Toronto President Bryan Colangelo ran off to scout in Spain this weekend, insisting that Sam Mitchell will coach the Raptors next season.
Mitchell has been mentioned as a candidate for the Knicks’ coaching job because of his ties to team president Donnie Walsh.
“I finished my meetings with our players and I met with Sam and we both left the meeting under the impression that he will be coaching here next season,” Colangelo said Friday before flying off to attend the European Final Four in Madrid. “And I can tell you that Donnie has not called me about Sam. I have not talked to Donnie Walsh.”
If D’Antoni becomes available, he could wind up in Toronto working for Colangelo, his former boss in Phoenix. That reunion has long been rumored, although Colangelo continues to deny interest in D’Antoni, who would also be pursued by Dallas. The Mavs feel they need to open up their offense with Jason Kidd and believe that D’Antoni, despite his shortcomings as a defensive coach, is the best option for accomplishing that.
If Toronto beats Dallas to the punch for D’Antoni, that would allow Walsh to pursue Mitchell knowing that he won’t need to give up any compensation. Walsh apparently still has Mark Jackson as his top pick to succeed Isiah Thomas.
For the third year in a row, Chris Bosh failed to play in more than 70 regular season games. While he needs to address durability concerns to take the next step into full-fledged NBA superstardom, there’s no doubting his worth in a short series. His number went up virtually across the board as he averaged 24 points, nine boards and almost four assists a game. But he needs help: he averaged more than twice as many points as any other starter.
They must re-sign restricted free agent Jose Calderon while gauging the value of fellow point guard T.J. Ford, who has another three years coming at $26 million. Coach Sam Mitchell succeeded in keeping his team together despite myriad health problems; the question going forward is whether he can develop Andrea Bargnani‘s low-post game. Not that he’ll ever be dominant down low, but he needs to have those skills to become an All-Star complement to Chris Bosh. If Bargnani doesn’t fulfill that potential, then Toronto president Bryan Colangelo will have made a mistake in selecting him ahead of No. 2 pick LaMarcus Aldridge of Portland in the 2006 draft. As Bargnani improves, so improve the Raptors.
Am I surprised our season consisted of being a .500 team and a first round blowout? Yes, absolutely. There were high hopes in Toronto following last season’s dramatic rise to the “top” of the East (which coincidentally smells JUST like the bottom of the West). Kool-Aid was flowing from the MLSE taps, and we were sucking it up faster than the Ottawa Senators (the only hockey reference of the season, enjoy it). Fans became fanatics, TJ and Jose were working in harmony, and Salami and Cheese became the most popular sandwich in Canada.* Then TJ went down, Bosh went down, we stopped making excuses for Andrea, and Kapono learned to sleep standing up. We were 32-24 at the end of February, and ended up 41-41. Perimeter defence, rebounding, and inconsistent support from the bench is what this season boils down to.
It’s no secret that Moon’s jumper is whacky and that’s why teams give him ample space which he’s a sucker for. Fans want him to drive but he wants to shoot, it’s probably because 1) he wants to prove that he can shoot the ball so he can get the defense closer and then drive or 2) he doesn’t want to drive. It’s probably a bit of both because when a man is tempting you to shoot, you have to have great patience to pass the ball off and realize that its not what the team wants, so Jamario tries to prove himself but comes up short. On the other hand he’s been guilty of launching the jumper even when the defense is in his grill, so go figure.
Does anybody else get the feeling that Jorge Garbajosa may never play basketball again? I don’t know. I hope I’m wrong. He showed some great ‘promise’ late in the season … getting back on the floor … finding his shooting stroke again … but I just get this feeling in my gut that his leg/ankle won’t hold up through the constant pounding of 82 games and 8-9 months of practices and games. Toronto could definitely use Garbo next season. Let’s hope the next 5 months can get Garbajosa – and his career – back on track (especially if he’s taking the summer ‘off’ … not playing for Spain … according to Colangelo).
The wish list starts with – but isn’t restricted to – rebounding help, shoring up the defense and adding a couple complementary parts to surround their marquee player. But where will Colangelo turn for such improvements?
Free agency is the best bet, not to mention a potential trade or two with the Raptors being able to dangle their lone draft selection – the 17th overall pick – and perhaps a current point guard or some expiring contracts as well.
But the actual name to keep in mind during the Raptors offseason may be New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson.
TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
Neither of these two are star players, neither of them are all-stars, but together, they are one of the top tandems. It is literally no decrease in putting either player in. They have such different styles of play, Ford, a speedy scorer, has no trouble getting to the rim and scores often, Calderon on the other hand, is a slow it down point guard who had the best assist to turnover ratio in the league of someone who actually played. Calderon started the majority of the games this season, a lot due to Fords injury problems. (thank you Al Horford for that gruesome hit on Ford) *sarcasm* On the season, Calderon averaged 11.2 points, 8.3 assists and 1.06 points a game. If he would have played more, these averages would be higher, if he didn’t have to split the minutes with Ford. Speaking of TJ Ford…Backing up Calderon about half of the games that he played this season, Ford averaged 12.6 points, 6.1 assists a game and 1.06 steals a game. Neither of these guys are the best in the league, but there is no better team with point guards this balanced.
The Raptors season is officially over, so its time to issue The Official RaptorTalk Year End Report Cards for the 2007-08 Toronto Raptors with player rankings.
I mean at the end of the day what kind of a person can you be if you think 24/7 about your work. I do not want to see anyone do damage to themselves through obsession to their work. People need time to unwind and relax and if Sam Mitchell does that through golf that is great. If Chris Bosh wants to hang out with his friend on the other team I have no issue with that as well. I do not get the right to control people’s lives by cheering for them. Fans sometimes are hypocritical in their critiques of athletes,coaches and management. Be honest and ask what you would do in their shoes. They make a good living and get paid very well for what they do. Jealousy of that fact is not an acceptable reason to me to attack them based on things not related to the work they do. If someone can prove to me that Sam Mitchell playing golf some how made his team not ready to play the game, go ahead and show me. But in reality you are being scammed by some people in the media that needed something to distract you from the reality that they were wrong.
Chris Bosh, Toronto - The budding superstar who is ready to claim superstar status. The Raptors might have gotten owned by the Magic, but it wasn’t because of Bosh. Even in defeat, his 39-point, 15-rebound performance is Game 4 was one of the best I’ve seen all season.
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