Bryan Colangelo has done the impossible for the Toronto Raptors.

The GM, who many fans had begun to question, pulled an unbelievable move late Wednesday. From Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports:

“The Dallas Mavericks have reached agreement to acquire Shawn Marion in a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Raptors, league sources said Wednesday.

The Mavericks and Raptors recruited the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies to help facilitate the deal. The Raptors will get Hedo Turkoglu in a sign-and-trade deal with the Magic rather than signing him outright. They also will receive forwards Devean George and Antoine Wright from the Mavericks.

Marion will receive a five-year, $40 million contract from the Mavericks.

Stackhouse will go to the Grizzlies, who will waive him. Only $2 million of Stackhouse’s $7 million contract for next season is guaranteed. The Grizzlies will receive cash, likely $3 million, to participate in the trade.”

Toronto, which gets to keep its midlevel salary-cap exception, sends a trade exception to Orlando. The Mavericks also will receive forward Kris Humphries from the Raptors.”

Bruce Arthur of the National Post has more details:

“Toronto has regained eligibility for the league’s two exceptions to the salary cap. That opens up slots of US$5.854-million and US$1.99-million, which could be used to significantly bolster the team’s battered depth. This is a remarkable coup for Toronto, which was looking to re-sign shooting guard Anthony Parker and swingman Carlos Delfino, and also looking at Denver’s Linas Kleiza, but was up against the cap after agreeing to a five-year, US$53-million deal with Turkoglu, who will now apparently join the team in a sign-and-trade with Orlando, which will receive a trade exception in return.

Now, the Raptors have conjured up extra money to spend.”

This trade is amazing if you’re a Raptors fan. To sum up the reasons:

1. The Raps now have almost $8 million to spend between their two exceptions. This is huge – Fans were already dealing with the fact that Toronto was pretty much done signing players, having maxed out with Turkoglu and with no exceptions. Now we’ll see how BC spends it.
2. The Raps lose Humphrey’s salary and take on two expiring contracts in George and Wright. Hump’s deal lasted two more years and this clears immediate space for next summer, or can act as potential trade bait later.
3. Wright can start at shooting guard if DeRozan isn’t ready…and that’s a distinct possibility.

This trade was great even without the exceptions – To have that makes it simply unbelievable. As Aurthur writes,

“Now, the Raptors can go shopping in a buyer’s market, even if Parker is off the table. What started as a slow off-season for Toronto has turned into a bold series of moves that have the potential to transform the Raptors from 33-win also-ran to playoff contender. Somewhere, Bryan Colangelo should take a bow.”

Indeed.

-DL

Wojnarowski is here.
Aurthur is here.

Look at me, two Raptors stories in 72 hours!

Ken Berger writes in his CBS Sports blog that the Raptors and Dallas Mavericks are talking sign and trade for Shawn Marion. Here is how Berger sees the deal unfolding:

“If Toronto and Dallas work out a deal, Jerry Stackhouse almost certainly would be headed to Toronto because only $2 million of his $7 million salary for next season is guaranteed.”

Over to DL for more info and opinion.

TSM

Pretty interesting news yesterday that Hedo Turkoglu backed out of his deal with Portland to possibly sign with the Raptors.

Now, confirmation from Turk’s agent – From Doug Smith’s blog:

“We just had a nice chat with Lon Babby, Hedo’s agent, and there will be no more shenanigans.

Turk’s coming.

“We’ll be available when (Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo) is ready. We’re hopeful it’s Wednesday but if it pushes over to Thursday, so be it.”

Why does he want to come here?

Well, it’s a great city, Turk likes playing in the Eastern Conference and the deal’s for about $3 million more than the offer from Portland. It should come in at about $53 million but there’s no way of knowing for sure until the cap numbers are released next week.

About the love for the city? Said Babby:

“It’s uniquely suited for him. That’s his background. He’s looking forward to joining the Turkish community there.”

First of all, well done Smith. This is the first place I’ve seen any real confirmation of the deal, and it’s from a reliable source with quotes, so it’s gotta be true.

As for the deal, Smith gave a nice rundown of the pros and cons – I’ll give my opinions alongside in bold:

“Let’s look at some pros:

Another good ball-handler and initiator on the court. This, more than anything, was Toronto greatest weakness last season, and definitely the team’s greatest need. At times the ball handling was so pathetic that fans actually expected Jason Kapono to create and score. Honestly, it’s been so long since the Raps had a player that could score off the dribble (Vince Carter anyone? seriously) that fans will be amazed how much easier points come for Chris Bosh when defenders actually have to worry about someone on the perimeter. Turk is still pretty athletic, very versatile, and can score when the other starters have checked out of the game.

