The Genesis: One Ending & A New Beginning

This is the very first entry to The Raptor Core Blog by me, Mark Ramkishun. Some of you might’ve read my stuff as an administrator of the Raptors Fan Club on Facebook that has over 11,000 members right now. I’m sure that’ll climb near 12,000 by the time next season rolls around in October. If you’re on Facebook and not already a member, join now. Anyway, some of you may be wondering where the name “Raptor Core” came from and the truth is, I’m not exactly sure. It just came to me and a thesaurus check online showed me that similar words were focus, root and heart. Now, some of you will probably question the fact that the word heart even belongs in the same sentence as the Raptors, but we’ll probably end up talking about that at some point in the future. The other words are what this blog will be about: focusing on the Raptors team (and other NBA goings-on), as well as getting to the root of the stories.

For this entry, the main topic is the Raptors’ exit interviews with the organization that took place on April 29, 2008. I think the mood was a lot different when these interviews happened in May 2007 following last season. The team had overachieved in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year where simply making the playoffs would be a huge accomplishment. Somehow, the mix of players was perfect and the Raptors managed to win the Atlantic Division Championship, as well as lock up the third seed in the playoffs and with it, home court advantage in the first round. We all know how that ended up; losing Game 1 probably cost the Raptors the series against New Jersey and they never seemed to rebound after those terrible games in the Swamp. However, there was still a feeling of accomplishment and a lot of optimism in the city that this young, unselfish team would move on to even bigger and better things this year. They had a standout rookie, Andrea Bargnani; a two-headed point guard monster that couldn’t be rivaled in the league with T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon; a legitimate perennial All-Star in Chris Bosh; Coach of the Year in Sam Mitchell (some will argue the validity of the award) and of course Bryan Colangelo, the architect and two-time Executive of the Year.

How things have changed.

The point guard controversy between Calderon and Ford is the main topic with hoops fans in Toronto. Chris Bosh was the only Raptor that seemed to show up for every game in their first round series against Orlando this postseason. Jorge Garbajosa missed the entire year. Jason Kapono was ‘underutilized’ by Sam Mitchell, in the words of Colangelo. So where do the Raptors go from here after being knocked out in five games and having their second straight first round exit? Right back to the media for one more conference.. (You can find all of these conferences in their entirety on http://www.nba.com/raptors)

I thought Anthony Parker had one of the more honest and telling media scrums. He talked about the fact the team had high hopes entering this season and didn’t take the next step. What was even more interesting was the fact a veteran seemed to sense all the dissention and different things going on with the squad that didn’t give them the same aura as last year. It’s kind of sad, really. He pointed out the glaring weaknesses of defence and rebounding that we’ve been talking about for years but then he also said the Raptors just plain and simple need to get help for Chris Bosh. Whether that’s a big body down low or a wing player to assist him with the scoring load, CB4 has had to do too much himself this season. AP was a straight-shooter and even though his conference wasn’t one of the longer ones, it’s worth watching. He also touched on the fact next year would be the last year of his contract and he’d like to be back. At $4 million, I don’t think the Raptors would take a big hit by keeping him but if they can package him and give another team salary cap relief in return for a decent player, it’s something BC will look at.

Next, I looked at Jamario Moon’s conference. It was pretty light-hearted and he just talked about the fact he enjoyed being the “underdog” story this season. He said nothing was guaranteed for next season (which is true, contractually, since the team holds an option on his deal) and he would be trying to gain some weight over the summer. He stated a goal of around 215 pounds but I think he’ll change that if he finds that he can’t play the same fast, explosive style he’s been bringing to Toronto all year. I hope to see Apollo 33 back at the ACC next season because he brings athleticism that they sorely needed and his activity on defence helps an otherwise porous team. He was a big reason they were able to win in Game 3 and compete in Game 5.

