Raptors Know They Must Win To Keep Bosh
Bryan Colangelo knows that the Raptors must win this season in order to keep Chris Bosh in town.
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Raptors Benefit From Inexplicable Belinelli Dump
Marco Belinelli may not be Pau Gasol, but this is an outright steal for the Toronto Raptors.
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A Quick Rebuild
Bryan Colangelo has quickly rebuilt the Raptors with several shrewd offseason moves.
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Locking Up Bargnani And Turkoglu Creates Win-Win Situation
Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu will be in Toronto for the next five years, which is good news regardless of what happens to Chris Bosh.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: Toronto Draft Preview
The Raptors need upgrades at shooting guard and toughness in paint, but are they drafting for 2009-10 or the future?
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Why Kid Canada Makes Sense For Toronto
If Steve Nash doesn't sign an extension with the Suns this summer, here is why the Raptors should sign him to an affordable two-year deal in 2010.
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Bargnani's Future Tied To What Happens With Bosh
The decision on whether Chris Bosh stays or goes is entirely up to him because, well, he’s deserved it. But, just because he deserves for the decision to be up to him, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be traded.
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Too Much Time Given To Triano
Giving Jay Triano a three-year contract was a curious decision by Bryan Colangelo; Here's why.
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Colangelo's Offseason Itinerary
This off-season is vital to the Raptors organization, and maybe more importantly to Bryan Colangelo.
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Believing In Marion
Initially a doubter of the Shawn Marion trade, Gagan Gandhi has converted, not so much in terms of wins and losses, but how it’s given the Raptors a psychological edge that it can run with any team in the league.
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Burnt On The Edges Of The Page
The truth is, Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal fit fine together. That was never the problem. Looking at the Raptors’ abysmal record and blaming it on the team’s two best players is a kindergarten tactic.
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Confidence Man No More
It isn't too far of a stretch to compare the confidence and elation in Barack Obama to the initial months of the Bryan Colangelo era in Toronto. The first 18 months for Colangelo have been far more different than the last 17 months.
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Does It Need To Be Blown Up?
Giving: it’s a word that represents the holiday season, and now it can also be associated with the Toronto Raptors because of their willingness to giveaway games, and maybe as a result, the season.
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New Coach, Old Habits
Just because a team changes it’s coach, doesn’t mean it’s players will suddenly become better –or even worse for that matter. The Raptors are already learning that lesson.
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Who Would You Rather Have: Ford Or Calderon?
If you were given the choice to have Jose Calderon or T.J. Ford run the point for your team, who would you select?
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Raptors Not Taking Advantage Of Opportunities
When your best players are playing like your best players and you’re still losing, you can’t blame anyone else but the coach.
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Patience With The Wings Flying Away
With all due respect to Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono and Jamario Moon, the Raptors can no longer afford to be outmatched on the wings on a nightly basis.
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Bend, But Don't Break
Bend, but don't break. It's a motto the Raptors had become quite accustomed to during their first three games of the season, and then became the victims of Wednesday against the Pistons.
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Raptorland’s New Carnivore
The Raptors are bringing in a player who will have an immediate impact (unlike Hibbert or whomever the Raptors would’ve drafted at 17), plays a position of need (unlike Ford,) and carries a reputation of intimidation (unlike Nesterovic).
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Pre-Draft Summit: Toronto Raptors
Toronto fans were disappointed with Andrea Bargnani this season, but couldn't be happier with 'Forderon' and Chris Bosh.
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The East’s Most Fateful Clash
The winner of this series can be patient, if ambitious. The loser has no choice but to examine the possibility of upheaval.
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Grading The Deal: Dixon For Brezec
Primoz Brezec isn’t the toughest of best men, but a big body is always valuable in the NBA these days. He began the season in Charlotte, but was dealt to Detroit along with Walter Herrmann for Nazr Mohammed back in December.
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A Presence Of Weakness
A game that would have hardly been worth watching two years ago, Friday night’s Hawks/Raptors game had an exciting air to it.
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Inside Out
It’s clear that Andrea Bargnani has a lot of talent, enough to be a serious contributor to the Toronto Raptors or, if things change, to any other NBA team. Statistically, though, he’s been a bust, with numbers comparable to Michael Olowokandi and Kwame Brown.