A guy you can give the ball to at the end of the game and say, ‘make a play’ while you stretch the floor with Jose (a very good three-point shooter) in the corner. Much of the same here, and it’s still true. Raps fans generally have this ridiculous notion that it’s fair to ask Bosh to be the closer late in games. As if any other team turns to their power forward (Dirk is the exception) at the end of games. You NEED a slasher from the perimeter if you want to have a chance at winning tight ballgames. Now the Raps do.

Let’s just say – as Jeff Blair first pointed out on a radio show last night – that Bosh leaves (and no, I don’t have any idea if he will). Do you feel more comfortable going forward with Calderon, Bargnani and Turkoglu or Calderon, Bargnani and Marion? A no-brainer over here. Agreed, to an extent. But if Bosh leaves, this signing serves very little purpose, since it creates a “win now,” or at least a “win soon” mentality. Trading Bosh for a few good pieces could be the route, but if the team loses him for nothing, they’re screwed either way.

You can put Hedo and Bargnani in the pick and roll; you could never do that with Shawn. Well yes, since Hedo can shoot. But it’s not like the Raps were short on the pick and roll game before.

Can you make this case: Toronto has the same kind of starting lineup now as the defending Eastern Conference champions? To wit: Calderon as Nelson, only better at many things like, oh, shooting and dishing out assists; Bosh in the Howard role, the guy who rolls to the basket on the high screen and roll, a far more accomplished scorer and while not a defensive intimidator, he’s passable; Bargnani does as much offensively as Lewis (check the stats, they are almost exactly the same); Turkoglu’s Turkoglu and, well, maybe DeMar DeRozan becomes Courtney Lee, which I don’t think is a stretch because now he doesn’t have to do anything offensively except make cuts to the basket, get on the boards and use his athleticism.

Well, here Smith completely ignores the need to play defense.

Look, the point is that Orlando’s roster was better last year than Toronto’s is right now. They also had a one-year younger Turk, and he’ll only be aging now that he’s hit 30. The Raps will have an exciting starting lineup, though, and they’ll score a ton. I just wouldn’t say it’s in Orlando’s class right now.

Let’s look at some cons:

The bench may not be deep. But Ukic this year will be an improvement over Solomon last year; Reggie Evans remains an excellent pickup and, believe me, Bryan’s trying to get something done to get another two and/or three in town. Right now, that’s a concern. There is also a lot of time between now and October. Yep, the bench is thinner than sliced cheese right now. We’ll see what Colangelo does, and fortunately it’s the summer of a recession, and some decent players might be signed for cheap.

Too much money. Turk’s deal is big but they’ve projected the numbers out and it won’t hamper them doing something with Bargnani or Bosh when the time comes. Indeed, it is too much money, but teams almost always overpay for free agents. It’s just the way the league works, and if you want talent, you have to pay for it. It’s worth it if there’s flexibility to continue improving, but if the Raps are stuck below the elite teams for the next 3-4 years, it’s not worth it at all.

Poor defence. Yes, another concern. But with a full training camp to install a system and the presence of Mark Iavaroni, it might not be as bad as you think. As one guy who’s in the gym with them a lot said to me yesterday: “If we work on defence every day, they have to get better.” Don’t buy it – Maybe they can improve a bit, I guess, but it’s hard to teach defence. Evans will help, for sure, but fans should start readying themselves for really high scoring games.

Overall, at the very least, it’s an exciting deal for the Raptors, and it makes the upcoming season a lot more intriguing. Would Marion have fit better on the team? I don’t think so, but trust me, the Raps will desperately miss his rebounding and defence. If everyone stays healthy, it could turn into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. But barring more moves, that’s about it right now. It will be a lot of fun to have a clutch player to pair with Bosh, and Turk will have more than his share of great plays over the next few seasons. But again, it puts pressure on Colangelo to win something of substance soon, or really, what was the point?

-DL

Smith is here.

