Raptors History Could Have Included Steve Nash

So it is an off day and nothing is really going on. To be honest I wasn't even going to bother writing anything today. I was watching Prime Time Sports on the Fan 590 and heard something pretty mind blowing. John Shannon who is known as hockey guy from the most part. However, he did use to run both Raptors TV and Leafs TV when they started. The topic of Steve Nash came up and he drops a bombshell that Glen Grunwald was offered and turned down this trade in summer of 2001:

To Dallas:
Vince Carter
Antonio Davis

To Toronto:
Steve Nash
Dirk Nowitzki

Now it is important to put this in context. This offer was made the Summer after the Raptors most successful season in their history. It was when Vince Carter was a three point shot in Philadelphia from sending the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals. He was also thought of as one of the best players in the game. In arguments with Kobe Bryant as who was the best player in the game. The leading vote getter for All-Star Weekend. Basically at the very peak of Vinsanity.

Steve Nash had not won a MVP award let alone two. Dirk was considered a good player but not a great player at that time. So if the Raptors had made this trade a lot of folks might have lost their minds from a basketball perspective. Vince Carter would have been the best player in that trade and it would not have been close. You could argue Antonio might have even been even with Dirk or not that far below.

Now we all know what happens after that. Which is what makes this story seem so horrible. Nash went on to win two MVP's, Dirk even has won one. Vince Carter never has won one. His career took a dramatic turn in the other direction before eventually being part of one of the worst trades in Raptor history. This was before Antonio wanted his kids to not learn the wonders of metric. He was to busy counting the cash he would get that summer, as did Jerome Williams, Alvin Williams and Vince Carter would sign his extension.

You have to wonder how different the entire sport of basketball could have been had that trade happened. There is no guarantee that Nash would have done all that he did. He would have had a large microscope of media attention unlike he had ever seen in his career. Same would be true for Dirk. Still the idea of Nash being here with his whole career still in front of him is a lot more appealing than watching Jaamal Magloire try to hang on to what is left of his NBA Career.

So feel free to hate Glen Grunwald for screwing up the Raptors long before Rob Babcock even had the job. Still if you are honest about it for Grunwald to have made that trade would have took some serious balls on his part. It also would have looked like a win for Dallas at the time. We have 11 years of history that tells us it wouldn't have been the case. The thought of trading Vince at the time would have been insane. After all this was the franchise that fully endorsed and allowed him to attend his graduation in North Carolina the morning of the biggest game in franchise history. It was not like they were going to trade him for almost anyone in the league short of maybe Kobe Bryant or Shaq.

So there is a moment in Raptor History that never was. It is also a moment that could have changed this franchise forever. Basketball in this country might be totally different from how it is today. Sadly will never know what might have happened. If Steve Nash was to come now and finish his career in Toronto at some point it would not have the same impact as this potential trade could have had. Back to the rebuilding project tomorrow and reality.

DNB Lockout Journal- Short Season

The NFL finally got a deal done yesterday and will not miss a game of the regular season. If you ask most NBA experts for that to happen with the NBA Lockout it will take a minor miracle. As I had said if that schedule that was released is actually used I would be stunned. So what that means is in a best case we are looking at a shortened schedule. Back in 1999 the Raptors would play a 50 game schedule and went 23-27 under Butch Carter. The Schedule did not start till February 5th and the Raptors would get off to a very slow start. Starting 5-10 in the first month of that season. In the end that bad start would cost the Raptors from making the post season for the first time.

That season was the introduction to Vince Carter. He exploded on the scene from the opening game a win over Boston and set the NBA on fire going on to win the rookie of the year. It was the start of perhaps the most successful era in the history of this franchise. The next season the Raptors would make the playoffs.

While there are some similarities to where the Raptors were heading into that season and where they are now it is not exactly the same. Raptors came off a dreadful 16-66 season prompting then G.M Glen Grunwald to take to the court and promise fans that things would be better. Bryan Colangelo did not take to the floor after the Raptors closed the season against the Miami Heat. But he would promise brighter days and changes after the season ended should he return. Some of those changes have already happened. Jay Triano was shown the door. Dwane Casey enters promising a new culture that will be based on defensive end of the floor. Butch Carter had come in during that terrible 16-66 season. He would have to bring change with no real training camp of significance thanks to the labour situation. Casey will likely face a similar situation.

