As ever, the ground rules: my 30-team rankings are only for offseason moves, the things teams have done since they last played a game. It is not a predicted order of finish for next season; I do not expect Golden State to have a better record than Orlando.
It is as much art as science, weighing the impact both of the Draft and free agency, but also assessing whether teams got value in their free-agent signings. Overpaying the right player is as much a sin as signing the wrong player. New coaches, new GMs, new owners and new arenas are also signficant factors in judging a team's summer success, for a good coach can coax some more wins out of a roster, and a new building can generate the kind of revenue necessary to let a team be aggressive in pursuing free agents and trades.
It is as much art as science, weighing the impact both of the Draft and free agency, but also assessing whether teams got value in their free-agent signings. Overpaying the right player is as much a sin as signing the wrong player. New coaches, new GMs, new owners and new arenas are also signficant factors in judging a team's summer success, for a good coach can coax some more wins out of a roster, and a new building can generate the kind of revenue necessary to let a team be aggressive in pursuing free agents and trades.
No. 24 -- TORONTO RAPTORS
2009-10 RECORD: 40-42, second place, Atlantic; did not make playoffs.
ADDED: G Leandro Barbosa (trade with Phoenix); F Ed Davis (first round, 13th pick overall); F Linas Kleiza (four years, $20 million); C Solomon Alabi (Draft day trade with Dallas).
LOST: F Chris Bosh (sign-and-trade deal with Miami); F Hedo Turkoglu (traded to Phoenix); F Antoine Wright (signed with Sacramento).
RETAINED: F Amir Johnson (five years, $34 million).
THE KEY MAN: DeMar DeRozan.
The second-year guard has to develop rapidly with Bosh gone. He had a solid rookie season (65 starts, .498 FG percentage), but the Raptors need to give Andrea Bargnani some help, and they could use another star along the lines of Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady to keep what fan interest the Maple Leafs don't already have.
THE SKINNY: Well, that didn't end great. Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo gambled that he could find a sign-and-trade for Bosh that would bring some players back, but the best he could do is a trade exception that might be able to land someone in the next year. Until then the Raptors don't have much to hang their hats on. Davis has potential, but it will take a couple of years; Barbosa was once one of the league's fastest and fiercest with the ball, but injuries have slowed him down. And, let's just say there aren't many people around the league who think Johnson is worth $6.5 million a season. He, and Toronto, have to prove a lot of people wrong.
2009-10 RECORD: 40-42, second place, Atlantic; did not make playoffs.
ADDED: G Leandro Barbosa (trade with Phoenix); F Ed Davis (first round, 13th pick overall); F Linas Kleiza (four years, $20 million); C Solomon Alabi (Draft day trade with Dallas).
LOST: F Chris Bosh (sign-and-trade deal with Miami); F Hedo Turkoglu (traded to Phoenix); F Antoine Wright (signed with Sacramento).
RETAINED: F Amir Johnson (five years, $34 million).
THE KEY MAN: DeMar DeRozan.
The second-year guard has to develop rapidly with Bosh gone. He had a solid rookie season (65 starts, .498 FG percentage), but the Raptors need to give Andrea Bargnani some help, and they could use another star along the lines of Vince Carter or Tracy McGrady to keep what fan interest the Maple Leafs don't already have.
THE SKINNY: Well, that didn't end great. Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo gambled that he could find a sign-and-trade for Bosh that would bring some players back, but the best he could do is a trade exception that might be able to land someone in the next year. Until then the Raptors don't have much to hang their hats on. Davis has potential, but it will take a couple of years; Barbosa was once one of the league's fastest and fiercest with the ball, but injuries have slowed him down. And, let's just say there aren't many people around the league who think Johnson is worth $6.5 million a season. He, and Toronto, have to prove a lot of people wrong.
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