HoopsWorld.com: Toronto Raptors Trade Fix

[mcHAPPY]

Clearly written by someone who knows nothing about the Raptors other than player statistics (which are misinterpreted), season standings, and word of mouth from other misinformed sources.

Lately it seems that if you bring up the Toronto Raptors people immediately want to talk about trading Andrea Bargnani.

But why is that, exactly?

We’re talking about a seven-footer who shoots 37% from three, and has dramatically improved over the last three seasons. Last year he averaged 21.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 45% from the field . . .hardly the numbers you’d expect from a guy who is widely considered to be trade bait.

The truth is that Bargnani is the new scapegoat for the Raptors’ losing program, a load once carried by Chris Bosh. Fans of the Raptors are understandably upset about the direction of the team, which has made the playoffs just twice in the last nine seasons, and lost in the first round both times. Coaches are usually blamed, but the Raptors have already fired two coaches in recent years, so fans have to look elsewhere for a scapegoat.

Let’s be clear, though. The Raptors are not going to trade Bargnani. Trading one of the best-shooting big men in the league isn’t the answer, rather the solution is to put the right pieces around him to allow him to flourish. Just ask the Dallas Mavericks, who had great seasons from Dirk Nowitzki long before they made it to the NBA Finals, but never made it to the promised land until the right players were around Dirk to make up for his shortcomings.

The good news for the Raptors is their new head coach knows a little something about that. Dwane Casey was a huge part of the Mavericks’ championship run last season, working as an assistant coach under Rick Carlisle, and being largely responsible for helping Nowitzki learn to be a good defender. Casey will help the Raptors build around Bargnani and also help Bargnani maximize his game.

If there is a player to be traded in Toronto, we would be better served to look to the backcourt, as HOOPSWORLD’s Stephen Brotherston writes:

Leandro Barbosa is a great vet to have on the bench – the guy puts out – even when hurt and he was hurt all of last season. Never complained to anyone – even though it was obvious he was by far the best SG on the team at both ends of the floor (even playing hurt) and he only got backup minutes. Barbosa was always happy and pleasant to be around. But his contract runs out at the end of this season – so without an extension in place – Barbosa is the most valuable trade asset the team has.

Calderon looked good at FIBA – but Colangelo has tried more than once to move him – maybe next year when he’s on an expiring deal? They only have 10 guys under contract – Barbosa, Jerryd Bayless, Solomon Alabi only this year guaranteed. Not a lot of players to trade or likely to be traded except for Barbosa, if we have a season.

All in all, the Raptors really aren’t in a bad position at all. They may need a savvy veteran to come in and teach the young kids how to win, but it will be interesting to see what Dwane Casey and his staff can make of the project that is the Toronto Raptors. Trade or no trade, there are better times ahead with Casey at the helm.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-pm-tor...ors-trade-fix/

[Joey]

I do agree that Bargs won't be traded though. Not 'this' year anyway.
And I also agree that Barbosa will be the first to go of the current group.

[Tim W.]

This guy compares him to Dirk and says he's improved dramatically over the last three years. Has he actually watched him play?

[LBF]

hoopsworld is a brutal site.

i remeber brotherston at that valanciunas intro

he asked something that was such a miniscule and unimportant detail in becoming a good player that was related to lithuanian team, I honestly wanted to hit him in the face.

Valanciunas literally was close to saying "who the fuck cares?"

in more professional terms he said that.


this shit about a scapegoat is ludicrous.

we've heard all too may times how this new coach is going to come in and at the snap of a finger make a bad defense look good.

WTH ever happened to the Charles Oakley's of the nba that put guys in their place and we're gritty?

[Tim W.]

hoopsworld is a brutal site.

i remeber brotherston at that valanciunas intro

he asked something that was such a miniscule and unimportant detail in becoming a good player that was related to lithuanian team, I honestly wanted to hit him in the face.

Valanciunas literally was close to saying "who the fuck cares?"

in more professional terms he said that.


this shit about a scapegoat is ludicrous.

we've heard all too may times how this new coach is going to come in and at the snap of a finger make a bad defense look good.

WTH ever happened to the Charles Oakley's of the nba that put guys in their place and we're gritty?

Ya, the comment about him being a scapegoat is a rather ignorant comment. If so, he's been a scapegoat for me since before he was drafted.

[Mack North]

I don't believe there's too many fans that don't like the direction the team is head. Do we wish we had a better team right now? Sure. But it's pretty clear that since Bosh departed we're headed for a rebuild. Any knowledgeable knows that this takes a few years at least, we're just in the beginning stages.

Stories like this just brutal. Fans of other teams read this crap and then go around believing it to be true all because they "read it on HoopsWorld". Hence the bad rap we seem to get around the league.

[Joey]

I stopped reading anything Hoopsworld a Looong time ago.

[malefax]

it's not a very informative article, but nothing it says is especially wrong. Bargnani has improved and he has been a scapegoat, and Barbosa will probably be the first guy to be traded.

