By RaptorTalk


Mark July 9th, 2009 as the day another baseless myth was buried for good.

Those who said that Bryan Colangelo’s success in Phoenix could never be duplicated in Toronto because it was really his father Jerry who was the basketball genius were proven completely wrong on this day.

In a series of highly improbable and surprisingly brilliant maneuvers, the younger Colangelo has transformed the Toronto Raptors from pretenders to contenders in the space of about a week. All without the assistance of Colangelo, Sr.

       

There is no need to go over the details of the series of extraordinary events that began last Friday with the shocking signing of free agent Hedo Turkoglu to a five year/ $53 million contract, other than to say it was the move that started the stunning Extreme Makeover – Raptors Edition.

The cynics panned the move because they believed the signing would leave the Raptors will little or no depth, even though the Raptors GM promised he would pursue creative avenues to ensure that didn’t happen.

Seems Bryan assured Hedo and his agent, Lon Babby that he had bold plans that would provide the newest Raptor with a strong supporting cast. Those assurances and a recruiting call from Chris Bosh went a long way towards convincing the Big Turk that his brightest future was in Toronto and not Portland.

A deal that resulted in four teams winning

Even while the skeptics believed it couldn’t be done, Bryan persistently pursued a sign and trade deal with Dallas for Shawn Marion that would provide the Raptors with an MLE, an LLE and the ability to re-sign their own free agents. The stumbling block were the Orlando Magic who made it clear earlier in the week that they would not facilitate any deal involving the Toronto Raptors and Hedo Turkoglu.

Still, Colangelo tirelessly worked the phones and eventually his powers of persuasion and unmatched deal-making creativity resulted in a highly unusual four team transaction that delivered everything Raptor fans had hoped for and more! Best of all, all parties involved walked away with something of value.

What began with the Reggie Evans acquisition and was followed by the drafting of DeMar DeRozan, the signing of Turkoglu and the inking of Andrea Bargnani to a very reasonable contract extension, all culminated in a stroke of genius from Bryan Colangelo which turns Toronto into a force to be reckoned with for 2010 and beyond.

Depending on the players the Raptors now sign to fill out their fifteen man roster, it is not unreasonable to envision Toronto as a top four team in the Eastern Conference.

Chris Bosh has something to think about

There may be added benefit to the Raptors as a result of all that has transpired. Based on what he sees now – Chris Bosh may begin seriously considering signing a contract extension this summer. That is something that no one believed could happen just a few short days ago.

Fact is the Raptors are now an elite NBA team and CB4 is not likely to find a better basketball environment. So why put himself through a season of rampant speculation as to his future plans? Sign the max money extension now and focus 100% on playing winning basketball.

According to Michael Grange of the Globe & Mail, Colangelo is already thinking along those lines. Grange wrote, 'The roster makeover also enables the Raptors to make a case to Bosh for a contract extension later this summer, but not until the rest of the pieces are in place.“I don't want [Bosh] to read the book before it's published,” Colangelo said.'

Congratulations Bryan. Not in their wildest dreams did Raptor fans imagine that virtually overnight you could retool and rebuild this team into arguably the most talented squad in fifteen years.

Never in the history of Raptors basketball has there been a day like today.

Freakin’ amazing.