The Raptors' Bryan Colangelo Is Not Yet Done Dealing
By Walter DubowecDon't believe a word of what you read in the media when it comes to Toronto Raptors' GM Bryan Colangelo and what his next moves might be.
The speculation now is that Bryan is pretty much done with his off-season roster shuffles, other than a minor tweak here or there. Based on how the summer has gone so far, that line of speculative thought has to be taken with a grain of salt.
A few weeks ago we wrote that with Bryan Colangelo you must 'expect the unexpected' and he has done nothing to suggest otherwise.
Last month, Colangelo told us the Raptors were looking seriously at 'restricted' free agents. The word leaked out that he was particularly interested in Andres Nocioni of the Bulls and Mikael Pietrus of the Warriors - both RFA's.
So what does Bryan do at 'one minute past midnight' on July 1st? He calls Jason Kapono's agent and within hours has a deal done with the NBA's leading three point marksman - who by the way, is an 'unrestricted' free agent.
Who knew?
Kapono is definitely the zone-buster the Raptors need, but he was not a target that anyone other Bryan seriously considered. We were all led to believe that Grant Hill was the leading UFA that Colangelo would target if he went in that direction.
Then there was speculation that the Raptors were targeting a big man and names like Jamaal Magliore, Joe Smith and even Brian Skinner were tossed about. No one had Maceo Baston on their radar, except Colangelo.
Not surprisingly, no one saw the earlier Delino trade or the Jamario Moon signing (albeit minor) coming, either.
When Bryan joined the Raptors in March of 2006, no fan could have imagined that Bryan would acquire the likes of Nesterovic, Ford, Humphries, Parker and Garbajosa in a complete makeover of the team who were quickly becoming known as the Clippers North.
Which brings us to where we are today.
Have the Raptors kept pace with their Eastern foes?
Bryan has seen what his Eastern Conference rivals like the Bulls, Nets, Celtics, Hawks and even the Knicks have done to upgrade their rosters. While the Raptors have also improved their on-floor product, Bryan is probably wondering if he's done enough.
My 'basketball spidey-sense' tells me that Bryan Colangelo wants to do more to ensure the Raptors remain on top of the Atlantic Division.
The good news is that he has assets. While it is not likely he will move his most tradeable asset - Jose Calderon, (nor should he) you have to believe he's diligently working the phones to make a trade.
Joey Graham and Juan Dixon, possibly Kris Humphries and even Rasho Nesterovic offer solid value in the eyes of many NBA general managers. It's a matter of finding the right trade partner who needs what Toronto is offering.
You can bet Bryan is quietly calling around to see what missing piece to the Raptors' puzzle he can find in a trade. You can also assume Colangelo will consumate a deal for a player or players, that no one is even considering as possible Raptor acquisitions.
So when you read that Bryan has said that he is done with his off-season moves, it is probably a good idea to consider those comments to be more smokescreen than real.
That's the way it is with Bryan Colangelo.
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