T.J. Ford took the podium next and anyone that knows me knows I’m a T.J. fan. I have been since he came into the league but nowhere near as much as when Bryan Colangelo traded for him in 2006. I’ve been disappointed with his conduct over the past two months, though. I think the big rule in sports is you should never lose your starting spot due to injury and T.J. had a SERIOUS injury. However, it’s sort of like the Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady situation in New England a few years ago when Brady became arguably the best quarterback in the NFL as a result of Bledsoe’s injury. Jose Calderon became an upper-tier point guard this season in T.J.’s absence and it was understandable that he’d continue to start. Soon, the team realized with T.J. moping on the bench, they wouldn’t get any production out of him so Jose suggested switching roles again. That’s where things really got sour.. we all know T.J. wants to continue starting and he’s always stated he wants to be a big-time point guard in the NBA but with Jose as a free agent and an injury-free one, I think Bryan Colangelo’s words saying he WILL keep Jose no matter what means T.J. might be out the door if he can’t play nice. And if Jose gets a deal similar to T.J.’s, is it financially responsible to lock up more than $16 million at the point guard position when Chris Bosh makes as much as he does and Andrea Bargnani will be due for his extension after next season?

Next up is Jose Calderon. He seemed to be a little upset with all the questions about the controversy but now that the season is officially over, he answered them head-on rather than deflecting attention to the team. We all know Jose realizes he can start in the league and the only thing standing between him and that goal is T.J. As a restricted free agent, he could go out there and get a lot of money from another team and he’d be playing 35-40 minutes per game. In Toronto, unless they find a way to play both guys at the same time, they’re going to have roughly a 24/24 split. BC has already been very clear that he’ll match any offer Jose gets so what does that say for T.J.? If all the parties sit down and T.J. decides that the chance of him coming off the bench is too great and he doesn’t want to do it, HE’LL be the one shipped out in a trade. Jose reacted to T.J.’s statement about seeing himself as a starter in this league by saying, “Well, that’s his opinion and I respect it”. Jose has always expressed a willingness to stay in Toronto because it was his first NBA team and he’s done a lot of growing here but at the same time, he’s at a crossroads in his early career. Financial security is almost guaranteed.. now is he willing to continue to sacrifice in order to win or can be maximize his talents elsewhere? I think we’ll see Calderon back at the ACC next season but I’m not sure it’ll be the same Jose we’ve seen to this point.. more on that in the future.

I watched Chris Bosh’s conference next and he talked for about 21 minutes, touching on a lot of different subjects. I think he seemed to be at peace with the season, realizing it was a disappointment but big things were expected for next season. CB4 talked at length about the fact Andrea Bargnani has to pick up his game and play like the #1 draft pick because other young players in the league are going right at him to prove a point, especially players from his draft year of 2006. I think Bosh voiced his feelings with Sam and BC and made it clear that the team needs to get tougher and built better for the playoffs. When you look at all the great teams in the league, they have a slasher of some kind and a big man that will clean up the glass and demand attention in the paint – Toronto needs to address both of those needs in order to rise back up to the top of the Conference in 2008-2009. Bosh talked about the point guard controversy for a bit but seemed to leave it up to BC.. I think he’d like to see both guys back next year but the reality of the situation is it’s probably not possible or efficient, regardless of how well they played last year. Chris Bosh had one of the best quotes I’ve heard from him in his five seasons in the NBA when asked “What if the Raptors have the same outcome next season?” His reply, “That’s a big if, I don’t live by ‘if’.. that’s a big word to me”. That says a lot about what type of leader Bosh is and there’s only so much one man can do.. changes have to be made to help him out.

