In the past few years Brian Colangelo has done nothing but make the Raptors worse. He’s actually better at spinning things to make it seem like it’s everyone else’s fault than his own lack of direction as the Raptor’s GM. Read more. If only this piece had come out earlier, maybe they could have kept Chris Bosh?…Probably not, Bosh was leaving no matter what.
Too many people get caught up in Colangelo’s spiffy suits and serious face. He carries too much clout in NBA circles for the Toronto media to rip into him like they would any other GM who doesn’t get the job done in the city. Maybe the Toronto media is too busy harping on the Leafs to truly scrutinize Colangelo’s suspect moves. But the fact of the matter is since Colangelo arrived in Toronto, the team seems to rebuilding every year and every year, they seem to get a little worse.
Sam Mitchell was the first fall guy for Colangelo. Mitchell had previously won the Coach of Year Award but was fired by Colangelo, apparently the two didn’t always see eye to eye, particularly on the issue of Andrea Bargnani. Colangelo drafted Bargnani, a soft 7 foot perimeter center that doesn’t like to rebound or play defense, first overall in the 2006 NBA draft. Sam Mitchell refused to play Bargnani for obvious reasons, that being, he was actually trying to win, and it cost him his job. Bargnani has not lived up to being a first overall pick, for his career he’s averaging just 13.7 ppg and 4.8 rebounds, for a 7 foot center with a green light to shoot, and logging major minutes, that’s a bust. Bargnani was touted as the next Dirk Nowitzki, it’s safe to say he hasn’t lived up to that title either.
It should be noted that Colangelo passed on Brandon Roy in that draft. Brandon Roy is a proven scorer and would have been the perfect teammate for Chris Bosh, but Colangelo dropped the ball on that one. It was just one of the many bad calls and failed experiments Colangelo has made.
Colangelo brought in Jermaine O’Neal at a time when everyone knew O’Neal wasn’t healthy, and naturally that was a disaster. He brought in Shawn Marion, another train wreck. He acquired Reggie Evans, and that was a complete waste of time.
Rajon Rondo was also in that 2006 draft. It’s hard to picture him as first overall pick at the time, but he’s since proven himself to be one of the league’s best point guards. The point guard position is another position of constant flux for the Raptors under Colangelo’s regime. Jose Calderon, who is the perfect back-up point guard, became a starting point guard for Colangelo. Jarret Jack, yet another back up point guard, was acquired by Colangelo and before the season was over, had become the starting point guard. It was a mess. With the exception of Bosh the Raptors roster was full of underachieving players. Perhaps the worst move Colangelo made was when he signed Hedo Turkoglo to huge contract. The Turkish MJ would go on to have his worst season as a professional and promptly ask for a trade at the end of the season, another bust.
Now with the departure of Bosh, the Raptors are right back to where they were when Colangelo arrived, rebuilding. What kind of a team and what kind of a GM rebuilds every season? The Clippers come to mind.
Right now the positive thing going for the Raptors is that they are winning in the NBA Summer League. Unfortunately, it’s only the Summer League and the Raptors are one of the few teams that are basically playing their starting lineup.
