A.W.#8

The Raptors need to have a great summer, perhaps their best ever. They need to think long and hard about how they are going to convince Bosh to extend his contract after it's up. This summer I'm assuming there will be a lot of shakeup in management, and dare I say coaching. Bosh is probably not going to like dealing with 3 coaches, and three GMs in three years. They need to grab an impact player and a good future in order to turn the corner. And then bring in some competent basketball minds in the front office. The draft is really the only way the Raptors will get a marquee player. The only free agent chances they will get will be risky investment type deals(i.e. Rafer).

So draft well Raptors, I don't want to laugh my head off again this year when I hear your 8th overall pick.

Numbed One

There isn't going to be any coaching changes. Sam did an alright job for a rookie coach, he'll be a better coach next year now that he has been through a tough season.

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SkywalkerAC

Your assumption that there will be significant changes in the coaching/management teams will be wrong. As you said, Bosh needs stability, and so does this team. Mitchell and Babcock are our guys for the next few years. Also, we've gone over this many times before on the board- it would be VERY difficult (taking the minimum offer for his fifth year) and COMPLETELY out of character for Bosh to leave this team against its wishes.

It is a HUGE draft year for us, probably our biggest to date as we finally have the opportunity to solidify a very good team twelve deep, with a good backcourt and a good frontcourt. I don't know if this draft could potentially make us a contender for the championship but it should certainly make us a contender for the playoffs. However, the following draft (if it isn't crippled by an age limit) could be equally important.

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ansoncarter

I think Bosh crying on the bench might have sped up our 3yr rebuild plan to one offseason. Unfortunately

ansoncarter

and isn't Olowakandi the only guy to actually turn down a deal and play out his rookie contract????

completely blew up in his face

worse case scenario is Bosh signs with another team and we match. He asks for a trade, and we get a boatload for him.

A.W.#8

I'll make you a friendly wager that Babcock is gone this summer.

Turkish Delight

Throw me into it as well. Babcock will stay.
As skywalker already mentioned, we need stability in this organization, and just throwing another random GM in the mix won't solve our problems. Babcock has been through a lot this season, just like Sam Mitchell, and it's not only a learning process for our team, but for them as well.
They will still have their jobs going into next season.

Turkish Delight

How?
He wasn't crying becuase this wasn't the place he wanted to be in. He wanted to win. It's actually a good thing, because it shows that he cares so much about winning, and winning with the Raptors.
What he did is nothing but good news the Raptor fans, because it shows us how motivated he'll be to winning next season.

A.W.#8

I guess I should clear up my stance on the situation. I have only started visiting the Raptors Board on a regular basis, so excuse me if I repeat other people's sediments.

I want nothing more than there to be stability within the organization, but I also believe that hiring Babcock was just a really big mistake. I think hiring Sam was a mistake too, but I think it could also be a mistake firing him, simply for the sake of Bosh. However, I read a little while back that people within the organization had lost all faith in Babcock, and I can see how that is so. He has made some questionable moves. At the same time, he HAD to make a move on a few occasions, and luck just didn't go his way. I think we know what I'm talking about. So what I'm getting at is the Raptors need to get to winning, and erasing all of their past mistakes. Mistake 1, hiring Babcock. I'm sure it won't have much of an effect on the way the team is run, it will just get someone who is a bit smarter. So feel free to respond with what you think Mr. Delight.
Peace

speedythief

It's an important offseason but given Babcock's style, I doubt it will be a busy one for us. We'll probably add two first-rounders, ship our second-rounders overseas, buy-out Murray, encourage E-Will to stay, and not pick up the options on Woods and Palacio.

Turkish Delight

Well I'm glad you started posting here. We need more people to have discussions with.. Anyways..

All those unnamed sources is a bunch of bull**** if you ask me. I don't pay attention to any of that kind of stuff. Babcock might have made some questionable moves I guess, but it's too early to tell if they were bad moves.

Araujo is a rookie, and as we all know it's been a tough year for him. It's too late to say that it was a bad pick by Babcock, because as we all know, centers take a lot longer to develop. Also for the Vince Carter trade, sure he is playing well in New Jersey, but the point is, he wouldn't be playing at that level here in Toronto, and that wasn't Babcock's fault. Simply be eliminating VC from our roster, we became a better team. Those two draft picks that we will receive will balance out the trade in the long run I think.

The one move that I'm sort of bitter about is the buying out of Alonzo's contract. Babcock was in a tough position, he did save about 5 or 6 million dollars though didn't he? Even if we somehow traded Zo away for someone who's contract expired this season, we'd still be over the cap, so the fact that his contract is still counting against our cap, isn't a major problem. I'm just kind of dissapointed that Babcock just let go of him so easily, and didn't succeed in getting something in return for him. I don't have too much knowledge on any specific trade ideas involving Zo that Babcock and other GMs were involved with, so it's tough for me or anyone of us, to criticise him for not pulling the trigger on a trade.

As I said, it's been only one year. We have to give Babcock a chance to put his plan into action. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will Toronto's hopes of winning a championship.

ansoncarter

but thats the point. If we're on a 3yr plan, there won't be much winning next season. Or at least, Rob will be making moves for 2007/8(?) not for next season

I'm just saying if Bosh is so frustrated he's crying (LOL) they might scrap the whole idea

Turkish Delight

As I said in my previous post, it's about patience.
This franchise isn't just going to become a contender overnight.

ansoncarter

he might end up suprising everybody. He probably knows his reputation is in tatters. I could see him being bold this summer

Jalen for Penny is still out there. Someone is going to want E.Will (aren't they? I think so, but who knows) Lammond could get us a useless contract thats a year longer and comes with a pick or something. Maybe one of our picks will even get moved.

I think something big(ish) is coming. Rob seriously needs some rep points right about now