Toronto Raptors coach Jay Triano (L), Amir Johnson (C) and general manager Bryan Colangelo (R) annonce that Johnson has been re-signed, in Toronto on Thursday, July 8, 2010.Adrien Veczan/The Canadian Press
It's become a tradition, possibly more interesting than the season itself.
While in theory the point of competing in the NBA would be to play deep into June, when the conference finals are decided and the league crowns a champion, in practice that's been as unlikely a concept in Toronto Raptors history as standing on Mars.
But give Raptors president Bryan Colangelo credit. He makes July - the month when NBA teams do most of their roster moves - absolutely compelling.
A week ago the Raptors were in a grim spot. Franchise forward Chris Bosh was heading straight for the bosom of Miami, leaving the Raptors holding - metaphorically - a bag of smelly diapers. It seemed that Toronto wasn't even going to get the benefit of a trade exception as a parting gesture for faithfulness - an arcane but significant asset that would allow Toronto to begin rebuilding. In any case, the roster promised to be an uninspiring and patchwork collection of talent that was overpaid, underachieving and lacking in star power.
And yet there was Colangelo nearly sneering at the idea that maybe, finally, it was time to take a few steps back to take one forward, a common refuge in the NBA where finishing poorly and shedding contracts allows teams the chance to replenish themselves with high draft picks bolstered by free-agent signings. It is not a league that rewards the middle ground.
Rebuild? Colangelo scoffed. No thanks. I'll retool on the fly.
He always does. It worked magically in the summer of 2006-07 when he brought in 12 new players and crafted a team that won 47 games out of one that had won 27 the year before. But well enough was never good enough and each summer poured smoking liquid in and out of beakers, seeking something more perfect.
More three-point shooting? Let's give Jason Kapono that big contract he so badly deserved. Need a big body to protect the rim and save wear and tear on Bosh? Trade for Jermaine O'Neal. More playmaking? Sign Hedo Turkoglu. More rebounding and some hard fouls? Trade for Reggie Evans. Need to appeal to Chris Bosh? Sign his buddy Jarrett Jack.
The only problem is that as the win totals slid Colangelo's resourcefulness seemed like so much running on the spot. A two-time executive-of-the-year, sure, but he also eagerly committed $149-million to T.J. Ford, Jose Calderon, Turkoglu and Kapono. Talk about hangovers.
And finally it seemed it had caught up with him. Bosh was gone, seemingly prepared to sign for less money, if he had to, in order to play with his buddies in South Beach. And the Raptors were stuck.
The only problem with that scenario is it underestimates Colangelo's sheer doggedness, a character trait that flies in the face of those who attribute his career arc more to his pedigree as second-generation NBA royalty than to his own abilities. Simply, he doesn't know when to quit.
And so word began filtering out late Sunday night that a "complex" deal was in the works. By midday Monday the framework had all been confirmed: out were the seemingly untradeable contracts belonging to Turkoglu and Calderon, off-loaded to Phoenix and Charlotte, respectively. In are Leandro Barbosa from the Suns and Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler from Charlotte.
In trades like this there are always warts - all three of the incoming players are coming off poor seasons because of injury or lack of interest. But indisputable is that they're younger and cheaper than the players going the other way - the Raptors will save about $25-million and all three will be off the books by 2012 - and at their best are almost certainly better players, having played key roles on elite NBA teams not long ago.
And the show isn't over. The Raptors still have trade exceptions, worth about $18-million, which they can use to add players without parting with any assets. They have two-first-round draft picks in 2011. They still have Marcus Banks's expiring contract to trade.
If it's July in Raptorland it must be time to remake your roster, and Colangelo has the pieces to do it. Yet after so much motion over the years leading nowhere, Raptors fans can't help but take a wait-and-see attitude before buying in again. Better this time to let July's work be properly evaluated come November.
In the meantime they can't help but watch.