06.19
Jorge Garbajosa and the Raptors have officially parted company.
The Raptors reached an agreement to buy out the contract of Garbajosa, the Spanish forward whose career in Toronto was cut short by a serious leg injury.
“After a long, difficult and sometimes emotional process stemming from a traumatic injury to a key player, it was concluded that parting ways was the best thing for both Jorge and the Raptors organization,” Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said in a statement yesterday. “We wish Jorge nothing but the best with his basketball future.”
“We are pleased that an acceptable resolution was reached and we can finally put this behind us,” said Colangelo, who flew to Madrid on Tuesday to complete the negotiations.
While Garbajosa’s release may mean the end of his NBA career, the buyout allows the veteran forward to play for Spain at the Beijing Olympics in August.
“The doctors are happy with how I’m feeling,” Garbajosa said in a Spanish Basketball Federation release. “Aito (Spanish coach Garcia Reneses) has spoken to me several times and he is interested in my situation.”
The Spanish federation is happy to have the veteran forward back in the mix for Beijing.
“Jorge is perfectly recovered from his injury and this for us is the best news,” federation president Joe Luis Saez said.
All of a sudden, we’re looking at the possibility of huge change on the Raptor roster next season.
Garbo? Gone.
The Gangster? Gone as soon as his contract expires.
Carlos? Could very well be gone if he gets a good free-agency offer.
T.J.? I’d say it’s 80-20 he’s gone in a trade?
And for a team that only had 14 guys on the roster at the end of the season, you’re looking at the possibility of five new faces, a third of the roster changing from one season to the next.
And with the prospects still around for a two-for-one or even three-for-one trade involving a package for Ford and someone making large money, there could be even more turnaround.
A good thing?
Not sure.
The problem last year was that there was little “separation” on the roster. The four swing guys – Moon, Parker, Kapono, Delfino – were at about the same level in talent. Oh, and consistency, too.
That made coaching difficult because not only didn’t Sam know which three were going to be good each night, there were quiet – very quiet – rumblings that the guys who weren’t playing thought they deserved to be playing more and those rumblings were probably right.
What good teams need and usually have is relatively clear separation between the value of guys one through, say, 10, and those occupying the 11th to 15th spots on the roster.
Man, even Juan Dixon, who was deep on the bench here, thought he deserved more time and it’s easy to argue he was right.
So I don’t think Bryan needs to hit three or four home runs as he remakes a third of his roster.
He needs to hit one into the upper deck, for sure, and maybe a second. But some of his job this summer will be getting guys to occupy the end of the bench because that’s what their talent dictates.
You can have too many mediocre talents fighting for minutes, what you want is a group of stars and some backups who realize they are backups.
It’s a tough, tough job.
It’s Oak!
Yes, the one and only. He was hanging at the Garden in New York, or some restaurant, or some social function or some concert (I couldn’t make that part out). Says he’s doing fine, thinks he’ll be in Torontosometime in July (“I’m just rolling like always,” he said).
One thing that did come out: “Tell Sam I said hi, tell Bryan to get him some players.”
The Raptors bought out the final year of the Spanish forward’s contract, worth US$4.25-million. It is unknown what the club paid the player to finalize the deal, but regardless of that, Garbajosa is now free to sign with any team, including an NBA squad. However, the safe bet is that Garbajosa signs with a team in Europe.
The move will free up a roster space for the Raptors, along with however much money the buyout saved under the luxury-tax threshold. Colangelo has made no secret that the Raptors will be looking to add a secondary scorer behind Chris Bosh, with a trade of point guard T.J. Ford figuring to be the easiest way to that end.
“I will not complete my year left in Toronto,” Garbajosa said Wednesday in a statement from the Spanish Basketball Federation. “Now I will have to see what I do in the future.”
“This is a joint decision for various reasons,” Garbajosa said. “The more important of all is that it was the best for all parties involved.”
I remain wary of the dichotomy present in Toronto: the team is built on the backs of a Euro style and myriad international players, but Colangelo seems uneasy with allowing his players to be farmed out during the summer international season. (San Antonio shows the same paradox, asking Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto to forgo FIBA play last year.) The stance makes practical sense in dollars and cents, but it comes off incredibly shrewish.
