Raptors Have Pieces to Rebuild Quickly in 2009

Allow me to revisit among the first things Bryan Colangelo pointed out when he became the general manager of the Toronto Raptors in early 2006. Playing in Canada only bothers certain players. Some players are absolutely neutral about it. Others, however, consider it an absolute positive.

The recent comments from Steven A. Smith during a telephone interview with the Score from New York last night, indeed suggest it bothers Chris Bosh, and has been bothering the young Texan for quite some time.

While taking a cheap-shot at Oklahoma City, Smith revealed that players like Bosh feel that their marketability suffers in places like Toronto. He concluded by listing off his resume for 20 minutes, and then stated that he would bet his pay check that Bosh would not be a Raptor in 2010. I'd take that wager.

If the problem Bosh had was similar to Vince Carter's, where a star player becomes frustrated with an incompetent front office, one might suggest that Colangelo should at the very least try to convince Bosh to stick around.

This situation is far less workable, because Bosh hasn't made his decision based on the direction of the team, but more so based on the location of the team. The team isn't leaving Toronto, and thus the issue of Bosh leaving becomes more about when than if.

One question must be considered. Are the Raptors best to hold on to Bosh until the offseason, or are they better off taking their chances now while the team that trades for him can still make two legitimate runs at the playoffs before he's up for free agency?

Colangelo ultimately has to gauge the interest right now, and see what teams like Detroit, Dallas, Miami, and Chicago are reasonably willing to give up for Bosh.

Is a package of Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince enough for the Raptors to bite? What about Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas? Will they be in a better position to make a deal once the NBA Draft rolls around and they can ask for draft picks in addition to the other pieces they require?

If the Raptors move Bosh now, they're trading him at a greater value than they would in the offseason. At this point, they could also ask for expiring contracts, which is not something they can do in the offseason unless they're looking to get contracts which expire in 2010.

What they do with Bosh aside, I mentioned in an article earlier this season that Jermaine O'Neal becomes quite an interesting prize himself after the 2008-09 season, at which point he enters the final year of his mammoth deal.

What would Jermaine O'Neal's $24 million expiring contract net the Raptors? It's worth considering. I'd assume it'd be a hell of a lot more than Shawn Marion on rental.

Now, if it is accepted that Bosh and O'Neal are going to be moved at some point before the start of the 2009-10 season, what do the Raptors have? One thing they won't have is their three best players playing the same position.

They'd have to rebuild on the fly with Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, their lottery pick, Roko Ukic, a potentially re-signed Anthony Parker, perhaps Joey Graham, and whatever they acquire in return for Bosh, O'Neal, and hopefully Kapono. Take a second to absorb that. It looks quite promising in theory.

You have an opportunity to add a much-needed star or borderline star player at the wing to play with Calderon, inject the team with potentially two lottery picks, retain your starting center who's very capable at some point in his career to become as good if not better than Bosh at half the cost, and perhaps add some size and toughness into the front court. The possibilities are endless.

But can the Raptors build around Andrea Bargnani? I think the Raptors can build with Andrea Bargnani, and it won't cost them $133 million either.

In Bargnani, the Raptors have a legitimate seven-footer, a player who gets to the basket, is learning to play in the post, a good defender with the potential to be a very good one, an excellent passer, a coachable, hard-working, 23-year-old whose skills and overall package are even more rare than Bosh's.

At this point, Bosh is a better scorer and rebounder. He and Bargnani are equally inexperienced with their backs to the basket but one could argue that Bargnani is far more willing to bang down low. Could you say anything else?

Among the two, Bosh is the worse passer, perimeter defender, shot-blocker, post defender, shooter, free throw shooter, and ultimately at $133 million, he'll be the far worse value for the dollar.

If the Raptors can pry a star-caliber wing player and a draft pick for Bosh, they'll be exactly where they are right now, only they'll have a more well-balanced roster. If the Raptors can get someone to overpay for O'Neal because he is expiring in 2010, they might actually start 2009-10 as a better team than they did in 2008-09.

If the Raptors want to avoid the ugly mess they've gone through with McGrady, Stoudemire, Davis, Christie, and now Bosh, they should simply pursue only those players who want to be in Toronto.

This includes most international players, but also North American players like Charlie Villanueva, Morris Peterson, Vince Carter, Matt Bonner, and Jerome Williams.

Those five were among the most popular Raptors to ever wear a Raptor uniform, and ultimately they loved being in Toronto despite being from the United States.

They received the love of a passionate fan base, and enjoyed living in a vibrant and multicultural city. It's really pathetic that even premature "MVP" chants couldn't change Bosh's mind.

Luckily for the Raptors, they truly will be better off without him in the long run.