Not sure if anyone cares, but CB4 doesn’t sound too joyous about this most recent trade:

“The four-time All-Star told CBSsports.com’s Ken Berger, Friday, “I have mixed emotions… I like J.O. He’s a great person and a great player. But I guess things weren’t working out the way he wanted them to. I hate to see him go, but it’s a business move that was made and we have to accept it and move on. G.M.s have to think about the future. There’s so many different scenarios you have to consider. It’s just all about making the correct moves for the future right now. It’s tricky. Hopefully it’ll help you right now, and it’ll give you flexibility later on.”

Does that sound like someone giddy?

“By Saturday Bosh was even starting to see the short term benefit’s of Marion’s presence. “He’s just one of those guys that are super athletic,” Bosh told HOOPSWORLD. “He can finish at the rim. He can shoot the ball from outside, he can defend and he can rebound. He’s going to help us out.” “You pretty much know what you get out of J.O.,” Bosh continued. “You know, you get a solid big man; he can defend well and he’s a shot-blocker. Moon, he’s kind of the same thing except he’s more so on the wing and he’s good in the open court.”

Geez, not overly inspiring is it?

you can read more here….

I am not a Bryan Colangelo basher. I drank the kool-aid along with everyone else. I thought he was going to be THE MAN. The guy who changed the Raptors fortunes. The proof, however as they say is in the pudding. So far the pudding is pretty f’n lousy. Until now however, no one has actually called out the GM, in large part, it says here, because no one in the media knows the game well enough to criticize him. I certainly don’t.

Well, Steve Simmons has finally called him and you can’t disagree with anything he has written:

” Bryan Colangelo appears to be delusional about the state of his Raptors.

He steadfastly grasps the notion that he believes in this wonky roster. He defends his players with the kind of vigour they lack on the court. And he keeps trading away first-round draft picks — two in the past two years.

The Golden Boy of the Raptors is no more. Where once, every word seemed believable, now he talks in bafflegab. His post-trade conference call, following the Jermaine O’Neal-Shawn Marion deal, sounded like an exercise in creative dance, full of expression but meaning what? The simpler the question, the more complicated the answer.

Two years ago, his plan for the future was built around the acquisition of T.J. Ford. That didn’t work. This season, it was built around the acquisition of O’Neal. That didn’t work. And now, the plan has been altered once again.

With Chris Bosh’s status in Toronto uncertain, and Colangelo talking about playing for this year with the Raptors second-last in the Eastern Conference and with interim coach Jay Triano’s record only 13-25, for the first time there have to be concerns about the direction Colangelo is taking this franchise.

Until now, he has been given the benefit of the doubt on just about every decision he has made. That statute of limitations is now over. ”

Thanks Steve, it is about time that someone called bullshit. I hope Colangelo proves to be half the GM that we were sold. That would at least make him mortal. I don’t expect every move to be a homer (or three pointer). I give Colangelo credit for dumping Jermaine O’neal quickly, as opposed to insisting that the move to get him was anything but a blunder. I have no clue if the Raptors can make the playoffs this year. I know that in any sport the way to get better is to build through the draft. I know that BC likes to deal away his picks- maybe spending time with Cliff has got him thinking Draft Schmaft…..

In any event kudos to Simmons for doing what others haven’t so far. Hopefully others won’t have to.

We have been reading about it for some time and it finally went down.  Hear is a quick review as I have been able to find them…

A good review of the deal from the Star:

” Toronto gets

Shawn Marion

30 years old, 6-7, 228

Season averages: 12.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 36.1 mpg, in 42 games, 41 stars

Salary: $17,810,000 this year, expires

Marcus Banks

27 years old, 6-2, 205

Season averages: 2.6 ppg, 1.4 apg,, 10.4 mpg in 16 games, zero starts

Salary: $4.26 million this season, $4.553 million in 2009-10, $4.87 million in 2010-11.

Cash considerations

Miami gets

Jermaine O’Neal

30 years old, 6-11, 260

Season averages: 13.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 29.7 mpg in 41 games, 34 starts

Salary: $21.372 million this season, $23.016 million in 2009-10.

Jamario Moon

28 years old, 6-8, 205

Season averages: 7.3 ppg, 4.6 rebounds per game in 54 games, 39 starts

Salary: $711,517 this season, expires

Conditional draft pick: tMy man Ira at the Sun-Sentinel reports it’s a 2010 pick lottery protected through 2014. If Toronto doesn’t make the 2010 playoffs and keeps the pick, they will give up a second rounder that year to the Heat. If the Raptors don’t make the playoffs between 2010 and 2014, they wouldd give up their 2015 first-round choice to Miami. ”

“Colangelo insisted Marion was obtained for more than his expiring $17.8 million contract.

