By Walter Dubowec

For those of you who think Bryan Colangelo is out of touch and doesn’t see the Raptors for what they really are – you’re wrong.

Based on today’s newspaper reports, its clear that Colangelo is not content with where his team is at and he has his eye on upgrades for next season.

According to the Toronto Star a high-ranking team official (read Gheridini or Embry) said this draft is full of bigs and the early indications are that’s the way the Raptors will go in the draft. Then Bryan will search out a wing player in free agency or via trade. Also, the Raptors fully expect Roko Ukic to be here, which may make T.J. Ford expendable to land that SG/SF.

The Raptors official also said that if a highly rated small forward is unexpectedly available when Toronto drafts, they won’t pass him up. However, the Raps brass doubt that, though.

                   

Last week the Raptors lost to the Pacers and the Charlotte Bobcats, both non-playoff teams in the weak Eastern Conference. That was followed by a loss to the Orlando Magic, the team the Raptors are trying to overtake. If not for an easy win over the hapless Heat in Miami on Wednesday, the past seven days would have been an unmitigated disaster.

The Raptors have two winnable home games (Washington and Seattle) before embarking on a challenging five-game, eight-day Western trip that will start with a game against Kobe Bryant’s sizzling Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

Toronto needs to return home with at least a 2-3 record on this swing. The Raptors are 15-15 on the road and 5-5 on the road against Western Conference so far.

As we reported here earlier in the week, the Raptors are wrapping up the softest part of their schedule. Even though only three of their past 14 opponents had winning records, the Raptors were just 8-6.


Bryan is not happy with the Raptors' performance

Don’t think the team’s less than stellar play has gone unnoticed by Bryan Colangelo. The Globe and Mail reports:

"This has been a rough stretch," Colangelo said, "though it came after a stretch when we won five of six games. What's most frustrating is the opponents we've lost to are teams we should have beaten. When you lose those games, it means you've got to make it up by beating a team you might not be favoured against. We've got some work to do. We can't lose to teams we should beat."

"We've always felt like depth is our greatest strength," he said. "We had some guys step up last year and hopefully some guys will realize that this is their time and take advantage of it. There are times in a long season when the coaching staff gets pushed and tested, and individual players get pushed and tested, and this is one of those times."

Bryan hates to lose and you can bet he can’t wait for the off-season to arrive so he can begin the upgrade process this team desperately needs.