By RaptorTalk


Bryan Colangelo was on the FAN 590 yesterday with Jack Armstrong in a brief segment where he mentioned that the Raptors are a perfect 3-0 in the Sonny Weems 'as a starter' era!

While that's good news for the Weems' family, it wasn't the most important nugget of info to come from the lips of the Raptors GM. Colangelo also provided some valuable insight into his state-of-mind moving forward through the trade deadline period later this month.

         

Bryan acknowledged that while the Raptors are undoubtably playing well of late - he is fully aware that his Raptors are still a level below elite teams like Cleveland, Boston, Orlando and Atlanta.

Colangelo emphatically stated that Toronto is NOT trading Chris Bosh. He went on to say that he fully intends Toronto to re-sign Bosh this summer.

As far as any upcoming moves to improve the roster prior to the trade deadline, Colangelo made it crystal clear that if the Raptors do anything it will be as BUYERS and NOT sellers. Bryan indicated that if Toronto can make a significant acquisition to upgrade the roster and bring in the missing piece to the puzzle (assuming it makes sense), then he'll do it.

The Raptors GM went on to add that with luxury cap and CBA issues looming, there may be some unique opportunities out there. Reading the tea leaves, it seems that Bryan knows that MLSE's financial muscle can absorb a contract or two while some small market teams are looking to dump salary - even if it means the struggling team ships out a very, talented player.

Bryan then elaborated when he spoke to the Globe & Mail:

“We're talking to a few teams to see if there's anything we can do to improve our basketball club,” said Colangelo. “We've never sat back and been comfortable. We're always going to compete and improve our levels of competition.

“I'm talking about not only a tweak, but in a big deal, we're going to be a buyer, not a seller.”


Bryan is looking to upgrade the roster

Here's the good news for Raptor fans.

Clearly Colangelo is aware that the Raptors are not yet an elite team. Unlike some (like a few delusional Pollyana callers to the Raps postgame radio show on Sunday), Bryan knows he can't sit still and get past the first playoff round with the group of players he has now.

So if the right deal presents itself, Bryan will definitely try to upgrade the roster - even if that means preying on the league's weak sisters.

Quite often in these pre-deadline interview situations, a GM will be careful with his words and say something like, "we're always looking at what's available ..... but we're pleased with what we've got." That wasn't Bryan's approach at all. Maybe, its the pressure he's feeling from Brian Burke, his Maple Leaf counterpart. Whatever it is, Raptor fans don't care. Most knowledgable fans understand that the Men in Red could benefit from an upgrade or two.

I defintely get the sense that Colangelo has a lot of irons in the fire and those irons will only get hotter as we move through the All-Star break next week.


It's all about Bosh

As I've said repeatedly since the preseason - this year is all about giving Chris Bosh every reason to re-sign with Toronto in the summer. If Bryan can add another key piece in the next couple of weeks, then it becomes very difficult for Bosh to turn down a contract from the only team that can offer him a no-strings attached max money deal.

If not for Bosh, Bryan might be willing to sit on his hands and be more cautious. But with Bosh's future potentially hanging in the balance, Colangelo knows he needs to swing for the fences.

If I was to place odds, I'd have to say there is a better than 80% chance that Bryan Colangelo makes a move before the deadline. He certainly doesn't sound like someone who's prepared to ride out the season with the status quo in place.

Stay tuned. The next shoe will be dropping soon.