“Shawn is a piece that should be given an opportunity to fit in with the team,” said Colangelo, who worked with Marion while a Suns executive. “He’s not necessarily a rental player, that’s not necessarily the case.

“Shawn could be a valuable piece with this team in this system. One of the by-products is future flexibility but this is as much about now as the future.”

Colangelo acknowledged the agreement on the draft pick and the attached conditions closed the deal.

“The pick really was the difference in us not making the deal for a long time,” he said.

Colangelo also tried to sell the merits of Banks, who failed in limited opportunities with the Heat.

“Marcus will add scoring and defensive punch to our lineup and should benefit from the change of address,” he said.

In the end, the Heat got the size it needed, while the Raptors get the cap space they covet.

“This is a win-win,” Colangelo said.”

That from the Sun-Sentinel

From the Miami herald:

“With this deal Miami improved in the immediate, resisted the temptation to trade Beasley and all that wonderful potential for a splashier deal now, and kept all its chips for the major play in 2010. The Heat also gets from Toronto a future non-lottery first-round pick, no small thing.

Right now it isn’t about adding another O’Neal. It’s about building, about keeping D-Wade happy. Imagine Wade surrounded by Bosh, by a blossoming Beasley and Chalmers. Imagine.

Bear in mind this Heat franchise was 15-67 just one season ago.

Now it is 28-24 at the All-Star break, better since Friday’s trade than before it, and poised to get itself back into title contention before long.

You feel a plan. See a blueprint coalescing.”

That one worries me the most folks as I don’t see that at all for the Raps- I don’t know much, but I don’t like a first rounder going the other way… Read the herald here…

Opinion from the star:

“Any time you get a quicker chance to add players, the better, in my opinion and now Toronto can be a player – in trades as much as anything – this summer.

Yes, they lose toughness but I think overall, a starting lineup of Calderon, Parker, Marion, Bosh and Bargnani is better than Calderon, Parker, Bargnani, Bosh and O’Neal. The Raptors bench of Kapono, Graham and Ukic is okay at the two-three and maybe the one spot but they will be thinner up front. Marion can play some four, though; there are those who thinks that’s his best position.

The money? Well, the Banks contract’s not great but Toronto may still have enough, depending on what it does in the coming summer, to get in on the tail end of the 2010 free agent sweepstakes. I’ll take a look at the financials more closely for the morning, though. The mind’s racing right at the moment.

The Heat? Pat Riley knew they were not nearly big enough to challenge the top three teams in the East, he loves big guys and Marion was not going to re-sign in the summer.

Overall, I’d say Toronto came out okay. Not great, certainly not slam dunk, but not a bad deal all in all. ”

Read Doug Smith here…

I am surprised at how little commentary there is on the deal and I have yet to see a comment from any of those involved…

This story isn’t going to stop until either he is signed or traded. It’s one thing when Steven A Smith says it, when Chad Ford on ESPN.com starts talking….:

“Now do you understand why the Bosh rumors are flying? I can’t speak to the veracity of Stephen A. Smith’s report. However, the word around the league is that Bosh wants to leave. Bryan Colangelo says that Bosh hasn’t told him that. Bosh has said he hasn’t told Colangelo that. But what about Bosh’s agent? Or someone else close to Bosh? Even if it’s never been said, isn’t the writing on the wall? The question is, is Colangelo better off doing something now or waiting until this summer. There’s an argument for both approaches. It sounds pretty strongly that Colangelo is taking the latter approach. I’ve heard from a couple of NBA teams that he’s been pretty strong in telling them he’s not trading Bosh right now. But if the right offer came along … wouldn’t he have to look at it?”

How far away is this team from being competitive? Is this going to be good before it matters with respect to Bosh?

“I think Colangelo would need to get a young potential superstar back. He can’t give Bosh away. This summer, if things look like re-signing Bosh in 2010 isn’t going to happen, it could be much less. That’s why I think there’s an arguement that you trade him now. A team in contender mode might be willing to give up more to have him for two title runs. As for Cleveland, they don’t have the pieces to make a deal. But I wonder if a Miami deal that sent Michael Beasley, Shawn Marion’s expiring contract and perhaps a future first or Daequan Cook might do it? If I was Pat Riley I’d jump all over that. A Bosh, Wade connection would be awesome. ”

Bryan, do you have a pulse? Does anyone in the GTA care??? Are we going to have to beg Bosh to stay again????