Toronto’s T.J. Ford, Milwaukee’s Mo Williams, Indiana’s Jamaal Tinsley, whom Walsh drafted, and Portland’s Jarrett Jack are on the block. Sources have indicated Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo, who picks 17th and is looking to move up, has been most active.
If the Knicks stay at six, or even if they trade down a few notches, they will have their crack at a series of combo guards. Walsh is very open minded when it comes to evaluating combo guards, feeling they all can be converted to point guards.
In case you’re curious, here are the current odds for the 2009 NBA championship, courtesty of Bodog:
Boston Celtics 7/2
Los Angeles Lakers 5/1
Detroit Pistons 6/1
San Antonio Spurs 8/1
New Orleans Hornets 11/1
Orlando Magic 14/1
Houston Rockets 15/1
Utah Jazz 15/1
Cleveland Cavaliers 16/1
Chicago Bulls 20/1
Phoenix Suns 20/1
Dallas Mavericks 25/1
Denver Nuggets 25/1
Portland Trailblazers 25/1
Washington Wizards 25/1
Golden State Warriors 40/1
Miami Heat 40/1
Atlanta Hawks 50/1
Charlotte Bobcats 50/1
New Jersey Nets 50/1
New York Knicks 50/1
Philadelphia 76ers 50/1
Toronto Raptors 50/1
Indiana Pacers 75/1
Los Angeles Clippers 100/1
Memphis Grizzlies 100/1
Milwaukee Bucks 100/1
Minnesota Timberwolves 100/1
Sacramento Kings 100/1
Seattle Supersonics 100/1
Lamentable though it may be that such a popular player had to be bought out to accommodate the complications of a typical NBA career, his departure brings up an important question as to the direction of the team going forward: can they continue to promote the advantages of Euroball within their ranks?
It was a style that was chiefly possible because of Garbo’s presence at the small forward position. His ability to read a game was unmatched on the Raptors roster. He consistently found ways to disrupt his man on defense despite having no tangible athleticism to speak of. He was remarkable in his ability to make the right pass to the right person at the right time – routinely being the facilitator that got Anthony Parker and Peterson open threes in the corners. He could hit open jumpers, he could play the passing lanes and he could basically be counted on for much-needed stability on a newly-built team.
And if there is any question as to how valuable those traits were to the Raptors, one need only look to the 2007 playoffs against New Jersey and the entirety of the following season. These were periods marred by inconsistency, poor decision-making and an abundant lack of defense and hustle.
Do they continue in the Euroball mode, emphasizing the ‘five-as-one’ approach they emphasized two seasons ago and tried to repeat last year, or do they instead go about trying to build a more traditional NBA team that focuses on athleticism and star-power as much as it focuses on teamwork? The smart money is on them transitioning to a more traditional NBA team.
What this team does need now, though, is a dose of NBA reality. The team was routinely beaten by opponents with superior athleticism and struggled mightily at times – especially in the post-season – to manufacture productive possessions on offense. As nice as it is to load-up on jump shooters to keep defenses honest, when the shots aren’t falling, there is no backup plan. Garbajosa was a marvelous facilitator to post-players, catching cutters and finding open shooters without looking for his own shot first. With so few of those guys like him left on the roster it would make little sense to continue to try and replicate that kind of play – and certainly after the questionable results it offered last season.
This is the super workout as far as Raptors are concerned. If they remain at number 17 if one or all of these players show well they will likely be the selection of the Raptors in my opinion. I have made it no secert that I am hopeful that Roy Hibbert comes out on top. The word on Hibbert out of his earlier workouts is all good things and people seem to be very impressed with where he is at since he finished his career with the Hoyas.
Sam Mitchell has made a $50,000 donation to the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation. Mitchell’s donation is the single largest donation made by an individual in the Foundation’s history. The donation, which supports creating healthy, vibrant communities, will fund the planting and care of hundreds of large trees, which will be planted throughout Toronto . The contribution will make a positive difference to supporting Toronto ’s Climate Change, Clean Air and sustainable Energy Action Plan.
“I wanted to make a difference in a way that not only benefits the people of Toronto , a city that has become my second home, but also benefits the environment,” said Mitchell. “Torontonians have welcomed me since I arrived in this city, and this is my way of thanking them and the city for their support.”
