B.C. Resurfaces, Re-Tools Raptors All In A Day’s Work
July 9th, 2009 | by SL |
It was a busy 24 hours for Bryan Colangelo. A period where fans were kept in the dark with nary a whisper of just how their team’s roster would look heading into the 2009-10 season. B.C. got it done, and in a big way.
There were doubters, myself included, that felt that Colangelo may have had more mess on his hands than even he could deal with. It was a good trade, the Raptors addressed their immediate need of a shooting guard in Antoine Wright while adding a decent vet in Devean George. We get Hedo Turkoglu, of course, but perhaps the most valuable play by B.C. on the day was bringing back the mid-level exception.
Is there a general manager in the NBA that can maneuver his way around the CBA more adequately that Bryan Colangelo? I dunno, but what he pulled off late last night was enough to get all the Tweeters declaring Thursday “#BryanColangeloDay”.
Raptors’ management capped off an exciting day by signing first-round pick DeMar DeRozan through the 2010-11 season. With all the wheeling and dealing, the Raptors sit just below the $57.7 million salary cap with a chunk of change (as much as $12 million right now) to spend on rounding out the depth chart. Lest we forget the MLE, which could help bring back Carlos Delfino and Colangelo also retained the team’s Larry Bird rights.
Despite the rumours that had surfaced over the past week, not many people could have envisioned the Raptors actually pulling off a sign-and-trade of this magnitude involving Shawn Marion while actually adding a couple of serviceable pieces in the process. Assuming that Wright will remain with the Raptors, he should see the bulk of starts at SG while DeMar DeRozan develops. Hopefully, Delfino returns to Toronto and provides some defensive support and a nice touch off the bench.
Things are positive in Raptorland today, and it doesn’t look like B.C. and co. are finished “tinkering”.
Tags: Antoine Wright, Bryan Colangelo, Carlos Delfino, Devean George, NBA, Toronto Raptors
By eyebleaf on Jul 10, 2009
No way DeRozan starts?
By SL on Jul 10, 2009
I can’t see him starting out of the gate. But if that ability gets tamed a little bit, he’ll see some starts eventually.
By Vittorio De Zen on Jul 10, 2009
“Lest we forget the MLE, which could help bring back Carlos Delfino and Colangelo also retained the team’s Larry Bird rights.”
The bird rights mean that we don’t have to use any of the MLE on Delfino. The Raps can re-sign him (and Pops, or even Parker if the Cleveland deal isn’t complete) before making use of the MLE and the bi-annual exception.
There will no doubt be some tinkering to be done, as the Raptors’ roster stands at 12 players right now. I’m guessing at least one of Douby, Wright, and George is shipped out before the season starts.
By SL on Jul 10, 2009
Vittorio:
Do the bird rights apply to Delfino even though he wasn’t a Raptor last season? I figured something was up after it was announced that the qualifying offers were rescinded on Pops and Delfino.
Looks like Parker is gone to Cleveland, I shed a tear, but it was a good move for him.