The Events That Led Us To Our 2009 Toronto Raptors

If you can sum up the Toronto Raptors' 2009 offseason, one word you might use is "amazing." If you ask me, I would throw in words such as anticipation and depth.

Asking yourself these questions really help analyze the task at hand and help one understand the situation a lot better.

Seeing how questions help gain knowledge, I want to throw one more curve ball at you.

Is all of this anticipation surrounding the Toronto Raptors ultimately a good thing or bad thing?

[Dora the Explorer stare]

In my eyes, I see it as a bad thing.

And I know what your thinking.

"How on earth can signing star players and bench tools be a bad thing?" Well, this anticipation should have been expressed a long time ago.

The off-season of 2008 and the time between that and the 2009 trade deadline only determined one thing; it proved that Toronto was no home for Jermaine O'Neal. We might of got Jake Voskhul and Roko Ukic on the way, but they were no help.

A change was needed at the time, and unfortunately, change went for the worse.

But Torontonians are no stranger to change gone wrong. In fact, I think the Raptors are right up there when talking about change.

The Babcock Era

It is quite amusing to actually see that the Toronto Raptors' franchise already has little er's to recall all of their history.

You have the SkyDome era; after that the Vince Carter era; then the post-Vince Carter era, which is combined with the Babcock era; and the wait, did I just say Babcock era? What the heck is that Aaron Navarro?

Well, ladies and gentlemen the Babcock era is named after the worst General Manager to ever manage a basketball organization. It just so happened that the worst general manager was managing the Toronto Raptors at the time.

He orchestrated a parade of mistakes; each having their own separate negative.

In simpler terms, Rob Babcock was the mastermind behind one idiotic plan.

Dealing With Vin-Sanity.

If you take a survey around Toronto, or even the entire world, and ask "Should Vince Carter's jersey be hung up in the rafters of the Air Canada Centre?," almost half of the surveyed audience would not accept Carter's jersey.

But heck, who are we fooling here people? The man led the Toronto Raptors into the playoffs three straight years. He gave a face to a faceless franchise. And besides Chris Bosh, Vince Carter is the most popular man in all of the Raptors' history.

To jog the ol' brain for a second, Toronto's hate for Vince Carter began when he was shipped off to New Jersey in 2005 for absolutely diddly squat.

The Raptors received a half blind player in forward Eric Williams, a nice bench ornament in forward Aaron Williams, an unhealthy center in Alonzo Mourning, and two future first-round draft picks.

I could get more in a Big-Mac meal than what was given by New Jersey!

So us Raptors fans watched Eric and Aaron Williams on the bench, Alonzo Mourning flee to Miami, and Vince Carter average 27.5 points per game in New Jersey.

And all of this was amazingly thought out by yours truly, Rob Babcock.

Darn Draft!

When you slip the word "draft" beside the team "Toronto Raptors," you can't help but to hold your breath because you never know what your going to get.

We have to give props to the Raptors for drafting players such as Damon Stoudamire, Marcus Camby, Tracy McGrady, and Chris Bosh.

But there are some selections that do not go well with fans in Toronto.

In 1999, the Raptors began their European quest and drafted forward Aleksandar Radojević 12th overall, from Barton County Community College. The Raptors passed on players such as Ron Artest, Corey Maggette, and Manu Ginobili.

Two years later, with the 17th overall pick, the Toronto Raptors drafted forward Michael Bradley out of Villanova. Bradley was chosen before Zach Randolph, Richard Jefferson, and European guard Tony Parker.

The 2004 Draft would present the Toronto Raptors with the eighth overall pick. However, the Raptors might of had Stevie Wonder calling the shot that night because they selected forward Rafael Araujo, before the likes of Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, and Kevin Martin.

The year after that, the Toronto Raptors drafted Joey Graham 16th overall. Joey G was picked over players like Danny Granger and David Lee.

If the Raptors waited four years for Joey Graham to blossom, what could of happened if the Raptors selected Danny Granger?

The 2006 Draft brought Andrea Bargnani to Toronto. The Raptors drafted Bargnani first overall passing players like Brandon Roy and Rajon Rondo; both developed faster than Bargnani.

The draft and the Toronto Raptors go together as well as water and oil; both can't tolerate each other.

Player Trades and Blends

For a franchise that is fairly new to league, the Toronto Raptors have seen its fair share of players; they come in and they go out.

And out of the 30 teams in the National Basketball Association, I would have to give Toronto the most props for experimenting with certain players and combos. Some were beneficial, others not so much.

The Raptors traded Antwan Jamison away for Vince Carter, and it proved to be a smart move teaming Vince Carter with his cousin Tracy McGrady. Trading Jonathan Bender for Antonio Davis worked out. Even bringing guard Mike James was an intelligent move, despite his selfishness most of the time.

For all of that, there are the mistakes and out of control experiments that ruined the chemistry of the Toronto Raptors.

Street legend Rafer Alston sounded like a reasonable deal, but it only caused a chaotic relationship with Alston and the general manager at the time, Rob Babcock.

Trading TJ Ford, in my eyes, might have been a bad move on the part of general manager/genius Bryan Colangelo.

Even though Ford was unhappy with his playing time and the lineup when coming back from his injury, you need to remember that the TJ Ford and Jose Calderon point guard combo was one of the best in the league at the time.

Trading Ford to Indiana brought forward Jermaine O'Neal across the Canadian boarder.

Some compared O'Neal and his new teammate Chris Bosh as the next "Twin Towers," but time would tell that it was a complete bust. Both needed operation space that was never constructed during the season, and as a result, Jermaine O'Neal was sent packing to the Heat.

Entering the 2009-2010 season, it will be interesting to see how the Toronto Raptors handle the new roster changes.

A New Hope

Every team in this league tastes success and defeat.

For example, the Sacramento Kings ruled the NBA world during the early part of the decade, but flopped once they traded away all their star players.

Like Sacramento, the Toronto Raptors will be searching for success this season, and lets just hope that the moves made in the summer help strengthen the chances of a good one.

The Raptors couldn't be more ready.

With a team high in talent and depth, a coaching staff that is experienced, and a fan-base composed of an entire country, the Raptors are stocked up for the season.

Toronto, are you ready?

Final Note.

Comments are welcome and I would love to discuss this more with you.

If I've missed anything, please feel free to inform me; your knowledge is my fuel.

Thanks for reading.