Mitchell further signified his commitment to the environment recently by purchasing one of Tridel’s Built Green condominiums in Toronto . Tridel’s environmentally-friendly suites are designed with sustainable living attributes.
The draft rumour mill is starting to spin more quickly (hardly a day goes by on hoophype.com where you don’t read a TJ Ford trade option at this point) and workouts are soon going to be coming to a close. Toronto gets a look at Marreese Speights on Saturday which we hope to attend, and the Raptors also kick off their second annual “find the next Jamario Moon” camp tomorrow. There are several intriguing names on the camp list which we’ll be getting into more over the next few days but for now, let’s look at this morning’s workout participants:
With the recently agreed Garbajosa buy-out, the Raptors reportedly save about $2 million in cap space and have an open roster spot for next season. However, the fact is that Jorge Garbajosa’s overall cost to the Toronto Raptors amounts to a salary number in excess of $10 million for only one single productive season. Hardly what fans were hoping for when the Raptors signed Garbo.
While Garbo was a solid performer in his single season with Toronto, his departure leaves a sour taste with many Toronto fans. At the end of the day, because of his personal selfishness, Garbo will collect in excess of $7 million from the Toronto Raptors for what will amount to a mere 7 games played in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 season.
If Garbajosa wanted so badly to play for Spain in the Olympics and then return the Spanish league, he should have done the right thing and accepted a buy-out for the 2008-09 of $ ZERO.
Once the dust settles, the draft takes place and the free agent signings begin, fans of every NBA team will start to get excited about next season. Here is what I am looking forward to for the 2008-09 NBA season keeping in mind the Raptors are my team.
AS the NBA season reached its crescendo, young Australian Nathan Jawai was licking his lips at the prospect of joining the action later this year.
Jawai, the Cairns Taipans man-mountain, is freely tipped to be a first-round pick in next week’s NBA draft in New York, joining Andrew Bogut in the league next season.
a thigh strain sustained in a workout with the Spurs, under the watchful eye of former Sydney Kings coach Brett Brown, led to him cancelling a workout with the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors.
Obama is a basketball fan who keeps tabs on his beloved Chicago Bulls, who have had some good battles with the Toronto Raptors over the years.
“When I first met him we talked sports, we talked about the Bulls, we talked about the Raptors. He was aware of [Toronto], but he’s a Bulls fan,” Ng said with a laugh.
17) Toronto—Darrell Arthur, PF.The Toronto Raptors are not a bad team. In fact, they should be making the playoffs next season. Arthur would make a great replacement for when Chris Bosh gets into foul trouble and could be a center if the Andrea Bargnani experiment doesn’t work out. What is with former No. 1 picks not working out? (See Andrew Bogut and Bargnani for support.)
Batum is one of this year’s boom-or-bust picks, and picking at 17 his risk is decreased. GM Bryan Colangelo found success with Boris Diaw in Phoenix and Batum is a similar player only with more offensive potential. Batum also fits into the Raptors’ international theme.
Reports are out there that the player the Raps are coveting at this point is Robin Lopez. We have a full report on Lopez in the Workouts section. The problem Toronto has now is that the lesser of the Lopez twins is climbing higher and higher in mock drafts meaning he likely won’t be around at 17.
May I just say that the picture of BC on the frontpage gives me the shivers.
Thank you.
Scotts last blog post..Prick. – Evening Hardwood – June 18
how the hell can miami be 40/1 favourites, and the raptors 50/1??? that is bullshit…they both should be 200/1!
Raps Fans last blog post..TRADE BOSH NOW!
“Batum is a similar player [to Diaw] only with more offensive potential.”
Grr. It’s that time when Granville freaks out at reporters comparing players who have never played 1 minute of NBA as “like [guy who has played many thousands of minutes of NBA basketball], only better.”
Scott is a similar blogger to Granville Waiters Ghost, only with less panache and talent.
Scotts last blog post..Best Raptor Ever – 18th Bracket
But both Scott and Granville enjoy referring to one another in the 3rd person, because the pronoun “I” ain’t big enough to measure their own awesomeness.
Jeff is getting upset!
Scott thinks Jeff shouldn’t be.
Scotts last blog post..Linkage – June 20