The Raptors draft pick this season will not have the impact of Vince Carter. In fact he won't have the impact of Hoffa. No I am not saying that Jonas Valanciunas is going to be a bust. But he will not be here for whatever length season the Raptors will play next year. If they do. Also if people remember how that 1999 season worked it will allow for very little practice time for Dwane Casey to transform the team that ranked dead last in defence the last two seasons.

The Raptors do have some youthful pieces that should be able to endure what will be a crazy schedule in terms of the lack of days off it would have. But that alone would probably not be enough to turn this team into a playoff team. This Raptor team also with a new coaching staff and likely some new players to come will not exactly have much in terms of chemistry. So it all points to a team that would get off to a slow start. After a win over Boston to start that shorten season the Raptors went on to lose their next 6 games. A slow start is death in a short season.

A Short season may in fact but the Raptors in a worse situation than they would be under normal circumstances. But the good news is if the Raptors were to fail in a short season the rewards in this potential draft class are far greater for the Raptors to come back and be competitive in the next full season of the NBA. This all assuming we have a season at all. That in no guarantee at this point. It would also draw the question of how the NBA would dictate the draft order in a year that many say could be the best since 2003. The NHL in that circumstance literally had a lottery for all the teams and the Pittsburgh Penguins were the bigger winners getting to draft Crosby. The NBA and a lottery? Oh wait that doesn't sound good does it. Not in a league where the lottery results many are convinced are a shame.

So shorter is not likely better for the Raptors. But long or short, basketball and Raptors fans want to be able to say what NFL Fans got to say yesterday. That our sport is back. But the time to say those words is a long long way from happening.

Rock Bottom

No this is not another promo for Raptor Mania. This is a post about the Raptors season and where this season fits in terms it's overall suckage. After the Raptors latest loss they sit 17-47 and that regardless or how the rest of season plays out avoids the worst record in franchise history. That happened in the Raptors 3rd season where they were 16-66. It was so bad that G.M at the time Glen Grunwald took to the floor and promised fans that things were going to get better. It had became a strange Raptor tradition over the years when he was G.M. Ironically the next year would be a labour stoppage shorten year and the Raptors did indeed get better and went 23-27. That was also the first season that Vince Carter arrived in Toronto. Some how I don't see Bryan Colangelo addressing the fans after the Miami Heat play the Raptors in the final game. But let's see where this Raptor team fits in currently in terms of the worst of all time.

• 97-98 Raptors 16-66 (Winning Percentage .195)
• 95-96 Raptors 21-61 (Winning Percentage . 256)
• 10-11 Raptors 17-47 (Winning Percentage . 266)
• 02-03 Raptors 24-58 (Winning Percentage .293)
• 05-06 Raptors 27-55 (Winning Percentage . 329)

With now 18 games remaining it is hard imagining the Raptors winning 11 games. So at the end of the day they will finish anywhere from the 2nd worst record all time to the 5th. This team in it's 2nd season in the league did better than this current collection of Raptors. That is pretty sad isn't it. People do not want to blame Jay Triano and they use the roster as the excuse. The Raptor did give Sam Mitchell that out as well actually. Mitchell in his first season was 33-49 in comparison Triano was 25-40 in his first year replacing Mitchell in season. In year 3 after matching 33 wins in year 2 Mitchell fell to 27-55. So in reality there is not much difference when you compare the two.

Mitchell (Through 3 Years) 93-153 Winning Percentage .378

Triano (As of Today in Year 3) 82- 129 Winning Percentage .388

That is pretty close over the last 18 games you would expect Triano to fall maybe a little but it is almost a dead heat. Think back to after year three with Sam Mitchell were people not calling for his head? Pretty sure they were. But year four for Sam Mitchell would be the first full year with Bryan Colangelo as G.M and it was a magically year for Mitchell. He would get 47 wins and be named The Coach of the Year. Does anyone think Jay Triano is going to do that? No sorry I don't think so. However for those that make the argument that Jay has been kept around based on his passport alone this suggests their is not a lot of truth to that.

Going back to that worst ever season. Raptors had 24 players roll through Toronto that season. That sounds familiar doesn't it? Just for fun some names from that squad included Oliver Miller, Shawn Respert, Popeye Jones,Reggie Slater, Walt Williams, Gary Trent. Hardcore and older Raptor fans will remember those names. It also had future All-Star Chancey Billups and was rookie year for Tracy McGrady. But who remembers Tim Kempton, how about Ed Stokes? We even had Roy Rodgers. Not the guy from the old cowboys movies. I wonder how many of these Raptors we will remember in 10 or 15 years? Trey Johnson, Sundiata Gaines and Solomon Alabi will anyone remember them?

