Is Agent Zero an Option?

That title probably should have read, "Is the Artist Formerly Known as Agent Zero an Option", but that was just way too long.

Now, I'm not saying they should, but...

The Raps have a full trade exception worth about $16 million from the Bosh disaster. Or the Colangelo disaster, depending on your view. The roster, as it currently stands, is, ummmmm, unimposing. Every road team in the league is looking forward to sampling the T.O. nightlife and then waking up and going through the motions for three quarters, and still coming out with the win.

That was harsh, I admit. But the Raptor defence is not. It is soft and toothless and inviting, like a celebrity rehab centre. Or Vesa Toskala.

And there is zero buzz surrounding this team (aside from their haircuts). Nobody in Toronto wants tickets. And why would they? This Raptors edition, even if it exceeds expectations, will still be awful. There are two tiers in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Tier one has nothing but good teams (Miami, Boston, Orlando, Chicago, Altanta, Milwaukee, Charlotte). Tier two (Toronto, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Cleveland, Indiana, Detroit) is a murderer's row of awfulness. Under no circumstance can any team from tier two possibly defeat a team from tier one in a seven game playoff series. Cannot happen.

Unless...one of them makes some sort of significant trade.

I'm not saying they should. Gilbert Arenas seems like a total moron. The gun charges last year were at best childish and at worst frightening. Faking an injury to sit out a pre-season game a few days ago was painfully ignorant for a guy in his position. And he makes a pile of money (3 more years and a total of $62 million left AFTER this year).

But he was very good. Arenas could still be a top 5 scorer who would absolutely fill a few needs for Toronto. Namely, putting points on the board and butts in the seats. Maybe a change of scenery is all he needs? Okay, maybe a change of scenery and copious amounts of counselling is all he needs?

And the Raptors could easily afford to roll the dice. The Bosh trade exception plus one other contract (Evans or Banks ) would very likely net them Arenas and potentially a first round draft pick. The Wizards are so desperate to get him away from John Wall that they'll be willing to bend over backwards to move him. Their first round pick next year will very likely be in the top five.

It's not like the Raptors are going to realistically compete this year or next anyway, so perhaps this would be the right time to take a chance on the ultimate reclamation project and net an excellent draft choice for their trouble?

I'm not saying they should. I'm just not at all excited to watch the jumper-fest that will be our 2010-11 season. At least with Arenas there would be a story, a reason to tune in. And if, or more likely when, it blew up in our faces, at least we'd have the top five draft pick to point to as a reason it was all worthwhile.

Raptors Report Card

Antoine Wright - I expected Wright to have a much bigger role and maybe even breakout in Toronto. It seemed like he was entering a perfect situation for him: Only 25 years-old and in the last year of his contract, started 53 games for a 50-win Dallas team last season, has always played on a playoff team, and joining a team that lacked depth at the 2/3 positions. I neglected to consider that there could be a reason or two that a pair of NBA teams have already given up on him.
Grade: C

Sonny Weems - The name itself is reason enough to root for the guy but it isn't the singular reason why I am thoroughly enjoying the Sonny Weems era in Raptorland. Triano never gave him a real shot until mid-December, and since then Weems has forced himself into the rotation with 45% shooting from the field, a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio, and solid defence. An underdog with a great name? I'm in.
Grade: B-

Hedo Turkolglu - For the most part, Hedo has looked happy to forego any ownership or responsibility of this team and simply collect his money. We knew when he signed his free agent contract this summer that playing defence wasn't high on his priority list, but we weren't ready for his Vince-esque lack of intensity. Let's hope he's still trying to figure out his role and not settling into complacency.
Grade: C-

Patrick O'Bryant - I wonder what it's like to be paid $1.6 million a year to practice basketball?
Grade: D

Rasho Nesterovic - Solid, dependable, and there when you need him. Which at this point, is not all that often.
Grade: C

