Another year another year wasted. If you are as fed up a Toronto Fan as me you wonder when the Raptors will finally start to make some changes. Here is a list of my top-5 ways to fix the Raps;
Keep Andrea
If you look at any contender in the league, you will notice a trend, that they have at least one franchise player. Fortunately, for the Raptors while they are far from being a contender they do have a star in Andrea Bargnani. As such the Raptors must do whatever they have to keep him in Toronto and keep him happy. And while they could have a sit down with him and ask him what he needs to be happy, the best course of action is to win and build a team around him (plus requesting input from star players often has disasterous results).
Get One Playmaker
Has any NBA enthusiast looked at Toronto’s roster in the last 5 years and even thought it was mediocre? Aside from Andrea, Toronto has one of the most underwhelming rosters in the league. The Raptors need desperately to add at least one other star (and preferably one with some defensive skills) if they ever hope to get out of the basement. And while it has been tough historically for Toronto to attract talent they need to either scour the league to see if they can get any disgruntled teams to unload a star (i.e. Rajon Rondo, Stephen Jackson etc.) or work the phones to woo some solid free agents this summer.
Coach
It is absolutely time for the Raptors to go after a proven coach. Enough with the untested assistants looking to use the Raptors to get their feet wet or former players looking to make their names off the court. I know it is tough to find good coaches, especially those with titles, but Larry Brown is out there and so are a lot of other ones who have at least made deep playoff-runs.
Accountable GM
Although Brian Colangelo’s tenure as GM has been brief, he has made some questionable moves over this span. However, none of these blunders was as terrible as letting Chris Bosh walk for nothing. The writing was on the wall for over a year and instead of doing what the whole basketball world knew needed to be done, he stood pat. Indefensible. He could have easily flipped Bosh to the Knicks for David Lee and a guard but he did not do that, or a million other possibilities. If you gamble and lose the way Colangelo did, you should prepare to be accountable for your actions.
Take a Calculated Risk
In contrast to Colangelo’s risk that placed the entire franchise in jeopardy when it failed, there are some low-risk high return scenarios currently available to the Raptors. For example, Toronto could easily make a minimum offer to one of the high-priced players around the league who were “amnestied” by their teams this past year or players with big names looking to get back in the game (like Allen Iverson). For minimum money they could get rewarded by an explosion of talent if the player returns to form. And even if the move does not worked out at least you have got people talking and interested in the Raptors again and the buzz could help you land other deals by showing to the sports world that you are willing to make smart moves to improve your squad.
