Is it time for the Toronto Raptors to make a trade?

       As the Toronto Raptors have not lived up to their expectations at least early in the season with a 3-7 record in 10 games, is it time for a change? Toronto Raptors are currently sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference and things won't be looking any better as they are about to face a brutal stretch of games because 10 of those 13 games will come on the road. They will only play 3 games at home in that stretch which are against the Spurs, Nets and Suns. Out of the 13 games and as of right now, the Raptors play against 7 teams who are .500 and above. The 10 games that Raptors will play away out of the next 13 games, the Raptors play 7 of those games against Western Conference teams.

      The Raptors have been dealing with a lot of injuries because Alan Anderson is out for 3-6 weeks, Kyle Lowry possibly out this week as he was expected to miss an additional 1-2 weeks and Landry Fields out for at least two weeks perhaps longer. With the tough stretch coming, the Raptors might not be at full strength this week which could also affect the outcome of the games they are about to face. The Raptors have also been struggling as they came out with a victory on Sunday against a team who is struggling. They've also been struggling to close out games or tend to fall behind early. For example, the game against Indiana, the Raptors scored only 5 points in the 4th quarter but luckily won 74-72 and same with the game against the Jazz as they went into triple over time. When the Raptors played the Celtics, they almost caught up when they were down 3 points at one point but then Celtics pulled away and won 107-89.

      If you look at Bryan Colangelo, his contract is about to end soon. With the way that the team is performing currently and if they continue to perform this way, Colangelo's job is no doubt on the line and especially because of the new ownership who are serious about winning. Therefore, Colangelo should pursue a trade to show that the Raptors are winners and he deserves to stay long term in Toronto. If the Raptors cannot rebuild and draft gems, they will get no where especially under Colangelo as he is  not a fan of rebuilding. My guess is that if the Raptors do not make the playoffs this season, Bryan Colangelo probably won't be the Raptors General Manager next year. Colangelo can spend money and make moves like he did with Turkoglu and therefore he should make a trade that will get the Raptors to the playoffs which could even secure his job in Toronto in the long term.

       Currently we have a good nucleus with Kyle Lowry, Demar Derozan, Andrea Bargnani and future star Jonas Valanciunas. All that remains is a big time impact player that can push the team to the playoffs and perhaps further. If the ownership believes in Colangelo, he needs to make sure that Kyle Lowry is going to be with the Raptors as his contract is expiring. Colangelo also needs to convince Lowry who is winner and contender that the Raptors can make the playoffs and become winners. However, if the Raptors cannot do that, Lowry definitely will not stay in Toronto and sign somewhere else.

       In my opinion, I think that the Raptors should acquire Rudy Gay and I'm pretty sure that most fans would agree with me as the Raptors have been interested in him for a while. Rudy Gay really addresses a lot of the Raptors needs. It might seem impossible to get Gay as the Memphis Grizzlies have been on a roll early in the season and are looking like they might make noise in the playoffs. However, with the Grizzlies financial issues, it might be possible that Raptors can snatch Rudy Gay.

Here are the things that Rudy Gay strenghts:

- Top 5 small forward
- Can score
- Versatile
- Perimeter defender and defend any position on court
- Snatches steals
- Has length and strength
- Averaging 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season

       Rudy Gay will definitely not come cheap but he is worth it for the long run. If I were Bryan Colangelo, I would throw in Jose Calderon, Terrence Ross who has barely gotten any minutes this season but looks a promising player and Ed Davis. I would even throw in a couple first rounders if the Grizzlies would ask. With Rudy Gay acquired, the Raptors would look like:

Kyle Lowry/ John Lucas III
Demar Derozan/Alan Anderson
Rudy Gay/ Landry Fields
Andrea Bargnani/ Amir Johnson
Jonas Valanciunas/ Aaron Gray

       All five positions would look solid and would definitely get the Raptors into the playoffs and even save Bryan Colangelo's job. Depending on the cap situation of the Raptors by the end of the season and into 2013 free agency, the Raptors can sign a couple players to make their even more solid. Would you guys make this trade for Rudy Gay or would you guys want to acquire someone else than Rudy Gay? Post your thoughts.

