Hats Off to Colangelo

Details of Colangelo’s dealings with Turkoglu and Marion are just coming out but from the sounds of it, Colangelo has played this beautifully. Yes, we already knew that Turkoglu was coming and Marion was leaving, but by engineering sign and trades for both players the Raptors regain the salary flexibility and bench depth that it appeared they would lose.

If Colangelo had let Marion leave without managing to do a sign and trade, and if he had just signed Turkoglu as a free agent, the Raptors would have had to renounce Parker and Delfino and they would not have been able to sign replacements at more then the NBA minimum. This would have forced the team to start DeRozan earlier then they would have liked, and left the team without experienced back ups for DeRozan and Turkoglu. As I mentioned on Monday, I think this was a risk worth taking, but Colangelo has now managed to take the risk out of the equation.

For starters, the sign and trades allow the Raptors the flexibility to re-sign Delfino if they choose to. They will likely also have the mid-level salary exemption left which will allow them to sign another quality depth player.

The moves however do not just end with this increased salary flexibility. The Raptors were also able to pick up Antoine Wright and Devean George from Dallas while giving up Humphries and Douby. Neither of the new players are stars, but they happen to fit specific Raptor needs. Antoine Wright can start at shooting guard giving DeRozan time to work his way into the NBA more gradually. Wright also is a change of pace to DeRozan in that he is a good outside shooter. At 6’7 he can also help out on the boards. Devean George plays small forward. He is a good defender and rebounder, so he fits as a back up to Turkoglu when defense is needed. If the Raptors bring Delfino back he is a back up at both wing positions and can serve as an emergency starter.

The other great thing about this move is that both Wright and George are on the last year of their contracts. Colangelo was not forced to pick up a bad contract with these moves. With Bosh’s unknown status after this year it is impossible to guess what the team’s needs will be a year down the road. We will also have a much better idea of the needs after we see how Ukic and DeRozan develop this year.

The loss of Douby and Humphries will not be noticed. Douby would have been the third point guard on the team and was really undersized to fill in at the two. Humphries is a nice player, but Evans will be taking his spot off the bench and Evans is not a “nice” player. When he comes on the court he will add the rebounding and toughness that the Raptors have lacked for years. Humphries also had two years left on his contract so his departure gives the team more cap flexibility next year. It would also not be surprising to see Nesterovic return to the Raptors in a reserve role at a very reasonable price. He loves Toronto and fits a need as a solid professional back up center.

In summary, great job Colangelo! In other Toronto sports news; Jays eat $15 million by dumping B.J. Ryan and receive nothing in return.