The Raptors Point Guard Primary

Candidate Calderon Gets Nomination Of Starting PG

I am not sure how much readers of the Dino Nation Blog follow politics in the United States. I personally take an interest in politics myself not just here in Canada but the United States as well. The Democrats have had a long battle to select their candidate for the race for President of the United States in November. Hillary Clinton lost to Barack Obama but she did not concede on the night Obama clinched the nomination of the party. A lot of supporters of Clinton wanted her to stay in the race in hope she could some how do the impossible. But the writing seems clearly on the wall that it was over for awhile.

The Toronto Raptors have been having there own version of the a political primary. Since early 2008 the battle for starting point guard position has been going on. I have made it no secret who I have been a supporter of…T.J Ford. It has not been the popular choice but it is the guy I believe in. But in the end I am a Raptor fan just like Clinton supporters are democrats. At the end of the day should Ford be traded and shipped off to some other team I will still be a fan of the Toronto Raptors. If I can remain a Raptor fan through one of the worst trades in NBA History for Vince Carter even a trade for Ford that is not up to my expectations will not cause me to change the side I cheer for and write about on a daily basis. That does not mean I still do not believe in T.J Ford as a player, I do and think it could be a mistake to move him along.

Paul Jones yesterday in this blog said he thinks that it is sad that this whole thing has got to the point of their can only be one. I agree with that as well but still cling to a hope there can be some kind of compromise reached to make this work but that seems highly unlikely at this point. Maybe it is not unlike the idea of an Obama/Clinton ticket for President. Some political analyst think it is the best chance for the Democrats to win the November Election. Others see it as a toxic mix that would be doomed to fail. The main reason for that is to have a candidate for Vice-President that really wants to be the President and has not accepted their defeat could under mind the one that the party has chosen to be. The Raptors seem to have made it clear their choice is Jose Calderon to be the President of the point guard position. Can Ford accept that fact and be effective? Based on last season one would have to say no. Time could change some feelings but I have yet to see evidence that is happening in fact the opposite. Ford is not a guy who can paint on a smile and say he is cool with something when he is not. He does not have much of a future in politics. But his basketball future is a much different story and I think if put in a position where he can start many Raptor Fans will want a redo on any trade that is made. You can not have a much worse season if you were T.J Ford. People want to ignore it but the season was a complete write off for Ford in a lot of ways. Despite a few brief great moments much of last season was a nightmare for Ford.

Meanwhile Jose Calderon was rising to Rock Star Status much like Barack Obama has grown in popularity so has Jose Calderon. Calderon will not become Prime Minster of Canada, King of Spain or President of the United States. What he will become is a highly paid starting point guard with a lot of pressure to go along with that new found wealth. Based on the obvious character he has showed in his time here, the wealth part should not concern anyone and it is well earned by his play. The starting point guard role with no T.J Ford around is a different matter. It will be different for Jose and not as easy as many think it will be. Yes, Calderon has done it with Ford not around before but with him on another roster is another matter. It will be interesting to see how things go when Jose has his first poor effort in this new role if that is where we are heading. How will he deal with it, the media deal with it and the fan base of this team deal with it. If Ford has success in his new home as well that will only add to the drama.

I find the whole situation a shame in a lot of ways. The Raptors position of strength has ultimately turned into a weakness in just one short year. It is hard to say what the overall impact of trading Ford will be for this team without knowing what the Raptors will get in return. There is no doubt that if the Raptors can get a second star player to help Chris Bosh that would mean more for this franchise than Ford and Calderon combined. That being said are any of the names you see, that guy, in a Ford trade that is rumoured to be out there? I am not sure I have seen that name myself.

