Herm Edwards the NFL Head Coach of the Jets at the time told us all that "You Play To Win The Game", which was totally turned upside down last night in Milwaukee. The team that won, the Bucks, had already been eliminated by virtue of the Sixers win over the Nets that concluded before this game ended. Something that both teams in the end were not happy about. As stated that win clinched a playoff spot for Philly and it also didn't help the Raptors who were tied with the Nets in the Lottery Standings. The Raptors did start off this game like a team that wanted to win and they were the ones battling for their playoff lives. This would fade away as the night went on. Demar DeRozan upped his fan base by getting tossed from this game for tossing a ball into the stands after he felt he deserved a call he didn't get. This was to the delight of the folks in Tank Nation who may in fact have plans to build a DeRozan Statue should the Raptors land the first overall pick. Maybe not. In any case at times we have seen a DeRozan this year that has become frustrated and angry over the lack of respect he seems to get from refs on a nightly basis. Demar is a pretty low key individual but when these things happen you see the inner fire that burns inside him. If he ever can embrace that and use it on the basketball court he will be well on his way to being a superstar.
Brandon Jennings a good buddy of DeRozan would lead the scoring charge for the Bucks in this one. He had 25 points but just shot 9 for 23 with 5 assists and 3 steals. In this blog we have speculated at the idea of Jennings and DeRozan being paired up in Toronto. There is no doubt Jennings is by far a better defensive option than Calderon, but there is also no question he is a very different player on the offensive end. Jose Calderon needs to almost be motivated into taking his shot. Brandon Jennings is happy to chuck up shots from the moment the ball is tipped. Still I see it as a realistic option for the Raptors, if they truly believe in DeRozan and want him here for the long haul. These two guys already have a built in chemistry and are close friends of the court. It might just be what both need to get each other to the next level. Jennings has stated after next season that he plans to look to go to a larger market. Toronto is a larger market depending on what is meant by the term.
Colangelo no doubt is going to be exploring every option at his disposal and this one might be a solid one. The problem becomes what exactly do the Raptors have to land a Jennings and what the price would be. It has become common practice in the NBA to unload a guy that says he wants out before it is to late and you get nothing. That said the Bucks are still in the driver's seat and don't have to do anything. They clearly are looking to change direction with the move they made with Golden State trading away former first overall pick Andrew Bogut to the Warriors for Monta Ellis along with some other parts to that trade. There is also talk the Bucks could make a move at both the head coaching position and G.M position, so who is to say if they will be as high on Jennings as the current management was and maybe still is.
That is a story for another day as for the story of this game the Bucks win 92-86 and like the Raptors can plan for the off-season starting Thursday. Jennings and DeRozan could be working out together by next week in L.A. Oh right I said that was a story for another day. It should be noted that James Johnson seems back in the good graces of coach Casey and started and delivered with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists.
Showing posts with label Bryan Colangelo.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bryan Colangelo.. Show all posts
4/20/11
Starting 5 Season Wrap with Ryan Wolstat.
The Dino Nation Blog will be trying to hook up with all of our regular guests and get their thoughts on the Raptors season and uncertain future. Today in the guest chair is Ryan Wolstat from the Toronto Sun. I had got to know Ryan through social media and then have met him a few times in covering games together. I enjoy his work and his honest approach in evaluating things. We look at the future of Bargnani, Triano, Colangelo, Calderon and others. Yes there are a lot of questions to be answered for sure. MLSE has certainly made this situation a lot more cloudy then we might have expected. Heading into an uncertain future in the NBA you have to question the wisdom of that. Hopefully you will find some actual wisdom in this conversation on the future of the Raptors in the short and long term. I always enjoy having are various guest share there opinions with me and thus with you. There is no shortage of opinions on the Raptors future and this franchise that is for sure.
If you do not already follow Ryan on Twitter, I would recommend you do. He can be found @WolstatSun offering solid takes on the Raptors and NBA in addition to his work for The Sun. Also knows his stuff in terms of college hoops as he referenced covering the Final Four this year and was also in Chicago covering the McDonald's All American Game with Myck Kabongo and a couple other Canadian kids in that game as well. In short he is a basketball junkie and knows his stuff.
4/18/11
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.
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.
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