Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Whatever happens when the Toronto Raptors hit the floor for training camp tomorrow in Ottawa, and then for real when the NBA season opens on Oct. 28, large doses of credit should be reserved for president and general manager Bryan Colangelo.
Flashback to late April and the Raptors were coming off a disappointing 33-win season amid constant speculation that franchise cornerstone Chris Bosh was headed elsewhere first chance he could. The team was lacking in athleticism, play-making, toughness, youth and depth, and the solution seemingly required a complete makeover.
The problem was there didn't seem to be many obvious paths to correct the problem. A tear-down was a perilous approach, considering the economy was tanking and season-ticket renewals was already softening. But Colangelo hardly seemed in position to build on the club's existing strengths: solid point guard play in Jose Calderon, and the apparent blossoming of Andrea Bargnani and Bosh.
But what to do?
The first sign of promise came when he traded Jason Kapono to the Philadelphia 76ers for bruiser Reggie Evans, exchanging Kapono's heavy contract and light touch for Evans' grit. The breakthrough came when Colangelo obtained Hedo Turkoglu in a four-team deal that also allowed Toronto to retain the salary cap flexibility required to round out their roster.
DeMar DeRozan was drafted ninth overall to add a dose of athleticism on the wings; Jarrett Jack was signed to round out both guard positions; veteran Rasho Nesterovic provides a quality backup at centre while Marco Belinelli was acquired from Golden State for loose change, off-setting some of the shooting lost when Kapono was traded. One last deal brought a young energy player, Amir Johnson, from Milwaukee in exchange for the rights to Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic. By the time he rested, Colangelo had given head coach Jay Triano seven players that are expected to crack the rotation without touching Bosh, Bargnani or Calderon.
A considerable achievement by a never-resting team president. Now we get to see if it works.