| Raptors In A Position For Real Change Authored by Tyler Sherkin - February 7, 2006 - 11:26 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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Jalen Rose was no cancer; on the contrary, he has been an excellent lockerroom presence and the source of more amusing quotes than any Raptor since Charles Oakley was playing his wit here. He provided offensive spark from time to time and though he did not play anything resembling good defense, he served his purpose and it was time for him to move on. Wayne Embry traded him, along with the Denver pick and cash, to New York for Antonio Davis.
It's something of an ironic move, given that Davis was traded from Toronto for Rose but that's a smaller consideration. The significance of this trade goes well beyond a little humor. Davis has taken it in stride and said all the right things. He showed up for practice today and seemed to take to it quite well. He's a big Sam Mitchell fan from what I've heard and that can't be bad. If Davis is going to retire, Toronto is probably the best place to do it. He had his best years (including his only All-Star appearance) as a Raptor and he'll go out on a strong note once he gets used to the sets the Raptors run.
That brings me to the first layer of importance of the trade, Davis' impact on the team as a player.
He isn't a seven-footer and he's not a young guy by basketball standards but he's still got skills. He's strong, built broad and he's a physical player. He'll get down in the paint and play rough and physical. In that vein, he's exactly what the Raptors need, especially since he's a pretty good rebounder, too, especially on the offensive glass. The Raptors don't need him to be a scorer and so his relatively weak and inefficient offense shouldn't be a problem. If he's limited to put-backs, it's all good. If Davis was 28 instead of 38, he'd be one of the core pieces of the Raptors' franchise. At 38, he's posting just over 2 offensive rebounds per in under 21 minutes per game (he was doing that on New York), that's pretty impressive and an attribute that will really help Toronto.
The really important part of this trade, however, is not Antonio Davis himself but rather the implications of his contract, which expires after this season. Rough estimates have the Raptors $10 million below the salary cap after Davis' contract expires. That doesn't account for Alvin Williams; the Raptors could be rid of his contract if he's certified unplayable by the end of this season due to injuries.
The Raptors have an important off-season coming up; Mike James is almost assuredly going to opt out of his contract and it's the first chance to get Bosh signed to a long-term contract after his rookie deal. The Raptors are also at a major turning point in the rebuilding project; they need to retain Bosh but to do so, they need to show signs of stability instead of all the turnover they've experienced in the last few years. They will be looking to keep Mike James (who's been a useful player and who Chris Bosh seems to like) for starters but with the cap flexibility that this trade has created, it is possible that they could look for not one but two free agents this summer. In the event that Alvin williams comes off the cap, the Raptors could make some significant moves.
At this stage, it's not about what moves they could make. Right at the moment, the Raptors can be happy that they have the flexibility to make moves. They're not a top draw in the free agent market, so they'll likely have to overpay for desirable free agents, which could potentially cost the Raptors some of their top targets or the flexibility to sign multiple free agents.
Still, the Raptors have the ability to make moves, that's what this trade has accomplished. It's perhaps the best move a Raptors GM has made (outside of drafting Chris Bosh) in some time. You'd have to go back to when Glen Grunwald acquired Jerome Williams and Keon Clark to find the last move that was this big for Toronto. The move itself is inconsequential, the real impact is that the Raptors have finally put themselves into a position to make real change to the team. Most significantly, this is the Raptors' first chance in the acknowledged rebuilding phase to make a significant leap forward.
The rebuilding phase has been drawn out for Toronto; not nearly as badly so as in other cities but long enough that the fans are disenchanted with the team, with team management. The Antonio Davis trade is good for Toronto as a team but more importantly, it's good for the franchise. Wayne Embry is slowly rebuilding the dignity and respect of the team's management and in doing so has made it possible for the team to make some moves to increase the quality of the roster as well. That kind of move is made by teams moving in the right direction.
Way to go, Wayne Embry. |
