Toronto Raptors - We can't be pathetic forever, can we?

[T Dot O Dot]

So is getting Phil Jackson here in place of Colangelo too much of a dream?

yes. He turned down Cleveland which has better raw talent imo. I doubt he would consider Toronto. Jackson seems to be only a big market person.

4th largest market in north america, we leapfrogged ahead of chicago last year

correction aside, Phil Jackson aint coming to Canada Yoss and I really dont want him in any front office role here, I dont get why you're even entertaining the notion

[yossarian1234]

Well, I want Colangelo gone and if they are worried about having no one with enough credibility to replace him and being forced to choose someone like Stefansky, then Phil Jackson would bring enough credibility with him. Generate interest around the city if they are worried about bottomline hurting. There's enough here for him to go either way with the roster (build on what's here vs. start over) and no matter the choice, he's big enough name that he'll buy time for this team with fans. One could argue coaching is quite different from front office position but I don't see why he wouldn't be able to do it. He has enough credentials, heck, anyone's better than Colangelo at this point and I'd rather the team take a chance on someone like him than some hack like Babcock.

Think he could do a good job here. Only concern is age and health.

[Jungle Rat]

So is getting Phil Jackson here in place of Colangelo too much of a dream?

yes. He turned down Cleveland which has better raw talent imo. I doubt he would consider Toronto. Jackson seems to be only a big market person.

4th largest market in north america, we leapfrogged ahead of chicago last year

correction aside, Phil Jackson aint coming to Canada Yoss and I really dont want him in any front office role here, I dont get why you're even entertaining the notion

You still gotta admit though. It's still Canada.

[sotola]

LOL that's pretty sad.

Go read one of you comments.... I hope you live up to it if they remain.

I REALLY DO!!!!!!!!

that would be worth another season of pain by itself

[sotola]

I could see Jackson doing it because a) he hasn't really ever cared about what other people (non players/coaches) think and b) he could actually demand everything the Lakers wouldn't give him.

with that said, I think the Raps WILL stick with the current duo because they created the mess so paying them not to clean it up would be a waste of money. Also, a good GM will want opportunities and Gay is practically immovable until next summer unless you find another desperate GM willing to take on the salary. I think they ride the two guys and depending on results.... either dump them about a month before the trade deadline (to avoid any additional dumb moves) or re-assess them in the off season if they did a good job. In any case, I DON'T see BC being allowed to make any major deal unless it improves the financial situation short term.

No good GM takes this job right now because the only deals they could make would be risky ones (ie. taking on overpaid "all stars" at the expense of promising young talent).

[yossarian1234]

LOL that's pretty sad.

Go read one of you comments.... I hope you live up to it if they remain.

I REALLY DO!!!!!!!!

that would be worth another season of pain by itself

You really need some serious reading comprehension...

Just because I'm done with the team, doesn't mean I won't be around to point at Colangelo's erroneous ways.

[hedge]

"You still gotta admit though. It's still Canada."

I thought he was referring to the whole country of Canada as North America's 4th largest market. Still, I was surprised that Canada had leapfrogged Chicago...

[yossarian1234]

with that said, I think the Raps WILL stick with the current duo because they created the mess so paying them not to clean it up would be a waste of money.

They might have to pay Casey, not sure how long his contract is, but they don't pay Colangelo if they don't pick up his option. And technically, Casey didn't directly create this mess. So WRONG, again.

Actually, weren't you of the opinion that they'll both be let go? Now you change your tune to sound like it actually makes sense to keep them? The only reason MLSE wouldn't fire Colangelo is because they are confused and lost, being relatively new, and don't know what the hell they are doing. Also lazy cause they don't want to go through the whole hiring process and would rather stick one more year with a lame duck GM and coach whose clock, everyone knows, is ticking.

As for tradeability of Rudy Gay, people were willing to take him before, his contract gets slightly shorter compared to midseason with 2 years left with 2nd being player option (which teams could get him to decline for a more reasonable but long-term contract), and he's improved his efficiency down the stretch closer to his career norm. He is tradeable. Tricky but can be done and the rest of the roster is much easier to deal away. They weren't that good to begin with so if tanking for Wiggins was the goal, for example, it wouldn't take much for this team to go for it. Just don't let Dleague scrub like Alan Anderson get in the way late in the season.

