By Josh Redetzke


7/15/08

2008/09 Toronto Raptors Payroll: $69.8 million
2008/09 Estimated Salary Cap: $58 million
Roughly $11.8 million over cap

(exact details of Jose Calderon’s contract not yet known, assumed to be about $8 million per year)

The Good:
The centerpiece of the franchise, Chris Bosh, is an amazing model of consistency. He has averaged almost exactly 22 points on 50% shooting each of the past three years. His rebounding was down a little to 8.7 per game, but that isn’t anything to worry about. For the Raptors, it’s good to know that you have a superstar you can count on. At $47.2 million over the next three seasons, Bosh is well paid and earning it. His humorous All-Star voting commercials are just icing on the cake.

Toronto has a sweet deal for one of the sweetest three point shooters in the league. Anthony Parker will only be paid $4.5 million next season. For that small sum, the Raptors get a 43.8% shooter from beyond the arc who wound up second on the team in scoring with a 12.5 average. Parker plays efficient, quality basketball and he will be due for a small pay raise next summer.

The best deal on the team by far has to go to Jamario Moon, an undrafted free agent from a community college. The wiry, high-flying forward is due to receive just $711,000 next season, an awesome price for one of the Raptor’s best role players. Moon contributed 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and shot a respectable 48.5% from the field. Needless to say, Moon is looking at a serious salary hike when his contract is up. He should also receive a small bonus for having such a cool name.

The Bad:
Former top overall pick Andrea Bargnani regressed after a so-so rookie season. His shooting percentage plummeted to 38.6% and he still has no interest in rebounding, grabbing just 3.7 per game. In fact, Bargnani totaled 7 rebounds in the entire five-game series with Orlando. I know he likes to roam around the perimeter on offense, but that is pathetic. He has two years remaining on his rookie contract at $5.1 and $6.5 million, the last of which is a team option. Bargnani needs to be much more aggressive if he expects to live up to his lofty draft selection status.

Jason Kapono was given a mid-level contract to be a three point shooting specialist for the Raptors. The deal has three years left for a total of $18.6 million. Kapono has definitely shot the ball very well, hitting an awesome 48.3% from beyond the arc. The only problem is that he rarely shoots, attempting just 1.5 threes per game and 6.2 shots overall in 18 minutes, on average. Since he contributes almost no rebounding, passing, or defense, Kapono must be more involved in the offense to earn his paycheck, much like he was in the playoffs. His long-range shooting will be needed even more next season to open up the floor for Bosh and newly acquired Jermaine O’Neal.

Jorge Garbajosa used to be a crafty reserve for Toronto. Soon after the season began, things went downhill quickly for the European veteran. He missed most of the year due to leg surgery in December, and then a squabble with the Raptors over his availability for the Spanish Olympic team contributed to the Raptors buying out the final year of his contract. It will only count a few million against the cap next season, but losing a key player from their bench hurts worse.

The Future:
I’m not a big Jermaine O’Neal fan. He hasn’t been healthy in four straight seasons, his stats have bombed, and he gets paid ridiculous amounts of money for a guy not known for carrying a team on his shoulders. That being said, I still think it was a great trade for Toronto.

After Dwight Howard destroyed them in the playoffs, the team desperately needed help for Chris Bosh on the front line, as well as a second star player to attract some attention on offense. All they had to give up was a draft pick, an overpaid stiff in Rasho Nesterovic, and a speedy but injury-prone point guard they didn’t really need anyway because of Jose Calderon’s emergence. The beauty of the trade is that there is really no risk involved. If O’Neal doesn’t pan out, he becomes one hell of an expiring contract to trade next year or to let expire for the 2010 free agent season. It works out for the Raptors no matter what happens with O’Neal. Very smart move.

The exact figures of Jose Calderon’s new contract were not known, but assuming they didn’t overpay for him, Toronto will be in pretty good shape the next few years. Calderon is a very smart, highly efficient point guard who dished a career high 8.3 assists per game last season and shoots the ball very well. With Ford gone, the ball is in his hands now and he’ll be asked to lead the team deep into the playoffs. If the Raptors can find one more consistent scorer in the back court and keep O’Neal healthy, they very well might make it there.

Free Throw:
Taking a look at next season, the Atlantic Division is going to be very interesting. Boston, the defending champs, will remain a tough team, although not quite as hungry as they were last year. Philadelphia just improved tremendously with the shocking acquisition of Elton Brand and they could climb a few notches in the playoff ladder. The New York Knicks will be runnin’ and gunnin’ with new coach Mike D’Antoni. And now the Raptors bring in a star forward to pair with Chris Bosh. After being a laughingstock the past few seasons, the Atlantic Division should be getting a lot more respect from now on.

