Well as I said yesterday within 24 hours the whole Jermaine O’Neal thing could be dead and it in fact didn’t even take 12 hours. These things happen when everyone is on high alert as they tend to be during draft week. I personally am happy this deal did not go down. T.J Ford lives for another day as a Raptor. Seems clear that those days are numbered though. At least that is what it seems like. The reason this deal did not go down is said to be concern on both teams part over injuries. Everyone is well aware of T.J Ford being somewhat fragile. They are also aware of his talent and skill at his position. In fact, Ford is given far more credit outside of Toronto than from within it. Bryan Colangelo must convince someone that the talent Ford has is worth the risk. But how exactly do you do that when he himself has decided that Jose Calderon is a better option for his team. The Raptors have allowed a pitcure to be painted that makes it impossible to imagine T.J Ford remaining with the Toronto Raptors. What happens if no one buys in on a Ford trade. Can you imagine what Raptor training camp would be like if both he and Jose return. I can’t see it as being a positive situation for the Toronto Raptors. Knowing Ford and his make-up this will only feed into his competitive nature that drives him in his belief that he is the best point guard in Toronto.
Jose Calderon on the other hand seems to have been made to feel confident that he will be back in Toronto and be the starter. He fired his U.S based agent and the thought was this was done based on the fact he is not interested in driving up his price tag on his services. Yet another reason to sing the praises of Jose Calderon and his team first attitude. Calderon is without question a very good person and I have never questioned his integrity nor his desire to see his team have success. My question about Jose have to do with his play and nothing more and that is it. Fact is he had a career season and will be entitled to a huge raise that will be well deserved. That being said, this team did no better with him as the starting point guard and in fact you can make the arguement that they were worse. He is far from a good defender at his position and is to me the start of what goes wrong for Raptors on defensive end of the floor. People see the stats and are very impressed but I see the teams W-L record and become less impressed. Doug Smith said he does not understand why people are so concerned about the fact the Raptors would have no back-up for Jose that is to level of Ford. Well it is pretty simple really to me. We need a back-up that can be effective. Part of the reason for that lack of success in the W-L record was there was no T.J Ford behind Jose for the most part. Ford when he started had Jose to fall back on should Ford not be up to par. Who does Jose fall back on? Ford is not even the answer for that. It was clear that T.J can not be effective in that role. You can debate as to why that is but the fact is he was not good in the role.
I have joked around about the whole concept of this situation being a Civil War. But it isn’t really a joke anymore it actually is starting to look like one. I am not much of a history buff but not to many Civil Wars have nice clean finishes. Still to this day you will see people in the south in the United States that fly the confederate flag. I am not saying I will fly a T.J Ford Jersey. Or maybe the Texas Flag in protest. But I do have concerns that this whole issue can have a real negative impact on this franchise both short and long term.
I have heard a name brought up that I had mentioned briefly about this topic. Mike James…Remember Him? He had a career year here in Toronto but the Raptors did not want to bust the bank to keep him and let him go on his way to Minnesota. He was going to go there and help Kevin Garnett win a title. Which he did. He made it so clear to Kevin Garenett that he could not win in Minnesota he packed his bags and headed to Boston. James meanwhile went back to his normal level of play which was good but not great and has since called a few more places NBA homes. So why are we suppose to think Jose Calderon will not comeback to earth to some degree. If Ford is gone who do Raps turn too? Roko Ukic? Or some cheap free agent they bring in like Pooh Jeter a D-League star? I am not sold on that. To just assume that Jose will continue to rise and is not going to fall back somewhat is a mistake. Hope for the best but expect the worst. That is how you need to approach things. No one could have perdicted the outcome in Atlanta last year and no one can be certain that Jose can match last year and also himself remain injury free. You need to be aware of the fact it might not go as you would like it too.
