I Fear The Raptors Future

Well the TSN 2 mess has come to an end for all of the Rogers subscribers out there. Sadly it was a Blue Jays and Red Soxs series that ends up being the tipping point to make a deal happen. Basketball fans being vexed all year did nothing to solve the issue. However the streaking Blue Jays first big series of the year against the Red Soxs. It does not speak well for things as far as basketball goes. It is also why if a second NHL team ends up in Southern Ontario it would be a terrible blow to the Raptors as well. The amount of coverage of the Raptors becomes an issue. It also becomes an issue of drawing fans. How many casual basketball fans will be more likely to go see a second NHL team than the Raptors? I am thinking quite a few. Basketball has established a hardcore fan base and will be able to maintain that even with another NHL team in the mix. But all of this TSN 2 mess and the fact there seems to be a desire to have a second team in the NHL here be it sooner or later are things to be concerned about. That is not even talking about the future of the team itself which is not exactly bright.

Jay Triano being hired as the coach is not a move for me that inspires confidence for the future as well. Given the record of Triano you would have to consider it a risk to bring him back. People talk about the fact that Triano never had a training camp and that he was in a difficult spot. Those are true but that being said no one can say for certain what Triano will be as a head coach. There is no real track record to look back on for Triano. He did do a great job with the National Team in Canada and is the last coach to get them to the Olympics. Steve Nash being on his roster was a major help in that. He has been with the organization for 7 years as an assistant but that is a very different role than being the head coach. I have no confidence to say that Triano will be successful or not. In the end I am left fearful that this was a mistake.

You than look to Chris Bosh and his future. When you read and listen to the U.S media it is not a question of if Chris Bosh will leave it is a question of when Chris Bosh will leave. The list of reports is growing by the day and many feel that Bosh in fact will be traded this offseason. It is clear that Bosh is the best player on this Raptor roster by a wide margin. I can not get excited about a future that does not include Chris Bosh. For as much as people wanted to get Vince Carter out of town, it took a long time for this team to get back on track without him. To be honest the Raptors never really have replaced Vince Carter since that trade. There was lots of talk about the wing spots this year. Vince really has never has a player replace him in the Raptor line-up. There is no question that if Colangelo deals Bosh he will make a better deal than Rob Babcock did for Carter. But it will be hard to imagine this team being made better without Bosh for me.

I was reading that Jose Calderon wants to play for Spain again. Where are the stories about him being selfish by doing this. I mean we here all of these things about Jose and being a team guy and all of this. Well which team Spain or Toronto? I mean it does the Raptors no good at all to have Jose Calderon playing for Spain. I am tired of all the praise of Calderon without people being equal about it. If he does in fact suit up for Spain than he is making a move that is not in the best interest of the Raptors. This guy is getting paid a ton of bucks to be the starting point guard of the Toronto Raptors. In that job he did not exactly perform that well last year. He was injured for large parts of the year. He did not take care of his body in the right way. In playing to much he made his body weak. It is the same to me as if a guy came into camp 20 pounds over weight. When you are getting paid money to play in the NBA you owe it to your team to have your body in great shape to do that. Jose Calderon and his inability to say no to Spain is not allowing him to do that. If he ever wants to be the NBA ALL-STAR that everyone hypes him to be, he needs to focus on the job he gets paid for.

I have no confidence that Shawn Marion will be back and what you would get in a sign and trade is not likely going to be that good you would think. Marion no doubt is going to take a pay cut this year. So it only makes sense the a guy entering his 30's if he is going to take a major hit in his pocket book why would you not take a little less and go to a contender for a title. The Raptors are not that. In fact if Chris Bosh is heading out the door the Raptors may be far from contenders.

There is just nothing going on with the Raptors that gives me any confidence that they can be a better team next season. Bryan Colangelo has a ton of work to do to make me a believer. In fact to be honest I am not really even liking this team that much these days. I was a huge T.J Ford fan and last summer he was shipped out of town. This summer if Chris Bosh ends up going away as well it will leave me with a team that really does not have any players that I feel that strongly about. There is always the draft and perhaps there is a guy out there that Raptors will select that will get me excited. The Raptors will learn their fate as far as the draft goes tomorrow. You can come hang out at the Dino Nation Blog an hour before the draft lotto gets rolling at 8:30. So 7:30 come hang out and take part in the draft lottery live blog. You can watch the Draft Lottery on The Score at 8:30 and follow along with us. I moved back the time from 7:00 but we still have an hour to kick around the Raptors and the playoffs.




So hope to see you there tomorrow night for some fun and we can all find out where the Raptors and all of the rest of the non-playoff teams will be picking in the draft.