| To Tank Or Not To Tank Authored by Aaron Bronsteter - September 8, 2005 - 2:30 pm
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The immediate response has been to write off Raptors General Manager Rob Babcock as the next Scott Layden, thereby criticizing his every move as a misstep and claim that he has no idea what he is doing. But the question that people fail to ask themselves is how many years they have worked under the tutelage of Kevin McHale, one of the best executives in the NBA. The answer is likely zero, but Rob Babcock can say otherwise and has taken that experience and the knowledge of former GM Wayne Embry to the Raptors’ head office.
It is hard to accurately judge whether or not people have pinned Babcock fairly after he was given the unruly task of unloading an unhappy Vince Carter, the recognizable former face of the Raptors franchise.
Babcock took Carter and transformed him into taking on the inflated contract of one-time star Alonzo Mourning, grizzled veterans Aaron and Eric Williams and tenacious rookie Joey Graham. What remains is the Denver Nuggets’ draft selection in the next offseason, which looks to be in the 18-25 range.
The Raptors have now focused their attention to building the team around the young core consisting of superstar in the making Chris Bosh, disappointing rookie Rafael Araujo, 7th overall selection Charlie Villanueva, 16th overall selection Graham, 2nd round selections Pape Sow and Matt Bonner and Spanish rookie Jose Calderon.
Recently, Babcock has come under fire in the Toronto media for saying that he expects us to lose more games in this season than last. While this is likely an accurate statement, many are confused about why this claim has been made. The team had a better record last season without Carter than they did with him and have improved their team by adding young talent and only losing Donyell Marshall, Milt Palacio and Omar Cook, who may still return for another season.
The question that arises among Raptors fans with any sort of hindsight is whether it is smarter to tank the season in hopes of a solid rookie selection and attempt to compete for 2007 as Babcock has stated he hopes to do or whether the team should try to compete for the playoffs this season. The answer is that while winning builds more chemistry and more fan support, the team’s long-term stability is likely more important and developing young players by giving them the chance to play should be the team’s first priority.
It is silly in any situation for a GM to state that there is the potential to lose more games than the previous season when a team has seemingly improved under their watch, but the truth is the truth any way you slice it. But is honesty worth the criticism that will follow throughout the season or is it better to act as if you
Babcock is hoping to build up the Raptors through the draft with players that want to play in Toronto and wants to build a strong team mentality and chemistry, allowing only players who are willing to buy into that mentality onto the team.
While it seems that Babcock has made a few mistakes along the way, many of his moves have been positive. Among them would be the Rafer Alston signing, which may have looked bad at times during the past season, but Alston’s outbursts were mainly based on his strong desire for winning and playing the best basketball possible. Alston clashed with Mitchell on many occasions, but that was primarily Mitchell’s attempt to maintain team chemistry by trying to get Alston under control and not let Alston’s emotions get in the way of the team mentality. The main problem in the equation was likely Jalen Rose, who despite providing the occasional veteran leadership often does not give his all on the court or plays mind games with the fragile Alston. Although being an emotional time bomb is not exactly positive, Alston should be able to run the point efficiently when those who are interfering with team chemistry are out of the equation.
The team’s goal for this season should not be to lose, but to develop and if that means cutting the time of veterans to the point where they demand trades, that is the way it will have to be. If certain players are going to interfere with the development of Bosh and the rest of the Raptors young core, they should be pushed aside for those that work hard for their playing time.
Babcock usually plays his cards close to the chest, but in recent weeks, it has been very apparent that he has been negotiating more trades to try and either acquire some cap relief or more young talents. If Babcock can unload Rose and the other grizzled veterans or bad contracts before the season begins, this can be considered one hell of an offseason and a fresh start for the Raptors franchise. |
