Changing of the Guard

Since the Raptors hired Bryan Colangelo as General Manager in 2006, the roster has undergone multiple overhauls in an attempt to build a winner around former franchise player Chris Bosh. Soon after being hired, Colangelo brought in Mauriziho Gheradini and Masai Uriji to his basketball operations team, and they set out to develop an identity for the franchise. Gheradini, the former general manager of Italian club Benetton Treviso, came with years of international experience and expertise, and was also coincidentally running the club that produced first overall selection Andrea Bargnani. Uriji, a Nigerian native, was previously the head of international scouting for the Denver Nuggets, and prior to that did some international scouting for the Orlando Magic. So the knowledge of the worldwide game of basketball was evident in the executives that Colangelo brought on board.

This knowledge resulted in an influx of players from around the world to the Toronto Raptors. Jose Calderon was already on the roster. Soon after coming on board, Bargnani was drafted first overall. Spaniard Jorge Garbajosa was  signed. Anthony Parker was brought in from overseas, despite his domestic roots. Rasho Nesterovic was acquired in a trade with the Spurs. The following off-season, Argentine Carlos Delfino was acquired through a trade. Croatian Roko Ukic was signed after having been drafted in 2005. However the biggest roster shakeup came last summer when prized free agent Hedo Turkoglu, the Turkish native, was brought in to provide some scoring from the wing position. Amongst the many other moves made, the Raptors acquired sharpshooting Marco Belinelli from Golden State, and the Italian native was seen to be an easy fit on the European laden roster. While the likes of TJ Ford, Jermaine O’Neal and Jason Kapono spent time in Toronto in the past few years, it was clear that the management team had an interest in acquiring more European players than any other team in the Association.

Theories for why Colangelo, Gheradini and Uriji placed such an emphasis on foreign born players were far ranging. Some felt that they were attempting to appeal to the multicultural constituency of the greater Toronto area. Others felt that the Raptors were possibly blazing a new trail in the league, whereby players with international experience were more well versed in the team oriented game, and had stronger fundamental skills than their stateside brethren. Whatever the reason for the amount of international players that have graced the Raptors roster during the Colangelo era, one thing is clear, they have yielded relatively few successful results. Calderon is currently being shopped to teams around the league, Turkoglu was already traded this off season and Belinelli was traded just yesterday. Garbajosa, Nesterovic, Ukic and Delfino have all left town after underwhelming tenures with the team. It is clear that a changing of the guard is taking place, and this could be attributed to several different reasons.

Colangelo is entering the final year of his contract, and after Bosh left for Miami this summer, it became evident that another roster overhaul was necessary if he had any chance of saving his job. But this time around the powers that be have moved away from the fundamentally sound players towards the high-ceiling, athletic players. Amir Johnson was resigned to a long term contract. Julian Wright was acquired in the deal for Belinelli. Leandro Barbosa made his way to Toronto in exchange for Turkoglu. Linas Kleiza, despite his Lithuanian roots, brings skills to the table that few of the prior European players did to the Raptors. Defence. Energy. Scrappiness. Ed Davis was drafted out of North Carolina thanks to his energy on both ends of the floor. Solomon Alabi, the towering centre out of Florida State, was drafted partially for his inside presence, and partially due to his personal relationship with Uriji. With the high-flying duo of DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems continuing to make progress in the off-season, it has become clear that the modus operandi of the organization has shifted. The focus is now on exciting, high-flying players that will excite fans, no matter their country or origin.

There was seemingly a mindset at some point that the cosmopolitan citizens of Toronto, and the country of Canada as a whole, wanted to see basketball with an international flavour. But it seems as if fans are now more concerned with watching an exciting brand of the game, no matter who is wearing the jersey. As a result, high flying players have been brought in, and the “Young Gunz” will be featured prominently during the season. No matter how the team plays as a whole this year, they are sure to be exciting, and will hopefully keep people in the seats.

Another possible reason for the system change that is taking place is due to the aforementioned Gheradini and Uriji possibly finding employment elsewhere, and as a result the voices at the table are changing their tune. Uriji was interviewed today for the GM position in Denver, and Gheradini has been rumoured to be a candidate for similar positions around the league. Colangelo clearly has to build a solid foundation going forward if he wishes to have his contract renewed, and this might be the best way of doing it. If he can assert himself as the prominent front office voice, and hopefully acquire a high end player with the trade exception acquired in the Bosh sign-and-trade, then his job could be saved.

Whatever the reason for the apparent shift in organizational approach to player operations, it is sure to result in an exciting product for Raptors fans this season. There will be fewer three pointers and more dunks. This also means that there will be at times sloppier play, but there is a hope that the next franchise player will emerge from the current roster, and bring the team into the future. It might be Amir, it might be DeMar, we might even see Bargnani finally breaking out of his shell and becoming the player that we have seen flashes of over the past few seasons. Let’s just hope it is someone, for the sake of Colangelo’s job.