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Five Keys To Toronto's 2007-2008 Season
With the Atlantic division getting a major makeover this summer, many people are looking past last year’s champions. So for those of you who are still itching to see how the Raptors will do this season, here are five things to look for throughout their year.
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Rating The Atlantic Division Benches
The Raptors won the Atlantic Division largely due to their superior depth. Which other teams will get effective bench play?
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The Kings Of The NBA? Not Just Yet
Reading the Raptors RealGM Posts, it has become apparent that many Toronto fans have become worried by LeBron's sudden playoff dominance. But do they even come close to the 90's Bulls?
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Top-5 Free Agents For Toronto
The Raptors altered their roster last season via the draft (Bargnani) and a blockbuster trade (Villanueva for Ford), but it likely will happen this year via free agency.
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Reviewing The Raptors
The Raptors have a young and promising core group of players, they have veteran leadership and now all of their main pieces have NBA playoff experience under their belts. Here’s a look at how each player’s season went and a couple of things to look out for next season.
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Why The Raptors Have To Beat The Nets
Toronto fans may hate Vince Carter and everything that he stands for, but perhaps the one thing that drives Toronto sports fans more than their unbridled disgust for Carter is, yes you guessed it, winning.
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With Karma On Their Side..
Everyday from when Vince became Wince in 2002, until the day they fired Rob Babcock in January of 2006, the Raps had No Karma, but they have it now..
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Dixon Becomes Another Midas Touch From Colangelo
Bryan Colangelo continues to fire on all cylinders and the new addition of Juan Dixon at the trade deadline attests to his impressive GM tenure with the Raptors.
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Raptors Get Past Sour Vince
As much love as Toronto fans gave Vince Carter during his tenure as a Raptor, MVP chants were never part of the affection. Last night when the Raptors took on Carter’s Nets, those same fans showered Chris Bosh with an early dosage of “M-V-P, M-V-P”, much to the chagrin of an incredulous Carter.
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Bosh Magical Against Orlando
On the floor, big men Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard are almost polar opposites. Bosh, slender and silky smooth, plays with finesse, and his game operates outside to inside. Howard, a hulking rugged athlete with a raw offensive game, sticks with what he knows best -- a game played right around the basket.
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Raptors Continue To Gel With Victory Over Hawks
November 15th, 2004 feels like eons ago for win-starved Raptors fans. This date marked the last time the Toronto Raptors stood above the .500 mark.
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Pape Sow Is Back In An Emotional Return To The Court
After Monday's game, Bryan Colangelo, came into the locker and awarded Sow with the game ball. “It means a lot, to be honest. “I wasn’t expecting it. But that was something that I will never forget,” said Sow.
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Boozer Rolls Over Raptors
A game filled with phantom calls and a large amount of non-calls, was one of the most exasperating of the year for Toronto, who lost the game 102-94, to the Northwest division-leading Jazz.
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Bench And Defense Key, As Toronto Beats Kings
For the past few weeks, Raptors’ head coach Sam Mitchell has been stressing the need for players to make sacrifices in order to win games. The biggest sacrifice has been made by Fred Jones, who on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, had his fourth DNP-CD in five games.
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Raptors Pounce On Slumping Sixers
The Raptors responded from Sunday's heartbreaker, with one of their most convincing efforts of the season, and like most days, Chris Bosh led the way. Bosh scored 27 points, while shooting an exceptional 76% from the floor. He scored in every which way, including knocking down his sixth three pointer of the season.
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Dirk Comes Away Impressed With Bargnani
“He’s a better player already than I was when I was 19 or 20, so I think he’s going to be a heck of a player,” said Dirk Nowitzki about Andrea Bargnani.
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Raps Take Care Of Wounded Celtics
In a seesaw race for first place in the Atlantic division, the Raptors, once again, leapfrogged over New Jersey to take the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Last night’s victory wasn’t the slightest bit pretty, but like they say, “a win is a win”.
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The Top-10 Moments Of 2006
It was an eventful year for the Raptors franchise. Rob Babcock began 2006 as GM, but Bryan Colangelo soon assumed the position and Andrea Bargnani soon followed. Here is a list of the top moments for the club over the past 365 days.
