Long-abandoned as the NBA's lone Canadian franchise, their history of transactions and acquisitions reads like horror novel of bad contracts, squandered superstars and a general lack of addressing the team's glaring issues. Naturally this hasn't translated to much success; the Raptors haven't made the postseason in five years and have exactly one series victory on their tally. Even the Grizzlies - against whom they were once relatively superior - have found a new home in a smaller market and turned themselves into a consistent Playoff threat.Raptors management often subtly played the "Canada" card in the media, claiming difficulty luring top players North of the border. Regardless of any subjective geographic handicap, they made mis-step after mis-step to bury themselves three-fold by ruining their financial flexibility, forcing overpaid, under-performing and incompatible players to share the court, and destroying any glimmer they had of making their team seem appealing.
One of the more notorious fumbles was the drafting - and subsequent extension - of Andrea Bargnani with the first overall pick in 2006. Ranked behind near-sure-thing big man LaMarcus Aldridge almost universally, GM Bryan Colangelo reached for the upside-filled Italian, seeing the next Dirk Nowitzki (you know, because that had panned out for so many other teams).
The next few seasons didn't go incredibly for Bargs; despite being a legit 7-footer, he hardly seemed built as the NBA center he was impersonating. Though he showed a reasonable skill set, was extremely quick for his size, and occasionally went off from long range, Bargnani was an awkward liability on defense, the boards, and in pasta sauce commercials.
Still though, Colangelo was committed, and in 2009 gave his young underachiever $50 million over five years, saddling the Raptors financially and beginning an apparent mission to get himself fired.
Though it took four years, Colangelo was axed this spring in awkward fashion, a dismissal partially ensured by Bargs' horrific regression over the past two seasons. Fortunately for the Raptors, their ownership's new CEO had enough clout to pry Masai Ujiri - reigning Executive of the Year - away from the semi-implosion in Denver, and Ujiri in turn made an immediate impact, cleansing the Raptors of Bargnani's burdensome final two years (and $23 million) by shipping him to the Knicks.
While pieces acquired in return do little to help the Raptors immediately, they've shed themselves of a painful mistake and given themselves more traction on the road to rebuilding by taking on $4m less in guaranteed salary next season and picking up two draft picks. This move comes as not only an encouraging sign of things to come from Ujiri, but a minor miracle given everything that had to come together for it to happen:
- They needed to get rid of Colangelo, who appeared to have too much personal investment in Bargnani to admit "Ok guys, I screwed up here, time to cut losses" and deal a bad contract at face value.- They had to hire a savvy GM who's used to on-the-fly rebuilding; enter Ujiri who blew up the Carmelo Anthony Nuggets without ever making them a worse team. For that to happen, they needed front-office mogul Tim Leiweke at the helm of Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment - the Raptors' ownership group - to give some credibility to a wayward franchise.
- There had to be a fit for Bargnani; a team with a pragmatic purpose for a floor-stretching big who might see some potential left in him. The Knicks ran a system centered around spacing the floor and launching jumpers, which a player of Bargs' skill set would fit very well into in a perfect World. Not only would he be able to slide over to a more suitable "stretch 4" role, but have Tyson Chandler behind him on defense.
- This team had to be desperate to shake things up, which the Knicks certainly are. Anything short of challenging the Heat in the East Finals would've come as a disappointment for this team, and their frustrating loss to the Pacers rang alarms about their scoring consistency and defensive toughness.
- Moreover, this team also had to play in a big market and be able to absorb a mammoth contract for a player who - at best - might be a 2nd scoring option and could wind up hurting more than helping their cause. Hell, with $73 million committed to six roster spots next year, why not snag one of the NBA's most overpaid employees to round out the lineup?- And finally, the people running this team had to be foolish, so as to be committing so much money under the circumstances detailed above, surrounding both their team, and Bargnani's career thus far. New York owner James Dolan needs no introduction, while Raptors fans will surely remember current Knicks GM Glen Grunwald as one of the men whose front-office ineptitude helped build Toronto's proud legacy. Given the relevant factors, only someone flirting with idiocy would sign off on acquiring this guy at this price, knowing it probably won't work, and that moving him before the 2015 trade deadline will be next to impossible. I have Christmas as the over/under for Carmelo freezing him out of the offense.
So while the Knicks try to figure out how to work a jumpshooting forward who can't hit jumpshots or rebound into their lineup, the Raptors are left with a more manageable position to adjust their flaws. Dumping Bargnani came not only through several strokes of luck, but as a positive first note to this new era for the Raptors. Gone is the most visceral reminder of their scarred past; no longer will fans have to watch Bargnani suit up for them and listlessly betray the team that gave him so much money and opportunity with his casual, disconnected play.
That he was let go so swiftly has to have this team's fanbase - for once- feeling good about what's to come next.
