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Colangelo pulls a rabbit out of his hat

July 14, 2009 09:15 AM | Posted by   Paul Jay  

Last year the Toronto Raptors made their big splash of the off-season when they traded TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and a first-round pick to the Indiana Pacers for Jermaine O'Neal and Nathan Jawai.

It seemed like an all-or-nothing deal at the time, and in the end, it was a heck of a lot more like nothing.

O'Neal was traded, along with another first-round pick and Jamario Moon, to Miami for Shawn Marion and the contract of Marcus Banks, and then the deal seemed really horrible: it left open the possibility that, if all the free agents in 2009 simply signed elsewhere, the Raptors would have traded Ford and two first-round picks for Banks, Jawai and a bit of wiggle room to spend for a better player.

That was my thought at the time, but this summer has taught me a couple of valuable lessons.

The first is this: in an age where money is tight for everyone, even the expired contract of a player you have no intention of signing is worth something.

Marion deal creates wiggle room

This was aptly demonstrated when the Raptors shipped Marion in a sign-and-trade along with Jawai, Kris Humphries and a second-round pick for a sign-and-traded Hedo Turkoglu as well as Antoine Wright and Devean George, a deal made possible by that financial wiggle room created with the Marion deal. Now, in one profitable exchange they had netted three wing players, including one who is a solid starter (Turkoglu) and another who could be a valuable defender off the bench (Wright).

And they still had money to make more moves, including the much-talked about potential signings of Carlos Delfino and Rasho Nesterovic and this past weekend's offer sheet for Jarrett Jack, the combo guard who, along with Wright and the newly acquired Reggie Evans, would immediately add to the defence of the whole team. And unlike Wright and Evans, Jack could help on defence without dragging down the offence.

Jack is expected to arrive in Toronto in part because the Indiana Pacers, his last employer, may not be able to match Toronto's offer without putting their salary dangerously close to what is known as the luxury tax threshold - a dollar amount around $69 million US this year - that teams try to avoid going over because to do so brings an accompanying tax penalty.

Assessing trade implications

Which brings up the second thing this off-season has taught me: when assessing the implications of a trade, it's always worth noting which team gets stuck with the long-term contract.

Consider, again, the Toronto-Indiana trade that started it all a year ago. Yes, the Raptors had to take on Jermaine O'Neal's mammoth contract, which paid him over $20 million a year until 2010. But Indiana had to agree to pay Ford, who had a contract worth about $8 million a year, until 2011.

So even though Jack outplayed Ford and won the starting point guard job in Indiana last year, the Pacers are hobbled in their ability to sign him because they still owe cash to Ford (not to mention Jamaal Tinsley, another self-destructive point guard).

Could Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo have thought this through a year ago when he made the first deal? Did he realize Ford would be so toxic that trading him for anything would be better than keeping him around, and in so doing he could hobble another franchise?

It might be nice to think so, but then we have to remember the Marion trade.

Bosh key to Raptors' success

In that deal, Toronto inherited the furthest-reaching future salary obligation when it agreed to take on Banks, who will also earn a paycheque until 2011, albeit at about $3 million less than Ford will. Still, that money may come in handy next year when Toronto is trying to resign their all-star forward, Chris Bosh, who remains the key to the franchise's continued success.

Perhaps more importantly, one of Bosh's most ardent suitors is likely to be the Miami Heat, the same team who unloaded Banks to Toronto. Miami might spend their way through this summer, but if they don't, they'll be primed for a run at Bosh and any other star they wish to team with Dwyane Wade.

The Raptors appear to have had a successful summer, seemingly turning nothing into something with a deft slight of hand. If they are able to add Jack, Delfino and Nesterovic, these three will join Bosh, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Turkoglu and rookie DeMar DeRozan in a rotation that should be able to score with the best teams in the league, though rebounding and post-play will remain perennial sore spots.

But the manner in which they did it bears watching: don't be surprised if next year some other team pulls a similar trick, and it's the Raptors left holding the bag.

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