The AltRaps Blog

globeandmail.com: From Deep
Which brings us to the Raptors. Last season the contract extension that got most of the attention in pre-season was the four-year, $33-million (U.S.) deal for T.J. Ford. Some skeptics thought it a little flush for a relatively unproven player with a scary injury history. But for Raptors president Bryan Colangelo it was the right message to send to a player he was convinced was going to be the engine that ran his team.

With his financial future settled, Ford was free to run the team in a pass-first manner. And perhaps it’s just a coincidence, but this season, the first of his extension, one of the biggest improvements Ford has made, according to Sam Mitchell, has been “how easy he’s been to coach,”

Which isn’t to say he wasn’t before, just that with another year under belt and the tangible confidence the organization has shown in him, Ford is able to take criticism for what it is: a chance to improve.

But it’s other low-profile deals that need to be considered too. The Raptors were under no pressure to pick up the option on Kris Humphries rookie deal last season, but they did. In part it was to protect themselves if he did have a break-out season, but also to save themselves from having a player at the end of their rotation both sweating playing time and sweating minutes, never a good combination.

This season the Raptors picked up the fourth-year option on Joey Graham’s rookie contract while Humphries was given a three-year extension that starts in 2008-09. And in the midst of those negotiations, an effort was made to come to an agreement with Carlos Delfino, a goodwill gesture to a player who was otherwise comfortable about heading into free agency next season.

Handled clumsily any of those situations could end up being sources for resentment in the bottom half of the rotation. Instead it means that players can accept their roles at least with the confidence that it’s not costing them money.