With the Raps in a 7 game slump, on a slow road to nowhere, all signs seem to pointing to a deal being consummated.:

“Medical papers have been swapped. The long view is being stressed. And Pat Riley’s fetish for height remains unsated. After the Miami Heat president commented for the first time in months about his team’s personnel situation, it is difficult to take any view other than that a trade is in the works. Speaking moments after center Alonzo Mourning announced his retirement, Riley said Thursday while he appreciates his team’s current spot in the playoff race, long-term championship aspirations supersede current considerations.”The point is that the big picture always trumps the present moment,” he said. “While the present moment is important, I am not going to do something to take away from what I think we can see down the road.”

That from my favorite NBA writer, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. I used to read Ira and listen to him regularly on the Hank Goldberg show in Miami.

“A move that could satisfy both objectives could be a trade of forward Shawn Marion to the Toronto Raptors for center Jermaine O’Neal, whose contract expires at the end of 2009-10. Asked about the Heat and Raptors having swapped medical information on Marion and O’Neal, Riley said, “It doesn’t make any difference. I could have made the same request to five other teams, also. That’s just the normal process.”

Done deal? Maybe not…coming? Sure sounds like it…

“”I’ve had long conversations with Shawn and with Dan,” Riley said of agent Dan Fegan. “It’s not a very comfortable time for anybody. I value Shawn Marion immensely. He is a tremendous player and I’m sorry that this is going on right now.

“Shawn Marion, right now, he’s our second-best player on the team and I value him as that.”

The Palm Beach Post thinks it will happen soon, maybe not yet, but soon:

“if the trade does happen – and my guess is it will, ’cause Riley loves this stuff and the cart-and-horse thing wasn’t exactly a denial – Miami could use a four-headed center (O’Neal, Joel Anthony, Jamaal Magloire and Udonis Haslem) in mix-and-match style. That wouldn’t scare many teams, but it would only be for a while if the Bosh plan subsequently worked out. The Heat has a dozen games to play before the Feb. 19 deadline, and what’s worth remembering is that Marion-for-O’Neal is about Miami’s long-term future a whole bunch more than it is about the present attempt to remain a viable playoff contender. That, and how much Riley loves this stuff.”

Check out Ira’s article here…
Check out the Palm BeachPost here

Reports are abound that the Raptors and Miami Heat are talking swap. The story coming from one of my very favorite papers, the Sun-Sentinel has the following trade being discussed:

To Toronto: forward Shawn Marion and point guard Marcus Banks
To Miami Jermaine O’Neal.

Sources tell the Maimi Herald newspaper that “Toronto Raptors center Jermaine O’Neal reportedly believes he will soon be traded to Miami.”

Apparently the Heat have hit the pause button while they monitor Jermaine O’Neal’s health. Bryan Colangelo would like to pull the trigger ASAP.

“With $45 million due over the next two seasons, O’Neal’s contract would allow the Heat to maintain financial flexibility for a deep 2010 free-agent class that could include Heat guard Dwyane Wade.”

“Similarly Marion, whose contract expires after this season, has yet to find a comfortable fit with the Heat since arriving from Phoenix last season in the Shaquille O’Neal trade. He’s been a good defender and rebounder but has not approached the All-Star production he enjoyed in Phoenix. Banks, who came along with Marion from Phoenix, hasn’t been much of a factor for the Heat despite its need for a veteran point guard. His contract, which has two years and more than $9 million remaining, would allow the deal to work under NBA rules. Marion, 30, couldn’t work out a contract extension with the Heat before this season. In Toronto he would be reunited with Colangelo, who was the general manager in Phoenix until leaving for Toronto in 2006.”

The third Florida daily (the palm beach post) has the story as well:

“One Internet web site quoted a source close to O’Neal saying, “if he’s healthy it could very well happen.” O’Neal missed 12 games because of a right knee injury, returning Friday to score two points and grab seven rebounds in 17 minutes during a Raptors loss at Indiana. He is averaging 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds this season, one that has been a huge disappointment for the Raptors.”

I looked for more on ESPN.com and Foxsports.com but didn’t see anything….

The article in the sun-sentinel is here
The Miami herald is here
The Palm Beach Post is here