To be honest there is not a lot about this season anyone is going to want to remember. It might be looked back on as the year Demar DeRozan started the path to stardom. But honestly if we could all hit the fast forward button and erase it from our memories think that would be fine for most. Can Colangelo do what Grunwald was able to do after that worst season? That is going to be tough because I don't see a Vince Carter in this draft class. He was the biggest part of Grunwald's turnaround. The Raptors are in a very similar situation though with a terrible season that is expected to be followed by a labour stoppage shorten season. A whole new CBA and playbook to deal with. I have said all along that Colangelo has targeted the time after the new CBA is done as the point the Raptors start to do the heavy lifting in this turnaround in life after Bosh. The injures which continued last night as Reggie Evans returned and ironically checked in for an injured Amir Johnson. That was not something Colangelo banked on. He hoped this team could just get through this season and be bad but not nearly THIS BAD!!!

But you can spin this however you like this is one of the worst seasons in Franchise History. If you think the fanbase was upset with Glen Grunwald after that 16 win season, it is nothing in comparison to how they feel now. Sixteen years is a long time and the Raptors are almost back to square one where they started. That for anyone that has followed this team from when it started is a tough pill to swallow. MLSE has some serious work to do if they hope to keep this fan base engaged and interested moving forward. They must make steps to improve and do it fairly quickly.

This was not a very happy post. In the hopes of cheering you up slightly check out my appearance on Raps Talk podcast with the Hip Hoop Junkies. I rap in it. No really I do. So if that doesn't hook you the interview after it is really solid. Jay Satur who has been a guest here in the Dino Nation Blog's Starting 5 is also a guest on this podcast as well. So go check it out here.

Raptors In A Free Fall

So when this trip got started many folks said that this team needed to go 3-3 or 4-2. So after a loss in Texas to the Spurs that would mean the Raptors need to win 3 of 4 at least. Let's take a look shall we.

• @ Clippers (8-19 and 3-10 @ Home)
• @ Kings (7-21 and 5-7 @ Home)
• @ Trailblazers ( 17-10 and 9-2 @ Home)
• @ Warriors ( 8-20 and 4-9 @ Home )

If this Raptor team was playing well this would be an easy 3 out of 4. However this team is in a free fall losing 5 straight. A lot of Raptors fans are trying to remember a worse point for this franchise that they can recall? I am not sure it was worse but the season this is starting to remind me of is the one that saw hope reach record levels. Vince Carter had re-signed and so had Antonio Davis, Alvin Williams and JYD. Not to mention the cherry on top Hakeem "The Dream" had signed to close out his career in Toronto. Glen Grunwald was thought to be a genius and was widely regarded as having one of the best off seasons of any G.M in the league. I even remember David Stern himself saying what a wonderful job had been done here in Toronto. The Raptors were declared to be pre-season contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Now we all know how that turned out. The Dream was a bust. The Raptors over paid for Davis and the two Williams. Vince Carter would get injured and start the path to going from hero to zero in Toronto. The Raptors were declared for dead. It would take an amazing late season push with Vince Carter injured for this team to sneak in the playoffs. As the 7th seed they would push the Pistons to the (at the time) 5 games series limit in the first round. However the damage that had been done in that off-season would be long lasting.

For all the beating that Bryan Colangelo is taking let's at least give him credit, for the fact that he is not invested in anyone long term beyond Jose Calderon at this point. He has given the Raptors a chance to be players in 2010. The question becomes home much of that is he willing to give away to save this team from a short term disaster. I don't know this for a fact and I highly doubt Bryan Colangelo would admit this in any way. However my thought was always that he made the Jermaine O'Neal trade to be in the 2010 game. He may have truly thought that Jermaine could help this team and keep them in the playoffs. But he would have to count on finding a lot of talent at a discount rate. That part of the plan has not worked out. Moon, Adams Solomon and a second round guy with upside and raw talent in Nathan Jawai. Still the bottom line goal was to create cap room in 2010. If the Raptors could just manage to make the playoffs and perhaps win a round things would be on course for Colangelo. He could have fired Sam Mitchell if the team did not have playoff success this year and brought in a coach for 2009 to get the team prepared for 2010. It all seems very logical and it had a chance of working.