However it plays out it will be up to Bryan Colangelo to build a team that can be better than the 07/08 version of the Toronto Raptors. It will be up to Sam Mitchell to get the most out of that group that Colangelo puts together. If it includes only one starting point guard that will be something Mitchell with have to deal with. Much like the heads of Democratic Party they must find one simple answer and that is to win. This is a key season for both Mitchell and to a lesser extent Colangelo and they will have a lot of pressure on them to live up to expectations. Trading a starting level point guard is a risk that will only add to those expectations and pressure. If the Democrats do not win with Barak Obama many will second guess the choices that party made and wonder how they could have blown the Election. If Jose Calderon is not able to lead this team to more success Raptor Fans will have questions too. Obama wants to be the first person of colour to be President of the United States. Raptors want to be the First non-American team to win an NBA Title. Both would be historic on different levels of importance. The road to making history is not an easy one to travel be it in politics or sports.

NBA Finals and CB4

Chris Bosh wants to see that history happen for his Raptors. But he still has made it to the NBA FINALS as a reporter for the Tonight Show. Bosh has done this gig before for NBA T.V he covered the playoffs doing interviews with players. This went on till he made the Playoffs himself. Raptor fans can only hope his latest job ends for the same reason someday. But him being at the finals did give the Canadian Media there as well a chance to ask him about what else but the whole Ford/Calderon topic. Bosh said it would take a new understanding of roles or short of that something would need to be done moving forward. You have to figure behind the scenes Bosh has or is trying to keep T.J Ford part of his team. The two are friends and both were excited to team up in Toronto at the time of his trade. Still, friend or not Chris Bosh holds winning above everything. Based on just his body language it seems he has grown to accept this can not be fixed. Bosh is growing in profile south of the border and hopes to be part of the United States Team in Olympics this summer. There he will be facing Jose Calderon who will be there representing Spain who just fired their coach. Drama everywhere you look it seems if you are Jose Calderon. Bosh on the other hand despite being the face of the Raptor Franchise he still finds time to have fun. Be it working for others or doing his own thing as Blane Harrington.

Speaking of the Finals that start tonight the Dino Blogger has Lakers in 6 games. For excellent set up for the series go over to Raptor’s Core and read Mark’s excellent preview

Ron Artest? Is Doing WHAT?

Just like my support of T.J Ford, I have made it known I wouldn’t mind seeing Ron Artest come to Toronto. Well that was based on thinking Ron Artest may have changed a bit based on the events in his life. Seems like that may not be the case at all. How else can you can you react when you hear the latest Ron Artest news. It seems the one time Rapper/Producer and still keeping his day job of Basketball Player now has a radio show. That is not the problem. He does interviews just like Chris Bosh is doing for the Tonight Show. Again that is ok too. But his latest interview he plans on doing is truly crazy. Seems Artest has plans to interview the guy that started the incident that is known as “The Malice at the Palace”. That is right he is going to interview the guy that threw the beer at him that started one of the most ugly scenes in the history of the NBA. Why on earth would he do this? I have no idea at all. If Artest plans to opt out of his current deal this type of thing is not exactly going to drive up demand for Ron Artest to come to town. Some things are best left in the past and this is one of them. Even if this interview turns into Artest and this guy making peace it doesn’t matter. It just brings back all the bad videos of that event and brings the things up about Artest that people worry about as relates to him. Sadly, I have to say it even has caused me to re-think if I want to see Ron Artest take his show be it on the floor or off the floor to Canada. I was told that Ron Artest would never change by a fellow blog writer and I guess he was right in this case and I was wrong. I guess sometimes I just want to hope for the best of things in people. But maybe the lesson in all of this can be summed up by the words of former NFL Coach Dennis Green ” They are who we thought they were”. Ron Artest and T.J Ford may just not be able to change into what I would like them to be.

Change is Coming Like It Or Not 

 

Barack Obama is the candidate that wants change. Well it is great to want change but making it happen in politics and in sports is a lot harder to do. That doesn’t mean we should ever give up that desire to want something better for yourself and the people you share the world with. If Obama had that attitude he would not be in the spot he is in. Still the road to making change happen can be a long and winding one. Just ask Bryan Colangelo about that. One way or the other change is coming in Washington D.C and at the A.C.C in Toronto. Watching that road to it can be exciting and at the same time frustrating. Mistakes will be made and mis-information will become clear. But ultimately the answers will be here in November.

Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Olympics 2008, Raptors Core, Ron Artest, Sam Mitchell, T.J Ford