams Played For: Boston, Denver, Cleveland, and New Jersey. Qualities: Leadership, Consistent Shooter, has a decent post up game.</div> <div align="center"><font color="Blue">Alonzo Mourning</font> Position: C Born: 02/08/70 Height: 6-10 / 2,08 Weight: 261 lbs. / 118,4 kg. College: Georgetown '92 Career Stats: 19.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 52.3 FG%, 70.5 FT%, 2.96 BPG.</div> <div align="center"><font color="Blue">Aaron Williams </font> Position: C-F Born: 10/02/71 Height: 6-9 / 2,06 Weight: 235 lbs. / 106,6 kg. College: Xavier (Ohio) '93 Career Stats: 6.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 49.1 FG%, 73.9 FT%, 0.84 BPG. Team Played For: Utah, Miluakee, Denver, Vancouver, Seatle, Washington, New Jersey. Qualitites: Extremley Athletic, has no Ego, Very Underrated offensive rebounder/shot blocker.</div> <div align="center"><font color="Blue">2 First Round Picks</font></div> Philladelphia's Pick: Toronto receives the 2005 first-round pick originally belonging to Philadelphia. The pick is protected in the drafts first eight positions in 2005, first five positions in 2006 and is unprotected in 2007. Denver's Pick: Toronto also receives the 2006 first-round pick originally belonging to Denver. That pick is protected in the first five positions in 2006, first two positions in 2007 and is unprotected in 2008. <font color="Red">The Positives:</font> - Toronto adds toughness and upgrades the frontcourt big time. Aaron and Zo' (If he actually plays) are tenacious on the glass, and if they come in with the right attitude, expect the Raptors to be a completely different team toughness and rebounding wise. - Eric Williams adds another dimension to the team. Although he's still under the shock of being traded away from his home town, as a follower of Eric since his days at Providence, I'm quite sure he'll come along and buy in in Sam Mitchell's sytem. - It's a great combination to have around Chris Bosh while he's devoloping, considering that all three players are great characters. <font color="Red">The Negatives: </font> - Might not seem that the Raptors are losing alot since VC has been producing consistently during the season, but whenever you lose a player like Vince who at any given night could go out and drop 30, you are taking a risk. - If another trade does not go down, we will have Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, Aaron Williams, Donyell Marhsall, Rafael Arojo, Pape Sow, Matt Bonner and Loren Woods fighting for two positions. Considering that three of those 8 are rookies, it could very well affect their development negativley. - If Zo' stays, the combination of his unstable health and hefty contract reminds us of the not-so-bright days of Hakeem Olajwan as a Raptor. The New Jersey Nets Perspective: <div align="center"><font face="Arial Black"><font color="Navy"><font size="3">Let The Vinsanity Begin!</font></font></font> </div> The first time I heared the trade when the rumour broke out, I brought a shock to my friends who were with me, I yelled: "What the hell is Thorn doing?" .. The shock came from the fact that I didn't actually care about the Nets, but the fact that they gave up two first rounders and 3 of their rotation front court guys made me wondered. You don't resign Kenyon Martin, who's an up and coming star in this league for sure if he isn't already, who gave the Nets a post up option downlow in addition to his rebounding and blocking ability, and was a great complement to Kidd and RJ, despite him demanding the max contract, rather you trade him to Denver for 3 First Rd. picks. And 3 months later, you trade 2 of those draft picks along with 3 front court players for ANOTHER max player who is playing no where near his capabilities and he plays the same position as an immerging star in Richard Jefferson so is starting to gain that edge and becoming a go-to guy. There is no doubt in my mind that Vince's arrival will hurt RJ's productivity. Lawrence frank better be ready to change his playing style, because you won't get the best out of thsi trio with their current half court offence. <div align="center"><font color="blue">Vince Carter</font> Position: G-F Born: 01/26/77 Height: 6-6 / 1,98 Weight: 220 lbs. / 99,8 kg. College: North Carolina '99 Career Stats: 23.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.9 APG, 44.6 FG%, 78.3 FT%, 1.33 APG. Teams Played For: Toronto. Qualities: Good Shooter, Underrated Shot Blocker, Underrated Passer, One of, if not the, most Athletic players in the league. </div> <font color="Red">The Positives: </font> - Vince Carter will attract people to Continental Airlines Arena, and fill up the seats that two trips to NBA Finals couldn't fill. - If the change of scnerey is all it takes to get Vince back to his old self, the Nets will have good days with Vince and Kidd at the backcourt. <font color="Red">The Negatives: </font> - Vince's arrival will hurt RJ's production. - Throughtout his career, with the exception of one season, Vince has struggled to play a full season, and his injuries have affected his will to drive the lane and jump over people as he used to. If this trend continues, Mr.Thorn is in big trouble. ........ We don't have the right o judge Rob Babcock if he made the right deal or not right away. The 2 First Rounders could very well turn to a two promising prospects that we can buuild with, or use the picks to engineer a trade that will send us sold player(s). The is that we have to wait for maybe 3 years before we could say Rob made the right deal or not. From the Nets' side of things, there is no waiting period. Vince is a 27 year old underachiever and he has to produce for the Nets and play hard all the time, otherwise, we're witnessing Penny Hardaway Part II. Before last year, I never thought I'd see the day where I turn on the TV and see the divorce between the orgnization and it's embassador. With his injury plagued seasons to his trade demand, there was a lot of negativity surrounding the relationship between VC and Toronto, although he's gone now and probably will never return, he has still done a lot of great things to this city and this orgnization. He was the Toronto Raptors. He was the one who earned this team and this city the respect around the league. Although he's gone, #15 will always be a Raptor in our eyes. Thank you Vince.
Excellent In-Depth Analysis. I don't have enough time to respond but, I just wanted to compliment your work
