Rappin' on the Raptors

It would be feasible to say that nothing that has, or hasn’t, happened to the Raptors franchise up to this point in their existence has been particularly surprising. As a franchise, they’ve seen some highs: making it to the Eastern Conference Semis in 2001. They’ve also seen their fair share of lows with only 3 playoff births in their first nine years. The lowest point in the franchise’s history would be the Vince Carter trade not simply because it meant trading a franchise player for nothing, but because it meant that a relatively young franchise was forced into rebuilding mode prematurely. Now in their tenth season in Toronto, it seems that the Raptors either have to figure out how to win with some semblance of the squad they are now grooming or basketball north of the border may vanish as quickly as Vince Carter does when his team is down by twenty.

In 2001 everything seemed so promising. The Raptors had two All-Stars, in Carter and Antonio Davis and were headed in the right direction. Their roster had a nice mixture of veterans like Charles Oakley, Dell Curry and Mark Jackson. But it wasn’t just a roster made for the day, there were young players that gave Raptors fans hope for the future. Morris Peterson, Alvin Williams and Keon Clark made fans think that the team’s success might extend past this team of mostly veteran players. This was a Raptors squad on the way up rather than on the way out. Though they took a step back in 2002 this was expected because many times when a team enjoys its first success, it steps back before it steps forward. The team had added vet Hakeem Olajuwon and some of their less experienced talent, Clark, Peterson and Jerome Williams, stepped into more prominent roles. While the Raptors were not practicing fiscally sound basketball, they still had Davis, Carter, Peterson, Clark and both Williams’ and that should have been enough for them to be a playoff team for a few years. Then 2003 happened. Vince Carter and Keon Clark checked out (albeit in different ways) and largely Peterson and Vashon Lenard, both of whom were in over their heads, led the team. In 2004 a brief ray of hope shone through in the form of Chris Bosh, Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall. That ray of hope vanished just as quickly as the team meshed unbelievably poorly. It cost Kevin O’Neill his job as coach and led to the darkest moment in Raptors history. 2005 saw the coming of the unthinkable in the trading of the franchise cornerstone, Vince Carter. The Raps received almost nothing for Carter except piece of mind that those years, of bad management and poor attitudes were hopefully in the past.

The current Raptors squad, albeit terrible in many ways, can give fans in Toronto hope for the future. While it certainly doesn’t have the “upside” of the Raps teams of the late 90’s that featured young versions of Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady and Damon Stoudamire, it does seem to have some answers. Chris Bosh, Charlie Villanueva, Mike James, Joey Graham and Jose Calderon seem to have tremendous potential for the future, but with a solid core of young players like that, it is the job of management to take this roster of “upside” and convert it into one that can be a perennial playoff contender. Toronto must learn from its mistakes of the past and make moves that are responsible. It is imperative, for the future of Canadian basketball that the Raptors take advantage of their tradable assets and create a team that can win.

It is time for the Raptors to be aggressive on the trading market. Before Kevin McHale can even consider picking up $25 million worth of expiring contracts from the Knicks, Rob Babcock, Raptors GM, must make a trade. Although there are two scenarios for a Raptors-Knicks trade that make sense, one is the better of the two. The Raptors should wait until December 15th, the time when teams can trade players acquired in the off-season, and offer Jalen Rose, Aaron Williams and Rafael Araujo to the Knicks for Antonio Davis and Jamal Crawford. While this will be a difficult sell, as Davis is a Larry Brown guy and Crawford is just starting to buy into Brown’s concepts, Rose already knows what Brown preaches and, as a vet, buying into the system should be relatively easy for him. The added incentive of Araujo, a player who has looked largely like a bust, but still holds some upside, and Carter, a tenacious defender in the last year of his contract, should be enough to sweeten the deal for the Knicks. Should the Knicks require a slightly sweeter deal, the Raptors shouldn’t hesitate to offer a second round pick as well. This trade makes sense for the Raptors because it returns Antonio Davis to a place where he was a major leader. His locker room presence would go a long way in helping the development of Bosh and Villanueva. He would also give the Raptors frontcourt depth, something they could use, at least for one season until Davis’ contract expires. This too would be a benefit as it would take roughly $13 million off their books and with shrewd financial management would create space for the Raptors to play in the summer’s open market. Jamal Crawford would provide the team with another backcourt scoring option to pair with James. A derivation of this trade that the Raptors could offer, should the Knicks not want to part with Davis, is to ask for Penny Hardaway’s contract instead. Although this would provide them with the same salary relief, as Hardaway’s contract is also up at the end of the year, it would not provide them with the frontcourt prowess that Davis provides making it a less appealing option. Acquiring Davis should be something that the Raptors strongly consider as he would be the perfect mentor for their two budding frontcourt stars.

Between trades like this and smart off-season acquisitions and draft moves, the Raptors could be poised to return to the playoffs as soon as next year. It is absolutely necessary that they invest in their future rather than trying to win this season. A smart year is all the Raptors need to become something every team would like to be: something of a factor in the league. The time is ripe for the Raptors to realize that dream and if they don’t do it now, they may never do it in Toronto. One more failed rebuilding attempt could send this team to Louisville, Kansas City or one of the other potential NBA markets salivating over the chance to grab a team. The Raptors have left their future in the hands of Rob Babcock, which is a brave move considering his track record thus far, it’s up to him to make equally brave moves to propel this team to significance once again.