And Then There Were Nine
By RaptorTalkBryan Colangelo has his work cut out for him over the upcomimg days and weeks. Last year the Raptors were a team with plenty of depth and arguably too many bodies of equal talent.
Today the Raptors roster has as few as NBA nine bodies.
Bryan Colangelo has essentially just traded 4 players (Ford, Rasho, Baston, Hibbert) for 1 player (J O'Neal). With Brezec (definitely) and Delfino (probably) moving back to the EuroLeague - the Raptors have a lot of holes to fill. Right now Toronto's roster consists of just 9 players:
Starting Five
Chris Bosh
Jermaine O'Neal
Jose Calderon
Anthony Parker
Jamario Moon
The Bench
Andrea Bargnani
Jason Kapono
Kris Humphries
Joey Graham
The other possible known entity is Roko Ukic, who could sign as the team's back-up point guard to Calderon. That still leaves holes for 5 more players.
Let the shoes drop
Now, before we can adequately determine the pros/cons of the Jermaine O'Neal trade (of we largely approve) - we need to let the other shoe (or two) drop. Bryan still has more moves to make.
Free Agency starts this Tuesday. Over the next two weeks I expect the Raptors to make a free agent signing with their MLE and a couple of additional acquisitions to fill out their roster.
If Bryan Colangelo can add a good wing player and a decent back-up point guard, the Raptors have a much improved roster over last year. Particularly if Bargnani can provide any level of contribution and/or show improvement over last year.
Here at RaptorTalk, we have been of the opinion that the roster needs a solid makeover. Some of the local media/ broadcasters expected only a tweak or two.
Seems like Colangelo sees it our way and that the 15 man roster will likely include at least 7 (yup -seven) new faces in 2008-09. If Joey or Parker are moved (still possibilities), that would mean a 50% turnover in just a few months.
Say what you want about Bryan - he's not a good loser and he is not one to stand pat. Last season was a disappointment and he's not going to let it happen again.
Any idea where this group puts us salary-cap-wise? It's not a bad group, really. Of course, I'd like more athleticism at the 2 spot, and more depth at the 1 and 5 spots...and I'd like it if Brandon Roy was Andrea Bargnani's roster spot, but there is some decent talent here.
RaptorTalk: The Raps have about $5 million to spend, which means Bryan needs to get creative like Ainge did last year.
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