| Booing Zo Is Futile, Juvenile For Raptors Fans Authored by Aaron Bronsteter - November 23, 2005 - 4:36 am
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Step into the shoes of Mourning for just a moment. You’ve just been traded to the Toronto Raptors after demanding the New Jersey Nets trade you to a contending team, preferably the Miami Heat. You’re 34 years of age, you’ve played 100 games over the last three seasons and are recovering from a nearly career-ending kidney transplant. While suffering from these kidney problems, the Miami Heat were always on your side, but you can’t blame them for not having an interest in re-signing you at the price the Nets were willing to pay. Now you’ve been traded to the Raptors, a bottom-feeding team with no playoffs hopes for a player who give the Nets a nearly unanimous playoff berth.
Every moment you’re on the floor is a test for your new kidney, your body isn’t what it used to be and frankly, neither is your game. Do you want to spend even a second on the floor in a purple Raptors uniform? If you answered yes, you’re most likely not doing a good job of getting into character for this exercise. Face it Raptors fans, there was not a shot in blue hell that Mourning would ever get into a Raptors uniform, he was never cleared by team doctors and never would be, since every moment he spends on the floor could realistically be his last.
If anyone should be booed in this instance, it’s Raptors General Manager Rob Babcock and hasn’t he been booed enough? It was a mistake to take on Mourning’s contract, but Babcock knew from the moment he signed off on the deal that he would never play for the team and the amount of money the Raptors save in the long run is pretty substantial whether Mourning was bought out or not. If you ask Babcock and I know this because I have, why he took Mourning in the deal, it’s for financial reasons. The buyout for Mourning sits on the books for three years; last year, this year and next year, but realistically the team will not have any cap room, barring a Jalen Rose trade, until after next year anyhow.
It is a shame that Mourning didn’t want to play in Toronto, but fans must come to grip with the fact that it was not a realistic scenario for Mourning to play here. The bigger shame is that Babcock bit the bullet and bought out the malcontent rather than simply sitting on his contract and forcing Mourning’s hand.
So next time Mourning comes to town, I think it’s only fair to give him what he deserves, which is our respect. Respect for his accomplishments as a player, Mourning has averaged 19.4 points-per-game, 9.4 rebounds-per-game and 2.9 blocks-per-game despite all that he has gone through. Mourning has come to terms that he never ended up being as good as Shaquille O’Neal and despite a bitter feud with him, he now backs him up in Miami. More importantly, respect for his contributions to the community in Miami, Zo has donated and raised millions of dollars for charity and hosts Zo’s Summer Groove, an annual basketball event in Miami.
He may not have played for the Raptors, but it is important to recognize that his courage and resilience has come a long way and that Raptors fans’ energy would be better spent booing someone else. |