It will take a lot of effort and some fans might not like it but a big name like Phil Jackson could do it and get away with it while rebuilding the roster, which is why I want someone like him to replace Colangelo. A hack like Babcock wouldn't be able to get away with it, do it half-assed cause he's scared of angering people, and get tossed out like garbage in the middle of it and we'll be back to square one.

[T Dot O Dot]

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/05/ ... -his-fate/

TORONTO — It has been nearly four weeks since the NBA season ended, and over two weeks since the fate of Bryan Colangelo was placed in the hands of Tim Leiweke, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s new superstar CEO. It appears to finally be on the verge of a conclusion.

Leiweke confirms a decision is imminent, but denies one has been reached. One source familiar with Leiweke’s thinking says the chief executive is leaning toward replacing Colangelo, and that a decision could be announced as soon as Monday. But reached Sunday afternoon by email, Leiweke said, “I have not gotten to a decision and I need to get board interaction so I think it is still up in air. That said, he may not want to be here if he does not get a long-term commitment. A lot will happen in the next few days.”
Unplugged: Tim Leiweke ready for success in Toronto with MLSE

Sources say the board representatives for Rogers and Bell, led by BCE chief executive officer George Cope and Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed, have ceded the decision to Leiweke, who has NBA ties dating back to his days as the president of the Denver Nuggets until 1995. Rogers and Bell each own 37.5% of MLSE, and have agreed to vote as a bloc; neither is believed to be in favour of retaining Colangelo, but in this case they are not making the final call. Leiweke, the former CEO of sports giant AEG, is in charge.

It is not believed that Colangelo would balk at a one-year commitment, though it would serve as a convenient fallback for both parties in the case of separation. Leiweke has been in contact with Phil Jackson, but that is not yet seen as a likely scenario for either party, in part because Jackson is engaged to Los Angeles Lakers executive vice-president Jeannie Buss. Instead, Leiweke says Jackson is merely one of several NBA figures who is providing him with advice.
Related


Leiweke and Colangelo met somewhere other than Toronto almost two weeks ago, and sources say Colangelo was informed that Leiweke would have final say on all basketball decisions until a decision was made. Colangelo presented his plan to the MLSE board on Tuesday last week, and the meeting ran for three hours; it was a pre-planned meeting, however, and included Leiweke.

All indications are that Colangelo did not pitch a drastically different course. He has said in the past that he wants to keep Rudy Gay long term, that he does not want to amnesty Andrea Bargnani’s contract, and that he believes this team can make a leap into playoff contention next season. He is betting that his current course will produce success.

Regardless of the presentation, Colangelo has come a long way since coming here as a franchise saviour in 2006. The team that won the Atlantic Division in 2007 had his fingerprints all over it — he spirited Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa from Europe, traded Charlie Villanueva for T.J. Ford, and was given a gift of the No. 1 pick in a year where Toronto only had an 8.8% chance at it.

While many Toronto sports fans do not yet know who new MLSE president and CEO Tim Leiweke, left, is, fans of the Los Angeles Galazy know him as a man who helped facilitate the transfer and signing of David Beckham to the MLS. The Galaxy have won the MLS Cup for two consecutive years.

The pick was Bargnani, so it turned out not to be lucky. But then, the Raptors have never been an especially lucky franchise, and that continued under Colangelo. The pick the Raptors sent to Indiana for Jermaine O’Neal turned into centre Roy Hibbert in 2008, and Hibbert became an all-star. Trading O’Neal to Miami for Shawn Marion helped open up the eventual salary-cap space Miami used to sign Chris Bosh and LeBron James. Signing Hedo Turkoglu with the money freed up by Marion’s departure as a free agent looked good at the time. It didn’t go well.

Colangelo’s Raptors picked DeMar DeRozan two spots after Stephen Curry in 2009. Once Bosh left and took the playoffs with him, they took Ed Davis two spots ahead of Larry Sanders in 2010. The Raptors took Terrence Ross two spots after Damian Lillard. The Raptors never passed on a clear superstar, but Jonas Valaciunas potentially aside, the Raptors always found a way to miss the boat.

There were good moves mixed in, of course. Remember, Colangelo once traded Rafael Araujo for something that wasn’t openly toxic. Well, it was Kris Humphries, but at least he’s still in the league.

