Cloudy Future For B.C and Raptors

The most important question remains unanswered. That is will Bryan be back or not. He says he doesn't no the answer to that but based on all that he had to say it sure seems like he might be done. Maybe I am wrong but I walked away from it feeling far less certain Colangelo would be back than I did going in. He claims the team made a choice around December 30th to play for next season and not for this one. He also claims that the Bosh Trade Exception is likely to die with still just over 9 million on the tap. Remember when I said that Trade Exception was nothing....Well it pretty much was.

What was probably most shocking of all was Bryan's honest and frank assessment of Andrea Bargnani. He said that he did not expect him to improve much on defence end of the floor. He did say that his rebounding should and can improve with effort on his part. He constantly referenced Bargnani as a valuable "asset" to the team. He also did point out Bargnani has established that he can be a 20 point a night scorer in this league. This was by far the most negative Colangelo has been about Bargnani in a public forum. He said that the fact he was his number one pick and he was not willing to consider moving him was not true and pointed to his history back with the Suns as evidence. In fact he said there is no on on this team he would not consider moving.

Speaking of moving he said the Raptors Draft pick still to be determined could also be moved as well. If the Raptors selected based on their record it would be at the 3 spot. He noted this team's need for a true center. He lamented about the deal with Charlotte that never happened that would have brought Tyson Chandler to the Raptors. He also lamented about the whole Chris Bosh situation. He claimed that their was not the offers there people might have thought and that Bosh had always given them positive signs about his returning to the Raptors. He also said that the team had chances to make trades that could have made them a playoff team this season. But felt that it was more important to keep the flexibility the team had established instead.

He talked about the young core the team has established and feels that fans have embraced this direction the team has taken. He would not go into details on when he felt this group would be ready to compete for a playoff spot. He spoke of the personal sacrifices both he and Jay Triano have made in going in this direction. Doing what was best for the franchise and not themselves.

He gave the impression that "if" he was back it is almost certain that Jay would return as well. He said if he would not he would recommend that Jay remain in his position moving forward. He said that until his future was decided that there could not be a decision made on Jay's Future.

Bryan did a lot of defending and spinning and you got the impression that his future might be in serious jeopardy. Although he insists that it is his intention to remain and finish what he started if that is the choice the Organization makes in terms of him. He was the same Colangelo that appears confident and has a game plan. That being said it is hard to keep buying into it when his track record at least here in Toronto has had a steady decline. While he can offer a lot of reason or excuses as to why the fact remains this team has headed in the wrong direction in terms of wins and loses.

The MLSE Board needs to make a choice and get this over with in terms of Colangelo and Triano. Regardless of the choice they make, the fact that none has been made is the more concerning than either option they could take. Colangelo would not discuss the lockout in any great detail. But he admits that will be a factor in everything as well. He claims the Raptors have several scenarios in place to deal with a new CBA once it is established.

So if you were looking for answers in this press conference there really was not any. More questions and reason to speculate on the future of the Raptors. But if B.C comes back he clearly has yet another plan to try and clean up his own mess.