Grade: B+

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10 Comments

  1. kapono
    jason kapono finally got a chance to play in the playoffs and proved his worth. you can blame sam mitchell for not getting him involved in the offense.

  2. I’ll take these Bads
    Great article, I really enjoy SOC every year.
    The Bads for the Raps are really minor if you think and compare with other teams. Bargnani’s only 21, 22 year old or something, has a TON of potential and a TON of time so I wouldn’t call him a bust yet and wait another year for a better look at him.
    Kapono is capable of earning his mid-level, in fact if he plays like he did in the playoffs, he is worth more than that mid level and if he does that during the season this year, he will be in The Good section for next year’s SOC.
    Garbo being out certainly is a bummer, but I think Sam Mictchell wanted a tighter rotation anyways. We had a log jam at the 3 spot with Delfino, Moon, Kapono, Garbo…
    Now we have a better rotation of Parker and Adams at 2, then Moon and Kapono at 3.

    No major ‘do-nothing-but-eat-cap-room’ guys on the team, so I would say the future looks awesome for the Raps.
    Bosh, JO, Jose – Two of these three guys will be All-stars next season. Book it.

  3. with reply to pkiskool, i
    with reply to pkiskool, i think the raps made an offer to delfino so he should be the second option at 2 and not hassan adams…i really dont understand the aquisition of adams…

    …in response to tobybennet…i completely agree it was mitchell’s fault for not utilizing the talent he has on the team…now that he knows what kapono can really do however, i expect a much different season next year with two big threats down low and jose, parker and kapono’s shooting

    i am very excited

    • Delfino…?
      Are you sure that they made an offer to him? I haven’t heard anything regarding that, and if that is true, I’m sorry but that’s not good.
      All he does is jack up threes (hits maybe 1 out of 5), or take it to the hole wildly (again, 1 out of 5).
      On the defensive end, he doen’t rebound, he doesn’t block… he does take charges sometimes (once again, 1 out of 5 gets called ‘charge’) but other than that… too inconsistent of a player.
      I like him personally, don’t get me wrong but the Raps need someone better than him.

      I see more upside in Adams than Delfino, only because of his defensive skills. Raps need someone who would actually play defence, steal some balls, dive for loose balls, get defensive boards…. I’d rather take those things over Delfino scoring inefficient 10 points a night… and doing nothing much else.

  4. RAP’S “09” PLAYOFFS
    RAP’S “09” PLAYOFFS BABY!!!

    The worst change to the Raptor’s 08-09 season….Chuck Swirsky leaving T.O. and bringing in some no name with probably the energy of a turtle(which looks identical to The Swirsk)

    • Agree
      Chuck is bigger loss than TJ, that’s for sure.
      And the new guy Devlin… I’m not a fan of him, I saw some of his interviews with JO and Jose.. and i have to say he sounded like an idiot at times… and has an annoying laugh/smile.

  5. Deep Frontcourt
    With the addition of Jermaine O’neal, the Raptors now have arguably the deepest frontcourt in the league, with JO as starting 5 and backing him up will be monster rookie Nathan Jawai, who is dubbed the “Aussie Shaq, and at 4 will be Bosh, and backinh him up will be fromer no.1 pick Bargnani.

  6. state of the cap? B+ pretty accurate
    I agree about Kapono. He’s clearly paid too much…. especially when we already have Anthony Parker who is a better all round player. It makes no sense to play they guys together. Basically you’re paying 10 million for roleplaying shooters. Quite poor. (actually you could make that 15million if you include bargnani)

    Also, you’re right about Jermaine. He’s a good one year gamble. If he doesn’t pan out we can make a blockbuster trade in a year or two. If you assume that Bosh and Calderon are staples, we lack an atheltic centre to block and rebound, and a slasher who gets to the line and is also a defensive stopper… 22 million should be enough to get that next year

    Changing the coach would also make a significant improvement. Last year was a farce.

  7. Not yet
    Not too sure if I’d give up on Sam Mitchell just yet…
    I agree that he is not the best X’s and O’s guy but he is a player’s coach – he has a good bond with everyone on the team especially with the main guys Bosh and Jose. We all saw what happens if your coach and players don’t get along (ie. Team Canada coach booting off the best player they have on the team – Sam Dalembert).
    I think Mitchell is the second best coach the Raps ever had – right behind the legendary Lenny Wilkins.

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