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What the Raptors' Want Under the Christmas Tree
Perhaps Sam-ta Mitchell will give Morris Peterson his starting job back, while Sam-ta himself gets the phone number of Rob Babcock’s psychiatrist in lieu of cookies.
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On Or Off The Toronto Bandwagon?
The Raptors RIGHT NOW are not nearly playing good enough basketball to finish .500 for the season. The Raptors RIGHT NOW can not contend with the better teams in the NBA. The Raptors RIGHT NOW are currently tied for the second worst record in the NBA......COME ON GREG ODEN!!!
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RotoFreak.com: Toronto Raptors Fantasy Preview
Chris Bosh was one of the most consistent fantasy players last year - giving you 20 and 9, 50% from the field, 80% from the line, and above-average numbers in everything except for 3's each time he suited up. His little coming out party and a late-season thumb injury might have some skeptical to pick him before 15; however, we're not only expecting Bosh to match last year's numbers, we're expecting his game to go to another level.
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Ask and Thou Shall Receive
If your franchise player makes a realistic request that a GM can follow through with, then it should be done at all costs.
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Forecasting The November Schedule
The Raptors open up with a difficult, but not impossible month of November. Nine out of the 15 games are on the road, but a 6-9 finish is surely within reason, which would be a huge improvement from last year's November when they went 1-15.
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Kris Humphries: The Forgotten Raptor
A new general manager has been hired by the Raptors in Rob Babcock and with Jalen Rose, Morris Peterson and Vince Carter inhabiting the team’s backcourt, I have no idea what to expect from the team's eighth overall selection. NBA commissioner David Stern steps up to the podium and struggles to pronounce the name Rafael Araujo. I think to myself that I understand the selection, but don’t comprehend it. I wonder how I would have felt if Stern would have said the name Kris Humphries instead.
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A Less Polite Response To Strachan
Recently, Toronto Sun hockey columnist Al Strachan wrote a scathing column that urged Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment Ltd. to sell the Toronto Raptors in order to help the Toronto Maple Leafs further compete for a Stanley Cup. RealGM's Aaron Bronsteter has responded in just fashion by putting Strachan in his place.
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The Bargnani Conundrum
With the draft getting closer and closer and the insinuation that the Raptors will select Andrea Bargnani with the top pick in this year’s NBA Draft getting stronger and stronger, the obscurity of the selection becomes more and more apparent.
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The Raptors Must Select The Best Player Available
When the Toronto Raptors select the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the only person whose opinion will matter is Bryan Colangelo.
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The Mike James Predicament
The Mike James situation in Toronto is not only a strategic team dilemma but a moral one as well. He is a player that has certainly improved the Toronto Raptors this season, providing clutch shooting and a strong leadership role from the point guard position. However, he’s a player that feels he must be vindicated for his years of hard work in the NBA with an inflated contract this season. The question is whether to re-sign him or deal him in a sign-and-trade.
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Colangelo Makes The Raptors Legit
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.
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Raptors In A Position For Real Change
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.
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A Shortlist Of Things I Don’t Understand About Sam Mitchell
After intently watching the games this season, I’ve had a few revelations. After watching the game on November 23rd against the Clippers, I doubled my revelation count. I think I could actually see the splits happening in my mind, like little angry amoebas, packed full of rage. Now, don’t get me wrong -- I love Sam Mitchell the person -- but I’ve got no choice but to question some of the decisions he’s been making.
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Booing Zo Is Futile, Juvenile For Raptors Fans
Sitting up in the nosebleed section for the Raptors’ first win of the season versus the Miami Heat, I was not surprised to see the boo-birds come out every time that Alonzo Mourning touched the basketball, committed a foul, checked into the game or breathed in any of the Air Canada Centre’s oxygen. But is it really worthwhile for Raptors fans to boo this guy?
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No More Drama; Raptors Hope Soap Opera Days Are over
Wrestling or soap opera writers couldn't have scripted better plot lines than what went on in Raptor-land last season. From the sordid Vince Carter saga to the collection of unhappy campers (Rafer Alston, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams Donyell Marshall, Lamond Murray and Jalen Rose, come on down), the fractured Raptors couldn't get along with each other enough either on or off of the court to make a serious run at the playoffs.
