I have no idea where my recent zen-like abilities have come from. Had it been any other offseason, I would have been all over Colangelo and his moves. Granted, I had people tell me he was working the phones and spending late nights at 40 Bay St, so that calmed me a bit, but never did I consider jumping on this guy before he had the opportunity to show his hand. Thankfully it seems that I don’t have to re-consider my stance.

Again, it has been incredible watching the social networks and, in this case, mainstream media jump on every morsel of info as it came out. ESPN and CBS had it right when it was a 3 team deal at 10pm. Then, at around 10:30pm, it started to unravel only to be rescued about 15-20min later. Some folks went to bed and missed the whole thing light up like a smoker after a 10 hour flight. Watching my twitter feed was like watching a roller coaster at the old CNE going up and down, people being sick, others looking bored, and still more looking like they were having the time of the lives. Even watching the comments on the dark side of me (Raptors Republic), you first saw disbelief, mocking, then joy and the desire to make Bryan Colangelo the godfather to many babies. Today, as the east coast woke up, it was like watching young children wake up on Christmas morning to see that gift they have always wanted. Cynics and haters became lovers and supporters again. Kind of like those that go to church only at Christmas and Easter.

Bryan Colangelo deserves credit. He closed his door, called in favours, and made stuff happen. That said, he is not the real hero here. Mark Cuban refused to let the deal die. He wanted Marion and assisted in getting Colangelo some help to reward Marion financially. He was the one that initially brought in the Grizzlies and would have to pony up the money they would need to waive Stackhouse. That was always on the table and ready to go. Until late yesterday when cold feet hit.

If you are a Raptors fan, you have one hero today: Otis Smith of the Orlando Magic. He was adamant from the outset that he would not sign & trade Hedo. He had his replacement and didn’t need to reward either Hedo or the Raptors. Of course, if you are a GM you also have to look at pleasing an agent or two (or three) and the possibility of lining your own coffers with a trade exception and more cash. Without the willingness of Smith to go against what he had publicly said less than a week ago and offer to sign & trade Hedo, Colangelo would not be smelling like a rose today. The sign & trade allowed the Raptors to work the cap and get the MLE back and save face with their own free agents, taking the need to renounce away.

In a funny way, if you think about it, Raptors fans also have to thank Vince Carter. His arrival in Orlando made it easier for the Magic to say goodbye to Turkoglu and, therefore, be in a position to help the Raptors out. Remember that the next time he is in town and you media-fed morons decide to boo him.

In any event, a busy night and a really busy day today at MLSE. However, just as the title above states, we aren’t done. The 2 players we received are good, not great. One will be a locker room figurehead, the other (if we keep him) is worthy of minutes, but not a game changer or saver. Colangelo has to keep at it. Moving Banks would be a plus, but even without that, this team still has holes that need filled in case of injury. I am a huge fan of this deal because it opens up even more doors to create a solid 9-10 man rotation, which is something we need. We are just over halfway there and before we grovel at the feet of the magician, we need to make sure the entire rabbit is out of the hat so as to discard any notion that it’s an illusion.

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