Amir Johnson - He played really well for the Flint Tropics in Semi-Pro, but I never would've guessed that his game would translate this well to the NBA. Granted, he has toned down his play (and trimmed the 'fro), staying away from the flashy stuff, but I'm surprised more hasn't been made of this remarkable story.
Grade: B

Jarret Jack - Not an elite talent by any means but knows how to play basketball and provides a nice contrast (and insurance) to Calderon. Boring really. But sometimes boring is good. And when boring gives you 10 and 5 and only costs $4.5 million? Boring is really good.
Grade: B

DeMar DeRozan - The rookie shooting guard is never going to be an All-Star but he definitely has the potential to be a contributing member of a playoff team. And not in the Brian Scalabrine, waving the towel from the end of the bench sense. DeRozan's shot, which was heavily criticized heading into the draft, is actually sneaky steady from 12-14 feet. His minutes should go up in the final 40 games.
Grade: B+

Jose Calderon - Raptor fans have been harping on his defence for a couple of years now, and it's true that he is below average in that area, but what about the positives he brings to the court? Excellent passer. Solid shot. Fantastic teammate. Do those qualities not trump 'bad defence'? And since returning to the line-up and playing with the second string, he's turned the entire bench around. He's like a second-string Steve Nash. Obviously the Raptors need to stop playing Jose with Jack to end games...why not continue starting Jack and bringing Jose in off the bench, but then let whoever matches up better with that particular opponent and/or whoever is playing better finish it off?
Grade: B-

Chris Bosh - At this point we know exactly what he is (a 25 and 10 most nights with dependable free throw shooting) and what he is not (crunch time scorer, someone who can finish games). I'm actually torn as to whether I want him to re-sign because I'm not sure he can ever be the best player on a championship team and to commit a max contract to him means he's going to be the best player on our team for the forseeable future. On the other hand, I can't imagine tuning in to watch 50 jumpers a night from Hedo and Bargnani.
Grade: A

Marco Belinelli - As my friend and Raptors fanatic Jon Scratch would say, Belinelli is a 'souless chucker' who never met a shot he didn't like. He's a player that Triano should give a few minutes to every game just to see what he's capable of that night. If he's feeling it, let him play. If he's busting up the backboard...give up and try him again next game.
Grade: C+

Andrea Bargnani - No longer a threat to pick up more personal fouls than rebounds, so he's got that going for him. And who let him know that he could breathe through his nose rather than spend the entire game with his mouth open? Actually, the big Italian has continued his solid play from the second half of last season and has begun to figure out how to help the team even when his shot isn't dropping. It's still too early to say whether the extension he signed last summer (5 years and $50 million) is fair value, but at least we're not already lamenting it.
Grade: B

Marcus Banks - Honestly, I would rather have Carlton Banks on the roster. Marcus was surprisingly not awful when forced into the line-up during Calderon's injury, but his horrific contract ($4.4 million this year, $4.7 next) will wind up costing us at least one of Johnson or Wright this summer.
Grade: D

Raptors Preview

The Glass is Half Full (The Justin Thompson Perspective)

As we prepare for tip-off on the new NBA season, the 2009-10 edition of the Toronto Raptors appears to be, on paper, the deepest and most talented team in franchise history.

Legitimately two deep at every position, with the ability to throw multiple looks at opponents, and with the depth to potentially absorb injuries...the path back to the playoffs is clear for Toronto. A special thanks for that goes out to Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons for a self-sabotage job; the Charlotte Bobcats for allowing Michael Jordan to repeatedly screw up their roster; Donnie Walsh and the New York Knicks for foolishly continuing to believe they have a shot at luring LBJ to the Big Apple; the Milwaukee Bucks for being themselves; and the Indiana Pacers for once again trotting out the white-out line-up with a straight face.

For the Raps, the addition of bruising forward Reggie Evans and the return of Rasho Nesterovic give the team a toughness they haven't had since Charles Oakley was punching out opponents during morning shoot-arounds and chasing them off the court during games. Perhaps someone could convince Evans that Vince Carter owes him money? Just a thought.