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Kyle Lowry v.s Jose Calderon

     With preseason just a couple days away, coach Dwayne Casey will get a chance to evaluate his group and determine who will start on opening day. Coach Casey will definitely keep a close eye at the point guard position to see whether point guard Jose Calderon or newly acquired point guard Kyle Lowry deserve to start on opening night.

As it was announced that the Raptors had acquired Kyle Lowry in the summer, point-guard Jose Calderon was not impressed with the trade. Various sources of media reported that he requested a trade as he was expecting to be the starting point guard for the '12-13 NBA season. Colangelo also said that he has no plans of moving Calderon. Therefore, there will no doubt be competition as to which one of the point guards will deserve the starting role on opening night. Below are the strengths and weaknesses that I found of Jose Calderon and Kyle Lowry to give an idea of who deserves the starting role on opening day. 

Kyle Lowry

Strengths:

- Young (26 years old)
- Good scorer and is able to find ways to score to the basket (15.9 points per game last season)
- Great rebounder (5.3 rebounds per game last season)
- Good work ethic

Weakness:

- Lacks experience as a starting point guard (starting point guard with former team Houston Rockets for only two seasons)

Jose Calderon

Strenghts:

- Pass-first point guard
- Able to make plays for his teammates (8.8 assists per game last season)
- Experience (started 293 games for the Raptors since 2005)
- Valuable (expiring $10 million dollar contract)

Weakness: Poor defender

Based on this comparison, I would want Kyle Lowry to start as he is young and would fit with the young, energetic and fast core squad (Demar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas, ED Davis and so on). Also, Lowry is pretty young and his hard work and energy will help anchor this team to be energetic and fast paced. In my opinion, coach Casey's plan to make his team more defensive should easily give Lowry the starting role because I think his double dribble penetration defense and pressuring the ball against his opponents will be an advantage over Calderon's poor defense.

What do you guys think? Should Kyle Lowry deserve the start over Jose Calderon or vice versa? Feel free to comment on your opinion and there will be more posts to come!

A review of Toronto Raptors 2012 off-season

     Welcome to my blog! This blog will be all about the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association. I will be blogging almost everything about the Toronto Raptors whether it’s a trade, about important games and any other Raptors related news.

As the NBA season is just around the corner and preseason just a couple of days away, my first blog post will be a review of Toronto Raptors offseason. More specifically, my first post will be about the Raptors free agency period and the draft in the offseason for those who may have not paid much attention!

Free Agency

     The Toronto Raptors no doubt did have a busy offseason. Coming into the offseason, the Toronto Raptors had to address their needs which were the point guard position, small forward position and the centre position. 

The Raptors really wanted to address the point guard position by pursuing Steve Nash and did everything they possibly could. Bryan Colangelo and his team met Steve Nash on the first day of free agency to get him to sign with the Raptors and offered him the most money(36 million dollars). However Nash chose Los Angeles Lakers as family was his main priority. 

The Raptors also acquired Kyle Lowry who was playing at an all-star calibre before the all-star break with the Houston Rockets. The Raptors traded away their protected first round draft pick and Gary Forbes. Lowry who is 26 and still young, will bring two way point guard play by pressuring the ball and making all-star plays for his teammates. 

The Raptors also acquired Landry Fields through free agency by signing him to a 3 year 20 million dollar contract. It was reported that the Raptors signed him to prevent New York from a sign and trade for Steve Nash. This may seem a lot of money for Landry Fields, however, if Fields can be the same player in his rookie year when he was named Rookie of the Month twice and named to the NBA All-Rookie first team in 2010, his contract might be worth it.

The Draft

This years draft, the Raptors chose 21 year old athletic Terrence Ross from the University of Washington with their 8^th pick. Many fans were not in favour of the pick as many Raptors fans were hoping for centre Andre Drummond or point guard Austin Rivers with their number 8 pick if Harrison Barnes was taken. However, Terrence Ross is really what the Raptors needed with his ability for athleticism, shooting, defense and rebounding. 

The Raptors also chose power forward Quincy Acy in the 2^nd round of the draft who is similarly being compared to former Raptor, Reggie Evans as he can rebound, defense and score in the paint.

Please stay tuned for more as I will post a part two blog about the Raptors offseason and much more!