It's sort of like writing an article about the Heat where you say "LeBron and Wade are among the best players in the game, but they have a weak supporting cast, and questions have been raised about LeBron's tendency to choke in tough playoff series." Yeah, but we knew that.

[Tim W.]

it's not a very informative article, but nothing it says is especially wrong. Bargnani has improved and he has been a scapegoat, and Barbosa will probably be the first guy to be traded.

It's sort of like writing an article about the Heat where you say "LeBron and Wade are among the best players in the game, but they have a weak supporting cast, and questions have been raised about LeBron's tendency to choke in tough playoff series." Yeah, but we knew that.

Well, I'd disagree that he's improved and that he's a scapegoat. Bargnani's scoring has increased, but that was mostly due to more minutes and shots. And most of the rest of his game has actually regressed. And him being a scapegoat means that fans are blaming him for the team's circumstances. I haven't seen that. I just see people who have come to the realization that Bargnani's a) not going to become the player some envisioned and b) that you're going to have a tough time winning if one of your main big men is a liability half the time he's on the court.

[er1csh3n]

I do agree Barbosa should go, but not for his reasons, I like Barbosa, always have, played like me when I actually played competitive basketball, but I also agree Bargnani should stay, I would like to see Casey get through to him, and if he does, then we have a potential 1st or 2nd option in the making, if he only increases slightly better in D and better shot selection in Offensive, I would ship him for a pick and a backup swingman to spread minutes through our other core forwards, Davis, Johnson, another Johnson, Alabi, and Valanciunas.

[Tim W.]

I do agree Barbosa should go, but not for his reasons, I like Barbosa, always have, played like me when I actually played competitive basketball, but I also agree Bargnani should stay, I would like to see Casey get through to him, and if he does, then we have a potential 1st or 2nd option in the making, if he only increases slightly better in D and better shot selection in Offensive, I would ship him for a pick and a backup swingman to spread minutes through our other core forwards, Davis, Johnson, another Johnson, Alabi, and Valanciunas.

If Bargnani and DeRozan are your first and second options, you're in BIG trouble.

And the longer you keep a Bargnani that does not improve his defense and rebounding drastically, the more difficult it will be to trade him and the more likely you'll have to take back a bad contract in return. He's still owed $45 million over the next four years.

[Nilanka]

hoopsworld is a brutal site.

Brotherston used to be on Bleacher Report. That should tell one everything they need to know about HoopsWorld.

[Nilanka]

I think people are expecting WAAAAAAY too much of Casey in terms of his impact on Bargnani's game. Bargnani is a lazy player by nature. We have 5 years of evidence to support this. Casey's novel voice might cause a marginal knee-jerk reaction, where Bargnani goes through an initial stretch of 10-15 games where he rebounds/defends better, but it'll only be a matter of time until his true [lazy] personality resurfaces. It's naive to think one man can change another man's personality. Bargnani is what he is...a one-dimensional volume scorer. Nothing else.

[Soft Euro]

If there is anything we can call knee-jerking it's the reactions this article gets... In my opinion there certainly is some truth in it. Really, there is a lot of nonsensical stuff being said about Bargnani. While there can be said a lot about Bargnani (like duh), he did improve in some parts of his defense. Yes he really did. He isn't bad in all aspects of defense. It's been discussed thoroughly this summer (and findable in the Bargnani-thread).

Furthermore, Bargnani isn't a one-dimensional scorer: last year he got about 20% of his points in isolation, 20% posting-up, 15% from P&R plays and 20% from spot-up positions. There are only two players on our team who have a significantly higher TS% and that are, predictably, Davis and A Johnson. And that's because they get a large portion of their points from cuts and offensive rebounds (and in Amir's case from P&R situations). Those are high percentage plays which you won't have on every play.

Lots more can be said (like how his usage is way too high and should be brought down in order to be more effective, but guess what, that has not really been his choice), but I really don't understand why so many Raptor fans can't be more objective about Bargnani. I smell a lot of scape-goating there, especially when some fans are calling for using the amnesty on Bargnani and/or about 'addition by subtraction'. There is no realism in those statements; really, have you seen the talent on our team? Not all fans are subject to this behaviour, not even most fans. But there is a lot of that going on. Some on here, but a lot on e.g. the comment-section on raptorsrepublic.com or raptors hq.

The author might have been on bleachers, but there are good writers who started on there. I know of at least one, Jonathan Tjarks, who now writes for realgm and sbnation. He's one of my favorites (when discussing the game, not the lockout).

[er1csh3n]

If Bargnani and DeRozan are your first and second options, you're in BIG trouble.

And the longer you keep a Bargnani that does not improve his defense and rebounding drastically, the more difficult it will be to trade him and the more likely you'll have to take back a bad contract in return. He's still owed $45 million over the next four years.

So you wouldn't want a Bargnani with a better, consistent defending to go along with improved rebounding, and probably a Derozan with better D, and an improved handle and 3pt shot?