And speaking of Vince, Toronto finally added an honest-to-goodness, proven finisher, a piece that has been missing since Carter pouted his way out of town five years ago. That piece would be Hedo Turkoglu, the 6-10 small forward who led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals last spring and will combine with Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani to create one of the biggest and best shooting frontcourts in the league.

The Italian Stallion, former first overall pick Bargnani, played solid basketball the final 30 games of last season and was rewarded with a sparkling new five year contract that has the potential to be very good (or brutally bad - but that wouldn't fit into the 'Glass is Half Full' analysis).

Factor in a motivated Bosh (he'll be playing for a new contract and potentially auditioning for other teams - but will ultimately re-sign in Toronto because this is the best fit for him...and we can pay him the most money) and a healthy and rested Jose Calderon (who finally took a summer off from the Spanish national team) and the outlook for the Raptors can easily be painted as 'rosey'.

By the way, I am convinced it was my urging Calderon (read: heckling) at the World Baseball Classic in Toronto, where he stood outside Will Call waiting for his tickets in the pouring rain with the rest of us mere mortals, that led to him kicking up his feet from June through August. Yup, all me. You're welcome.

At any rate, the Toronto sports situation is so dire that the Raptors are almost assured of being the most successful pro team in the city. The bar is set so low it might only be six inches off the ground.

The Glass is Half Empty (The Jon Scratch Perspective)

Unfortunately, six inches might still be too much for this group.

With ten new players on the roster (Marco Belinelli, DeMar DeRozan, Jarrett Jack, Amir Johnson, Antoine Wright, Sonny Weems, Quincy Douby, Nesterovic, Evans and Turkoglu), a pre-season that left more than a little doubt about team cohesiveness, and an early West coast road-trip that will surely leave the team below .500, there are several indications that this team may indeed look good on paper but might not be so good on the floor.

And I am not totally sold on Jay Triano as an NBA head coach. It's great that he's Canadian and by all accounts a terrific guy, but that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. His career coaching record is 25-40 and he smiled all the way through it. I want a coach who is unafraid to challenge his players, who demands they compete every single night, and calls intelligent set plays at opportune times. I haven't seen any of those qualities thus far in Triano. But hey, at least he's cheap!

As mentioned in the 'Glass is Half Full' section, with all the new faces the Raps have the ability to dramatically change their on-court look. And they better, because the dribble down the court and then fire up a bad jumper offence isn't going get it done. Let's hope Triano has some ideas for 'different looks' that include: 1) actually using cuts and backdoor passes, 2) ball movement, 3) knocking guys on their asses.

Another potential downfall is the team's three point shooting which has been abysmal in the preseason. Gone are Toronto's two best three point marksmen (Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono) and in their place are Turkoglu (a career 38% 3PT shooter who shot an underwhelming 35.6% last year), Jack (career 34% on 3 pointers), Wright (career 29%), Bellinelli (career 39%) and an untested rookie in DeRozan. In a league that is increasingly becoming one where teams live and die by the 3 point shot, this does not bode well.

Also on the negative side is the video intro that is used as a prelude to each Raptor broadcast that will undoubtedly be horrible. Unfortunately I have no inside 'sources' in the organization who can tip me off on the nature of this year's video, but if recent history is any indication, I would bet the house this thing will be tremendously awful. I'm thinking Jay-Z and Rihanna's 'Run This Town' with completely awkward dancing and uncomfortable, forced smiles. Ladies and gentlemen...your Toronto Raptors!

And on top of all that, Raptor fans will also have to deal with Year 2 of the Matt Devlin era, who my friend Jon Scratch has effectively dubbed "Dry Toast". Listening to Devlin call basketball makes me want to rip my ears off and run them over in my car.

The CSJ Final Analysis

Predictably, I am siding somewhere in the middle of the two aforementioned perspectives. I certainly believe this is a playoff team, and while I'm hopeful of a 4-5-6 seed, I could just as easily see Toronto in a dog race with 3-4 other teams for the final two playoff spots.

The final verdict: 44-38 and the sixth seed in the East.