The Raptors and Media depending on your point of view have created a feeling that Ford can not and will not return. But what happens if the trade the Raptors are said to want never happens. You have one heck of a mess on your hands and no one will be happy. A divided team can not stand and this team showed that there is and likely would continue to be a problem here. T.J Ford is part of the blame for that problem and thus has been cast as the bad guy and totally to blame. I question that whole idea but understand it at the sametime. I am not a big fan of trying to change people. I think not just in basketball but in life. Every person is designed to be the way they are and that is just the way it is. Sure we are all capable of change to some extent but we all have core things that makes us who we are inside and out. The things you may not like about T.J Ford are some of the things that I think allow him to be the person that he is. This guy has fought back from 2 injuries that easily could have took a lesser person out of the game. But Ford has fought back. That same fight is why he can not accept or excel in a back-up role. I will tell you right now no matter where T.J Ford is playing basketball next season you will see him have a great year. He is coming off a year that was the exact opposite of the one Calderon had. He is more the player we saw in November than the one we saw in March and April.
In the end a divided DIno Nation can not stand. I am fairly certain that Ford will not be a Raptor by the time training camp comes around. But I am concerned that on the small chance that he is, the Raptors have painted their way into a corner. The concerns about Ford and his injuries will not go away likely for as long as he plays in the NBA. But the problem is that they are in the front of many minds based on the incident in Atlanta. It could be something that will cause teams to back away like we saw yesterday.
Whatever the result is I have stated that in the end I am a Raptor Fan. While many are counting the days til they can see T.J Ford gone, I am not. But I am willing to move forward and cheer for Jose Calderon and hope he can improve on the concerns I have about him. I never have disliked Jose and that is not easy given the way he is always placed in direct line of fire to my support of T.J. But I understand that Jose has some unique qualities that make him who he is. I think his team first attitude should be respected. I think he truly cares about the Toronto Raptors and wants to have them to be successful. I guess when you get right down to it if you took the best of T.J and the best of Calderon you have the ultimate point man. But that is not happening.
There was a time when I thought this could workout in some form. But now given all that has happened and the direction we have gone it does not seem to be logically to think it can. This is something that I have seen coming long before it was to the point it is at now. But it was something I did not want to happen. It is a unfair spot for everyone to be placed in. I don’t know if anyone can really be blamed for it despite the general opinion that this is T.J Ford who is to blame alone. Life is never that simple. When people break-up a relationship it is never a complete 100% right and 100% wrong but we all like to make it that way. It is much easier to move forward that way. But ultimately lots of things are to blame and some of them were beyond the control of anyone. The real question is now how do the Raptors come out on the other side of this as better for it. The worse case for everyone is if this does not get resolved. That being said you would be in for a heck of a battle in training camp unlike anything I can remember in Raptor History. T.J Ford for same reasons he is still standing would make it nothing less than that. It is why I respect him despite the fact many have rolled with the tide of against him. I will remain a fan and supporter of T.J Ford for the rest of his days in the NBA. I feel that is the least I can do for a guy that I respect for his great ability and determination to succeed. People may question the way he goes about it but that is fine. The fact remains that Ford will march on and compete til he has nothing left. The things many don’t like about T.J are ultimately the fuel of what has got him to where he is.
Jose Calderon will have a signifgant challenge in front of him and it is one that he has wanted and asked for. In the end it is more than likely he will get it. I hope that he is able to respond to it because if he is not the Raptors will have a serious problem that will be far more complex in nature. You may not think I am pulling for him to be successful in that, but I am because it is what will help the Raptors be successful. Is this the way I would have chosen? Obviously not. But that being said it is my job to comment on what I see and share that with you. Bryan Colangelo has his job because he is the man that is ultimately held accountable for the choices this franchise makes. What I feel is hopefully of value to people but in the end I like any fan only can say what I think and am left to cheer for the vision of someone else and hope they are right. That is what sports is all about. It is why people like Bryan Colangelo have a much harder job than me. He has thousands of people that will have an equal amount of opinions of his work and job performance that is pressure. I get only a small sample of that in being accountable to the loyal readers of this blog. It is a responsiblity that I take seriously and I have no doubt Colangelo takes his far larger responsibility just as seriously.
Nothing is a sure thing in life. To make a trade will take two parties. I have no doubt Bryan Colangelo is very skilled at selling his assets. But if you don’t have people willing to buy you can only do so much. If buyers are fearful of pulling the trigger on a Ford Deal it something that is out of his control. The Raptors have been put in a state where this almost has to happen at this point. If it doesn’t what then. I am sure Bryan Colangelo has an answer for that too. However as an observer from the outside looking in at it, I do not.
Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Doug Smith, Jose Calderon, Mike James, Pooh Jeter, Raptors Offseason, Roko Ukic, T.J Ford
