Andrea Bargnani Begins New Chapter with Toronto Raptors

On a trip in 2004 to Italy, Colangelo saw Bargnani play and at that very moment stated that "whenever this kid comes into the NBA, he's going to be the number-one pick". This fact was repeated through numerous interviews following the Bargnani pick in the summer of 2006, and it puts to rest the murmurs that there was no "obvious pick". For Colangelo, it was going to be Bargnani or nothing.

Seeing his blossoming rookie turn into one of the least productive players in the league—and a player who many Toronto fans booed last season—would certainly explain why Colangelo ensured that Andrea put in the work he did this offseason.

There is much more than ego on the line here. If Andrea Bargnani becomes the player Bryan Colangelo envisioned in that gym in Treviso four years ago, then the Toronto Raptor go from a treadmill team to a championship contender with two young superstars no one can matchup with playing two of the most important positions in the NBA.

In a closing interview yesterday at media day, Bargnani shrugged off comments about last year being a disaster, acknowledging it wasn't something great but at the same time not a disaster.

Bargnani mentioned that while his first season was consistently decent, his second season was filled with some spectacular performances, and some atrocious ones. Certainly the same player who could hardly score a point against Orlando in the playoffs was the same player who posted twenty points, seven assists, and seven rebounds in arguably the Raptors' most impressive win of the year, in Boston on January 23, 2008.

Another intriguing point Bargnani brought up was that he was never sure how much he was going to play, or what role he was going to play.

These facts needed to be stated to fully appreciate what Andrea did this summer. After resting for two weeks following his adenoidal surgery, he went straight to work. He ignored his duties to the Italian national team and put himself in the hands of the Raptors coaching staff. Through vigorous workouts, he's certainly convinced the Raptors new superstar, Jermaine O'Neal that he's on a road to redemption this season.

"When you watch a person work out you learn a lot about him," O'Neal said. "Some guys are naturally gifted and don't like to work real hard. They just breeze through. This guy was working hard and he really wanted it. I don't know what has gone on with him before here, but he really accepted the challenge. We played together for the first week and the next week we played against each other. He didn't shy away and I was trying to beat him to death."

O'Neal has not been shy about making predictions and having his voice heard. One name which comes up repeatedly is Bargnani's.

Perhaps one could argue that O'Neal, much like Chuck Swirsky last year, has just had one too many conversations with Bryan Colangelo and is just speaking the party line. Or perhaps one could be optimistic that a player who once suited up with players like Rasheed Wallace, Arvydas Sabonis, Scottie Pippen, and Reggie Miller knows talent when he sees it.

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