Calderon Has A Right To Be Upset

I may be the last person on earth you would expect to write what you are about to read. It is no secret to any long time readers of this blog or followers on twitter that I don't care much for Jose Calderon. Mostly for basketball reasons and some personal ones as well. So it may come as shock to people that I actually think he has a right to be ticked off at the Raptors. Something that Bryan Colangelo suggested he might be in his comments yesterday to the media and in our story here on the DNB. Bryan Colangelo can massage the situation all he likes, but it has been clear for awhile the Raptors would not miss Jose Calderon if they found a trade they liked. In fact they already did with the Charlotte Bobcats only to have Jordan kill the trade at the last possible moment.

Now Calderon watches from Spain as his team goes all in to try and acquire Steve Nash to replace him. After that they still make a trade for Kyle Lowry who Colangelo called the future of the position for the Toronto Raptors. He may well even be the present as Colangelo said that ultimately Dwane Casey will decide on who will be the starting point guard. It doesn't take Jose needing to be a rocket scientist to understand that is not going to be him. Casey is a defensive minded coach and to compare Calderon's play on that end of the floor to Lowry is a complete mis-match in favour of Kyle Lowry.

So if you are in Jose Calderon's shoes why would you not want to be out of Toronto at this point? Sure Jose will come back if he has to in order to collect the 10.5 Million in salary that he is due to earn this season. He would be a complete fool not to do so. Still it has been made painfully clear by this organization by their actions that they want no part of him. They talk about what a great guy Jose is and try to sing his praises but at the end of the day the Raptors have found a new relationship that excites them more. Calderon is yesterday's news to a large degree.

Fans were on this bandwagon long before the Raptors were. I remember when I started to hammer Jose in this blog how much negative feedback I got. Over time I wrote the same type of things and now it is applauded and praised by the majority. If you think Jose is going to be this team guy all season and play ball with this whole thing, I think you are fooling yourself. Calderon is always labeled as this team first guy that will do whatever it takes for the team to win. I have never bought that and saw it more as a tactic he used to ultimately be the Raptors choice when he became a free agent and directly or indirectly forced T.J Ford out of town. Now the shoe is on the other foot so to speak with the Raptors basically showing him the door.

While part of me sees this as karma and takes great glee and satisfaction in that. Despite my strong desire to see Calderon gone once and for all. I still think he has every right in the world to be frustrated with the Raptors. It may never see the light of day, but it would not surprise me if Calderon is the one demanding to be traded once and for all. It will never be a public thing because that would dismantle this image Calderon has build in his time in Toronto. Dwight Howard has less reasons to want out of Orlando than Calderon has to want out of here.

It has gotten to the point for all parties that the time has come to end this. If this season starts with Calderon here it is only going to lead to problems. You can say it is a business and Jose gets it. You can say he is a team guy and will do the right thing. I will say to you that Jose Calderon will be playing a heck of a lot harder in his Spain uniform than he ever will in a Raptor one again. Not that he will tank his way out of Toronto like Vince Carter. It is just human nature at some point to be fed up with a situation and I would say Calderon rightful so is at that point.

I won't miss him at all but I do understand why he would want to leave sooner rather than later. At the end of the day be you a Calderon fan, or on board with me in not standing him, it really seems like the right thing to do for everyone at this point. Jose could get a chance to play in a fresh environment that is far less toxic than one he is in now. The Raptors get to hand the team over to Kyle Lowry as they clearly want to do. The problem becomes with Bayless no longer around the Raptors would need to come up with one or two point guards to play behind Lowry.

It also makes sense to do this now because if Calderon were to get injured in London the Raptors are than in a real jam with no real way out of it. It is not like Raptor fans have not seen him get hurt before playing for Spain and with no Ricky Rubio with him the chances he plays heavier minutes is high. So the Raptors should come up with something to put everyone out of their misery. Calderon's career with the Raptors will always be a mixed bag with some that will point out at the team's overall lack of success with him at the point guard. While others will rave about the stats he has compiled in his time here. Whatever the case it is just unfair to have him remain at this point. He might have been able to understand a Steve Nash move by the Raptors but a Kyle Lowry move is a clear sign to Jose that Raptors are moving on and looking to start a new era at his position.