| Colangelo Makes The Raptors Legit Authored by Aaron Bronsteter - February 27, 2006 - 3:22 pm
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After watching the Raptors and following their every move for nearly eleven seasons, never have I breathed as big as sigh of relief as today, when it was reported that Bryan Colangelo would take over as the team’s general manager and president.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) have opened up their wallets and the fans and media have opened up their hearts.
Chuck Swirsky, the voice of the Toronto Raptors, stated on The Chuck Swirsky Show – his sports talk show on the FAN 590 – that if MLSE could land Colangelo that it would be the most important move in the history of the Raptors franchise.
So what will be the difference between the woeful Raptors team that let a 24 point lead in the 3rd quarter slip in a loss to the Mavericks this past Saturday and the team that takes the floor versus the Miami Heat tonight?
It will be a subtle unnoticeable difference, but you will be a watching a team that has gone from years of running in circles to a team with a roadmap to success, from a team with the blueprints for a yellow brick road to the foundation of those bricks going towards building the path.
Some will ask why this is such an important move for the Raptors, it’s not like the team has acquired an all-star player or an established winning coach, but Colangelo’s rap sheet speaks for itself.
Colangelo is only forty years old and is the reigning NBA executive of the year. His father Jerry moved to Phoenix to become the franchise’s first general manager in 1968, when Bryan was only 3 years old. Bryan has been the Suns general manager since he was 30 and is serving in his seventh year as team president.
During Colangelo’s tenure with the Suns, the team has made the playoffs in eight of ten seasons and barring disaster, that streak will continue to nine of 11 seasons this year.
Colangelo’s NBA draft hauls have included Steve Nash, Michael Finley, Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire, all of whom have been NBA all-stars.
And speaking of Nash, Colangelo was able to acquire the Canadian point guard phenom after a risky move in which the Suns traded the bulky contracts of Stephon Marbury and Anfernee Hardaway to the Knicks for expiring deals, which would result in enough cap room to offer a maximum contract to Nash and pry him away from the Dallas Mavericks. In his first year since returning, Nash won the league’s coveted Most Valuable Player award after leading the team to the league’s best record and inevitably the Conference Finals in the playoffs.
Colangelo has been the Suns general manager for as long as the Raptors have been an NBA franchise and in that time, the Raptors have made the playoffs in three out of their ten seasons and are very unlikely to make it in their eleventh.
Recently, the Raptors fired their lame duck general manager Rob Babcock, the man responsible for yielding horrible trade value for the team’s once franchise player, the injury-prone Vince Carter who demanded a trade soon after Babcock’s arrival to the team.
Babcock lasted just over a year and a half in his position before he was asked to jump right back into the Air Canada Centre’s revolving door that brought him in.
Thankfully, after the recent trading of Jalen Rose, who was slated to make just under $17 million next season for the expiring contract of Antonio Davis, Colangelo will come to the Raptors with some financial flexibility.
The team is also coming off the heels of having Chris Bosh named as the team’s third all-star in franchise history, who seems committed to the Raptors organization for the long haul.
Most importantly, bringing in Colangelo as both team president and general manager finally gives the Raptors franchise a sense of legitimacy, something that the team has urgently needed after being visibly taken advantage of after the Carter trade.
Sadly, this will end the short-lived reign of the huggable and loveable Wayne Embry, the 68 year old hall-of-famer that stepped in to take over in the interim throughout the hiring process and has been committed to the Raptors organization. Hopefully he will stick around in some capacity or he will certainly be missed by the Raptors fans and media who have greeted him with open arms.
On a positive note, it will finally end Richard Peddie’s nearly ten year stint as Raptors team president after countless scapegoats and poor decisions.
Finally, I can sit in front of my television and refrain from cringing when the team loses a game because I am now assured that the team has put forth the time and resources towards bringing a proven, winning executive to Toronto.
Not only should this put Raptors fans at ease, but it should also give casual Toronto sports fans a chance to enjoy a new sport knowing that the team is committed to success. |