Sam Mitchell was up next and I enjoyed his conference a lot. He always seems to lighten up and soften his tone with the media in the final scrum of the year. He was very candid about the fact Andrea Bargnani had a disappointing season but everyone deserved to take some blame for him taking a step back in development. I don’t necessarily feel that way because Andrea got all the opportunities he did last year and flat-out missed open jump shots. That’s unacceptable for a professional athlete – especially one that was lauded for his mental toughness after the Caliper tests BC had done prior to the 2006 Draft. Sam also had some kind words for Jose Calderon and Jamario Moon, two of his favourite guys on the team. I think he was proud of Apollo 33 this year for being the impact player he was on a playoff team, right out of the minor leagues. He got his opportunity and didn’t let it go all season. In my opinion, an underrated storyline is the fact Sam has been Jose’s coach all three seasons in the NBA and I don’t attribute all his growth to Mitchell but that’s definitely a factor and might be something Calderon weighs in free agency. As far as the point guard controversy goes, Sam left that to BC, as you would expect. I legitimately think he likes both players but everyone realizes it may not be realistic to have them both here anymore. The media got Sam talking about some of his contract terms and Mitchell said he wasn’t that insecure that he was worried about all the rumors circulating about his job. For those of you that haven’t heard, Mitchell’s been linked to the New York Knicks because of his connection to Donnie Walsh in their Indiana days. Also, Mike D’Antoni of the Phoenix Suns, has been linked to Toronto for obvious reasons. This was cleared up almost immediately in the final conference…

Bryan Colangelo, the mastermind behind the new Raptors, had the final say. The interesting thing I notice about BC Is he’ll answer a one line question with about four minutes of monologue. He addresses what you asked and then branches off into some different things, explaining more than another General Manager might in his position. Obviously, he was disappointed with the season but he cleared up right away that he felt the rumors about the coaching staff were totally ridiculous considering the primary guys involved were still in the playoffs at the time the whispers started. As of last night, both Sam and D’Antoni are out but BC made it clear that he wasn’t considering a coaching change of any kind this offseason. I think this shows he realizes other than the Kapono underutilization, Sam isn’t totally to blame for the underachieving this year. It was a good point Bryan made about the fact he felt like he had to leave the same team virtually intact from last season because of their success. If too many changes were made, that left him wide open to criticism and while I agree that the main guys needed to stay, I think he’s blowing smoke a bit. If you have glaring needs like defence and rebounding and look at this roster, it’s obvious the chances of internal improvement are low so why would you not bring in help last offseason? Now that the team has failed (by its own standards), he can make the changes necessary to take that next step in Year Three. The main things he’ll try to do are what everyone else said and he just echoed it: Get Chris Bosh help – now. On the point guard controversy, he acknowledged that it’s a major problem but there was a process to go through in order to resolve it. Free agency won’t start until July 1 so there obviously won’t be any trades involving T.J. Ford before then since there would be mild uncertainty about Jose’s future with the team. There is also the fact a lot of discussions need to take place involving BC, Sam, T.J., Jose and their respective agents in order to see what the viable options are entering next season. In my personal opinion, I would try my best to keep T.J. Ford and let him continue starting because there are few point guards in the NBA that you can consider game-changers. Comparing the two players in some senses isn’t logical because they play such contrasting styles. However, if he continues to maintain he wants to start no matter what and can’t handle the situation here, then I think he has to be traded in the summer. Again, I won’t get too in-depth with this until later on. BC said Jorge Garbajosa would not be playing for Spain in the Olympics this summer because of the legal proceedings going on between the Raptors and the Spanish Basketball Federation involving Garbo’s injury and insurance claims. This was obvious. As far as Bargnani, BC didn’t say anything new and exciting. It was the same stuff as everyone else.

Now, I realize this turned out to be more of a review of the conferences than an actual analysis and that was by design. I plan to release a Season Report Card in the next 24 hours or so that will outline every player on the roster, the coaching staff and the general manager. This will be in-depth and multi-dimensional so you won’t want to miss it – it’s not the usual “T.J. sucks”, “Jose is the best!”, “This team is soft” crap you’ll read on message boards. Hopefully this first taste of the Raptor Core will keep you coming back for more. I plan to keep this page updated a few times per week and for the next couple days, probably daily as well. Obviously during the summer, there’s less to talk about. However, I’ll be hard at it until the NBA Playoffs are over. So drop some comments, tips, opinions, anything you want.. until next time..

-Mark R.