The news came at the very early hours of Saturday morning. The lockout is over and a handshake agreement is in place to save the 2011-2012 NBA season.
The 11th hour negotiations saved what could have been a media nightmare for the NBA. Questions remain however. Why couldn’t this happen sooner? Isn’t this deal very close to the one that existed months ago? Does this deal actually do anything positive for small market teams? What do the Raptors get out of this?
In the end, it doesn’t really matter. NBA basketball is returning and fans everywhere are rejoicing.
It’s time to put away the anger, the bitterness and the hard feelings that may linger with this longer than necessary work stoppage. It’s time to get to work.
For the Raptors, there is much to be done.
A new head coach now has less time to get his team prepared for the upcoming battle of the regular season. Dwayne Casey has a difficult road ahead of him. This ain’t the Dallas Mavericks.
Goodbye Dirk Nowitzski, hello Andrea Bargnani. Goodbye Mark Cuban, Hello Richard Peddie.
Casey has a lot of work to do this season. This team has been allergic to defense for as long as I can remember and they weren’t exactly scoring at will last year either. Without a clear number one option, and a pretty thin bench Casey will have to get creative on offense. It will be interesting to see what kind of a lineup he goes with and how he uses the teams speed to his advantage.
The NBA is back and soon the ACC will be rocking. Fans of the Raptors, however, will likely have to hold their breath for something big to cheer about.
In Dallas he was able to institute a defensive system that hid the deficiencies of lesser defensive players. Congratulations Mr. Casey! You now have the task of hiding the deficiencies of Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani. No small task.
Then there is the roster. Full of holes and full of question marks.
Who is our starting center again?
What is this team going to do with a starting lineup of Calderon,Derozan , J. Johnson, Bargnani and Reggie Evans (if he is wisely brought back). This lineup is not setting the world on fire. What they lack in pure talent, hopefully they make up for with effort.
In the end, this year might be one where Casey gets to see what he has and what needs to go. It will take time to put his stamp on the team. It will likely take longer than a 60 game season. As always, Raptor fans will need to practice patience.
Then there are the personnel decisions that need to be made.
Will there be a player that will fall victim to the amnesty clause? (Bargnani and Calderon I’m looking at you)
Bryan Colangelo and his new right hand man, Ed Stefanski are looking over the new CBA and seeing what options they have. There is some cap space that can be used and there is likely to be a number of free agents available for possibly bottom basement prices. Bring back Joey Dorsey? Julian Wright? Check out the open market and splurge on a bigger name like Jeff Foster or Joel Przybilla?
These next few weeks will be fast and furious, but if you’re a Raptor fan, is there anyone you’d rather have handling the situation than Bryan Colangelo?
Suffice it to say there is plenty of work to get done. No time to sit around and bask in the glow of labour peace. The Raptors need some serious work and there isn’t really much time to do it.
What is certain about this year is that there will be a lot of player evaluation. The Raptors have a number of young assets (A Johnson, Bayless, Derozan, Davis, J. Johnson, Bargnani) and it’s time to see which, if any, will be part of the core that moves forward.
Will Colangelo make trades? Acquisitions?
Without question, he will.
Hallelujah! The season is happening, now let’s figure this team out.
The year ahead is likely to be a rough road in Raptorland, but at least there is a season to enjoy.
Let’s NBA!!
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Kristoffer Pedlar
Zan Tabak Herald
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