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An Exclusive Interview With Toronto GM Rob Babcock
Toronto Raptor GM Rob Babcock was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule this weekend to sit down and answer a few questions for RealGM.
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Open Letter To The Toronto Media
I can deal with negativity. I can deal with pessimism. I can deal with the so-called “realism.” To its credit, with pessimism one is never truly disappointed. The “journalism” that I struggle to accept is the type packed severely twisted words, inexplicably misquoted facts, and unsubstantiated rumours that serve no purpose other than to cause a stir. And, unfortunately, this is all I’ve been finding in the Toronto basketball media.
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And Now We’re Going To Party Like It’s 2003
You took off your bunny slippers and went to bed last night and it was late October, 2005. However, you’ve awoken to December 7th 2003. And last night, one Rafael Araujo laid a man-sized ass-whomping on the #3 ranked Oklahoma St. Cowboys (featuring future Raptor Joey Graham coming off the bench.) The man called “Hoffa” went 10-15 from the field, and 12-16 from the line, for a game high 32 points. He pulled down a frightening 17 boards – six offensive. And he blocked a shot for good measure.
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Toronto Star TBuy-Out Feschuk
After a slow start to the season, the Toronto Star has decided to buy out veteran writer Dave Feschuk.
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Is That The Sun Breaking Through?
The toughest thing to be right now is a Toronto Raptors’ fan. The thing with the Raptors is that they just can’t catch a break. Even when things are going well – yes it CAN happen – everyone seems to be waiting for the other shoe to drop. The often ignorant U.S. media factors in, as does the inferiority complex sometimes displayed by Canadians.
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Reasons For Optimism
Amid all the negative spin turned on to every article written across the country, there are sincere reasons for fans to be optimistic. There is a definite commitment to future improvement rather than token quick-fixes, and for that reason, Raptors fans have plenty to look forward to in the years to come.
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To Bust Or Not To Bust
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.
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The Trickle-Down Effect
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Great Expectations
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00 - 01 NBA Eastern Conference Predictions
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Air Apparent
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ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER RUMOR
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TRACY MCGRADY AND THE CBA, 101
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CANADIAN OAK
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THE RAPTORS - NUGGETS TRADE
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THANK YOU DAN ISSEL. ANYMORE PLAYERS YOU WANT TO TRADE? RAEF LAFRENT
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NBA TRADE DEADLINE
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JEROME WILLIAMS, CHRIS CHILDS, KEON CLARK
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Respect with One Stroke of a Pen
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More moves to come?
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The State Of The Franchise
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Eric Maynor is an increasingly rare four-year, small college rookie. He sat down with RealGM to discuss how his first few weeks of NBA life has gone and what he has learned from Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.
LeBron James already plays for a perennial underdog in Cleveland, but moving to the Clippers would allow him to do so in a huge market and with a core that will immediately compete for championships while also having an encouraging long term outlook.
The Heat have been plagued by inconsistencies, making it difficult to determine how good they really are this season.
After a week that included wins against Denver and Boston, people around the league are starting to get the feeling that this Hawks team might be better than initially thought.
After losing their first three games of the season, Indiana has rattled off four consecutive victories with their defense being surprisingly as strong as their offense. 
The Warriors unloaded Stephen Jackson before he cratered his trade value and now Don Nelson gets to use a simplified rotation as they try to turnaround their season.
For a team that has every reason to question the direction of the franchise, the New Orleans Hornets are actually saying all the right things.
Arron Afflalo spoke to RealGM about how he is making the most of his new opportunity with the Denver Nuggets.
The 08-09 Blazers transitioned into a young, perennial playoff team and they will need to prove themselves to be a fringe championship contender this season before competing for that distinction in earnest during the 10-11 season.
The Washington Wizards are probably the toughest team to predict in the NBA this season, but we saw good indicators despite a rough night against Atlanta. 
The Lakers have the best team in the NBA by a fairly wide margin and are the prohibitive favorites to repeat. Phil Jackson's toughest job will be to keep a team this good interested for the 100+ games they'll play this season.