But he failed to anticipate Bosh’s departure, failed to build around him while he was here, failed to find a coach who could stay on the same page. When Colangelo arrived he was a star, the son of an NBA godfather, the man who built Phoenix into an ill-fated and spectacular contender. He was supposed to be the man who made this sad-sack franchise relevant in the NBA for longer than a few minutes, finally. He tried.

We should learn soon whether or not, with the book written and closed, he failed.

[yossarian1234]

Don't like the delay one bit. If it takes you that long to decide whether or not you should pick up that option, maybe you shouldn't.

Now there's talk that Colangelo might resign because of the long wait. Well, that's just stupid. Don't let him make the first strike.

[Bklyn]

When did the new CEO take over?

[T Dot O Dot]

2-1/2 weeks ago

[Bklyn]

Oh. Well, I don't think the delay is some crazy thing, then. Yoss, you talking crazy.

[yossarian1234]

Why am I talking crazy?

I'm not the only one who thinks it's taking too long as there are numerous stories out there pointing out how this indecision might look bad for the Raptors. As I said, there's even a report out there that says Colangelo could quit before they make the decision. I wouldn't be surprised some of those stories are planted by Colangelo himself but one way or another, this isn't some new story developing. It's been going on for entire season. They have years of failure as evidence with the most recent being particularly disastrous. Leiweke comes in talking specifically about championship aspirations for Raptors, then you shouldn't even be contemplating keeping Colangelo. If it's replacing him they are worried about, well, that basically means you want him gone anyway so fire him already and look for a replacement then. If an adequate replacement can't be found, I'd much rather not have Colangelo making any decisions at all even for a year or be sitting as lame duck GM potentially poisoning the team. Wouldn't put it past him with all the BS he's been spewing with confidence lately and what he tried to pull last year with Landry Fields in an effort to sign Steve Nash.

[sotola]

bklyn.....yes, all new CEO's should fire everyone based on public sentiment immediately rather than understanding exactly what each individual brings to the table and where, if at all, they fit into the organization. If they don't make business altering decisions within minutes, they clearly don't have the ability to run an organization. You should know that!!! {rolls eyes and shakes head}

[yossarian1234]

LOL who's baiting who now.

So... what does Colangelo still bring to the table and where in the organization does he fit in? Do you even read the bullshit you are typing now?

Just go back to your little hole and continue believing Ross is a great prospect while everyone else sighs looking at Barnes and Drummond.

[Bklyn]

Actually, to Sotola's point, it's not about what BC still bings to the table. It's that it's not crazy for a brand new CEO to take more than two weeks on who to fire within on of their many personnel divisions.

[yossarian1234]

Generally speaking, you'd be correct but when you look at Raptors specifically, it's not crazy to expect not necessarily a swift action but something being done in a more efficient fashion. Especially since it's been brewing for the whole season and everybody has had their turn at saying their piece some time ago.

IMO it's also contradictory to say you have championship aspirations for Raptors and righting the team is your number one priority coming in and then take weeks to decide the firing of Bryan Colangelo who has had spectacular failures recently. You take your time to find replacement surely but letting him go should be a slam dunk. I mean didn't they fire Brian Burke (Colangelo's NHL counterpart) right after the end of lockout?

Thankfully, it looks like Colangelo era might be coming to its merciful end tomorrow... I'm hopeful.

[T Dot O Dot]

I'm still pissed that we were in a situation to have a lost coin toss against GSW by winning those meaningless games last year

looking at what Barnes is doing for golden state, I am willing to bet that had he come to Toronto he'd have given Lillard a run for his money for ROY... maybe well enough for us to not bother with the Gay trade

[T Dot O Dot]

here's a blurb from the Toronto Star backing up Yoss' point

Well, I’m told the whole front office is headed to the camp, mainly to answer questions about the dithering ownership that’s left everyone in an uncomfortable situation as the new guy tries to make up his mind.

There are all kinds of theories as to why – mostly fanciful musings of guys like me with too much time on their hands – but the simple fact is that unless something startling happens in the next six or seven hours, Bryan and the Henchmen will show up in Chicago unable to really commit to anything because of the questions surrounding their futures.

Not sure but to me that’s a bogus way to run a professional franchise and out of simple respect for the men involved, The New Guy At The Top should get something done.

Trust me, NBA people notice the way people in other organizations are treated; no one is looking good in this entire affair.