Bosh seems to be the real gamble now for the Toronto Raptors. Not only did Raptors president Bryan Colangelo gamble this offseason on trading for the damaged body of Jermaine O’Neal to the tune of nearly $44 million over the next two years, but now he’s got to be concerned about Bosh’s nagging knee issues after playing in China. He missed 13 games after the World Championships and played a career-low 67 games last season.
The Raptors definitely improved in the off-season with the acquisition of O’Neal and the resigning of Calderon. They lost Ford, who was not really needed because of Calderon. Finally Calderon has nobody to split minutes with and should be a beastly fantasy point guard (Top 5). They should be solid with O’Neal and Bosh down low and Calderon should get plenty of assists to them, but asides from that they are lacking depth. I’m also not sold on O’Neal. He has been unhealthy and is washed up in my opinion.
I WILL NEED YOUR VOTES, AS WELL AS EVERYONE YOU KNOW. HELP ME MAKE MY DREAM A REALITY!!! I WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL!!
I am so eager, and so scared. I would do it for free if I could. I would do anything to alongside great dancers, and for a great team…..I would smile in my sleep forever.
To feel that rush and exhilaration as I take the stage….would make me cringe with chills of happiness. There is nothing in the world that I want more than to be able to perform. This is what my life is about, and I am grateful for the opportunity.
There’s one thing that really concerns me in the case where things don’t work out: we don’t have any young talent on this team. Its one thing to say that we can ‘reset’ if the O’Neal experiment doesn’t work because of his salary coming off the cap in 2010 along with Bosh’s but its another to say what we’d do if we have to start over. If Bosh and O’Neal bolt we’d be left with the ‘nucleus’ of Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon to lead the Raptors past 2010. Calderon is obviously a damn good player but I don’t think anyone but the staunchest of Bargnani believers would be comfortable in seeing them as the two best Raptor players.
Our failure to take advantage of the draft over the last three years has left us devoid of any young talent (19-23) resulting in all our eggs being in the Bosh/O’Neal basket. It’s a tricky situation because drafting young talent and giving them significant playing time is a sign of rebuilding which isn’t all that attractive to someone like Chris Bosh. But at the same time you must draft and develop talent which will either take over or supplement whats already there. To this day the only two legitimate Raptors players we developed from rookies to having a significant role are Morris Peterson and Chris Bosh. Both of them have been great servants of the Raptors organization and have followed a good course in their development with the organization. When Damon left, we had T-Mac. When T-Mac left, we still had Vince. When Vince left, we still had Bosh. When Bosh leaves, we still have…….Bargnani? See what I’m talking about?
Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo promises to get the Ermenegildo Zegna party started tonight. He’s slated for the launch of the official new shop inside the flagship Harry Rosen on Bloor Street, where a “pre-season discussion” has also been promised.
The Raps made arguably the East’s biggest trade this summer, sending point guard T.J. Ford to Indiana for forward/center Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal is finally healthy after two years and is looking to team with All-Star forward and Olympian Chris Bosh to give this team a dominant frontcourt – offensively and defensively. The Raps also made Jose Calderon a very rich man to lead this team, giving them stability at the point guard spot and creating one of the best mixes of talent in the league. With the underrated guard Anthony Parker and key role players like forwards Andrea Bargnani (take another step forward young fella) and Jamario Moon, look for the Raptors to challenge for a division title.
Last season, Calderon burst onto the scene after starter T.J. Ford got injured. As a starter, he averaged 1three-points, nine assists and three rebounds. He also became only the sixth player in the history of the league to shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line, and 90 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged an unbelievably low two turnovers, and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.5.
Now that the Raptors have traded Ford for six-time All-Star Jermaine O’Neal, who will pair up with Chris Bosh to form one of the best big-men duos in the league, Calderon will become the starting point guard in Toronto—and he will have a great team around him to become elite.
This season, I see Calderon averaging 14 points, 10 assists, and three rebounds, and replicating his historic shooting percentages of last season.
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If I’m sitting in the Raptors’ War Room right now nothing would scare me more heading into this year’s training camp than a ringing endorsement by the ‘Bleacher Report’ of the different moves (or lackthereof) this team has made during this off-season.
Nothing.
khandors last blog post..Baseball vs Football
and nothing should please Jose more than to read he had an historic season last year.
What’s the deal with “1three points”? Who says that?
Seriously, I want to know who.
I have a feeling it was translated from i dunno spanish? Always quirky wording when that happens…
He’s 15 years old.
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