The things he was not counting on was that Jose Calderon would not play to a level that he would expect. He really could not hold on to T.J Ford and let Calderon walk or do a sign and trade that would not bring back the value people would want. Ford was to high of an injury risk to make him the winner of the point guard battle. I think if that was not the case that the Ford and Calderon choice would have been a much tougher one to make.

The other thing he was not counting on is his star player being at odds with the fan base and frustrated. I never thought I would be reading people seriously talking about trading Chris Bosh at this point in the season. But that is what I am seeing and hearing. It really makes no sense to trade Bosh now. He will come out of this and be the guy fans chanted M.V.P for again. Besides even though 2010 seems like it is only weeks away it isn't. The short term out look for the Raptors is not good. But the long term outlook can be fine. The only thing that might screw that up is if all of this hostility between Bosh and the fans and media grows. The comparisons to Damon, T-Mac and Vince are not fair. Bosh has done nothing to convince me he has not been committed to working hard and making things work in Toronto. He is no doubt going through a tough time at the moment. But I think he has the character to come out of it on the other side a better player and person for it. The only question is will people give him reason to walk away in 2010. Bosh said that fans are important and play a role. If that is true I think they can at least play a minor to major role in where Bosh ends up in 2010. Unless you can find me some proof that Bosh is behind the rumours that see him going to places like New York in 2010, I am not going to blame him for them. Bosh has said a lot of things lately but the one that sticks out the most for me is when he said that if fans are upset how do you think he feels? This is a kid that when Vince Carter was here laughing and joking after a loss. Chris Bosh was in tears because he wanted to win that much. Remember that the next time you want to talk trash about CB4. He cares and I never question that.

Last Night With Spurs

I think no one expected the Raptors to win that game and they did not. They did show a lot of effort and fight despite a humiliating loss the night before. But the Spurs exposed the Raptors perimeter defense in a major way. Tony Parker did much of the same to Jose Calderon. The one thing that I took away from that basketball game was about a former Raptor. Matt Bonner really has come a long way in his time with the Spurs. In the starting line-up and making key baskets. I am very happy for Matt Bonner. I still can not get use to the fact he has an NBA Championship ring. It seems wrong in some ways that he does and great players like a Barkley or Ewing do not. But that is not Matt Bonner's fault. He is becoming a pretty quality player in the NBA. I hope he gets to become a pretty quality player for Team Canada as well. Matt still comes back to Toronto and has a home. He married a girl from Toronto this past summer. I will always enjoy Matt Bonner he may never be an all-star or a huge talent in this league but he is a good person. However after last night I venture to say he is becoming a better player than a lot of people would have thought in his time in Toronto.

There was also Roger Mason Jr. He on the other hand I just can not stand. He always seems to get up for the Raptors and seems to be fired up about it. I seriously don't understand what the Raptors did to him? I mean players come and players go. What did we do Roger Mason Jr? I mean if we were wrong I am willing to admit it. But it is hard to say sorry for something that you do not know what it is. Although I am not married and I am sure many married men can explain to me how you can be sorry for something and not know what it was. Anyway whatever it is Roger Mason Jr. has been a Raptor Killer no matter the uniform he is rocking.

Christmas Is Coming Thank God

The best news of all is just one more game prior to the Christmas break. I think players and everyone connected to this team will be happy for that (even bloggers). So it is the Clippers on Monday on the TSN that we all can get. What a concept a game on T.V that everyone can watch. I may be forced to get NBA League Pass to watch my home team. How crazy is that. I think I will send a copy of the bill to Rogers, TSN and the Raptors. They can all pitch in and pay it for me. I expect that would take a month just for them to agree on who should pay and how much. They could do that or they could ignore my request for payment just like they have ignored the fans left out in the cold by this mess. Anyway that is not very Christmas spirit like. I hope despite all the Raptors troubles people are enjoying this holiday season. I had spoke with one reader who had been at a Christmas Party and missed the Oklahoma City game. We both typed in the same word...Lucky. Raptors could use some luck or anything that equals a W and not an L. Please Santa Just one early gift I have been really good this year. The Clippers have no fans anyway we need a win more.

Correction: Seems I was mistaken. The game is on TSN2. I was watching TSN this morning and they had done a promo for the game saying it was on TSN. That was the reason for the mistake. I should have realized being Monday they have the contract for Monday Night Football. I guess we are all allowed a turnover ever now and then. Sorry for that. Santa is going to have to bring me league pass that is all there is to it.