Give Me The Rock
this is fantasy basketball
The Toronto Raptors won 27 games last season, which only works out to something like 24 American games, so all the player movement over the summer is understandable. The transition into the Rob Babcock era is now fully underway. The move from the aged and overpriced (Jalen Rose, Donyell Marshall, Hakeem Olajuwon) to the young(er) and cheap(er) (Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa, Anthony Parker) is interesting at the very least, and since the overpriced veterans weren’t working anyway, why not give it a try?
The question is how much did the Raptors improve themselves during the offseason? They had a debatable start, trading away 2005 first round pick Charlie Villanueva to the Bucks for T.J. Ford, and then they signed a bunch of guys on the cheap from other teams benches (Rasho, Jones) and Europe (Anthony Parker, Jorge Garbajosa). Canadians seem to be loving the moves, however, and that is good enough for me.
2005/2006 RANKINGS
(21) Chris Bosh
(54) Morris Peterson
(205) Jose Calderon
(240) Joey Graham
(297) Pape Sow
(356) Darrick Martin
OUT
(25) Mike James
(99) Charlie Villanueva
(155) Matt Bonner
(290) Antonio Davis
(295) Loren Woods
IN
(80) T.J. Ford
(164) Fred Jones
(234) Rasho Nesterovic
Andrea Bargnani
Jorge Garbajosa
P.J. Tucker
Anthony Parker
So, how are things looking for the Raptors in 2006/2007?
BUY
Chris Bosh – Amare Stoudemire, Elton Brand, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Garnett are included among his top 10 comps. Ok, so Joe Smith is his top comp, but nonetheless, that’s good company to be in. Some mock drafts have him going at the end of the first round, which seems a little high to me (especially with all the greatness at the top of the NBA right now), but he’ll be a great guy to pick up and build a team around in the second.
Anthony (not Tony) Parker – I can understand why the guy wanted to leave Israel, and $12 million should help cover moving expenses. He hasn’t played in the NBA since 2000, but he’s a 2-time EuroLeague MVP (2005 & 2006), where he averaged 14.5/6.5/3.9, and he just so happens to have a spot open for him at SG on this Raptors team (unless you think Fred Jones is the answer). Considering the dregs usually available by the 12th-15th round, he’s definitely worth a look or two.
HOLD
T.J. Ford – Don’t let Ford’s great comeback last season cloud your judgment, he finished the season ranked at #80. He’s young, so expect some improvement this year, but he’s not going to suddenly morph into Steve Nash or anything. If you’re focused on grabbing some big guys at the start of your draft, Ford would be a great target for a starting point guard in the middle rounds.
Rasho Nesterovic – Who’s Big, White, and Soft? (Great title, by the way). We’ll, he’s the starting center for the Raptors and the 2003 version of Nesterovic (who played 28 minutes a game) averaged 9 pts, 7.7 rebs, 1.4 asts, and 2 blks, which was good for a 116 ranking. That sounds like a solid number 2 center to me. There is the possibility he could suck it up enough to lose out on minutes to a smaller Bosh/Bargnani lineup eventually, but on the plus side, that shouldn’t happen RIGHT away.
Morris Peterson – Instead of wasting your time attempting to say something interesting about Mo-Pete, I submit to you his Myspace page instead.
SELL
No one really. Possibly Fred Jones if you’re counting on him to start at SG. I don’t think that’s a big problem, though.
WATCH
Andrea Bargnani – He’ll see some minutes off the bench, but likely no starting gig for now. Word has it that Euroleague stats translate to the NBA fairly well, which would put Bargnani at about 11.5 pts and 4.1 rebs a game. I was going to put Bargnani as a sell, but he’s worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses to see what kind of minutes he’s getting and how he’s transitioning. He could be one of those guys who has a nice March/April when given a chance to run.
Jorge Garbajosa – I know nothing about him other than the fact his nickname is “pornoplayer” or some variation on that. You can check out his game out on YouTube. It looks pretty good, although who knows where exactly he’ll fit in on this team full of power forwards.
Where I’d draft em (in a 10 team league)
Chris Bosh – 2nd
T.J. Ford – 6th
Morris Peterson – 7th
Anthony Parker – 12-14th
Rasho Nesterovic – 12-14th
Fred Jones – Might be worth a look at the end of your draft
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