A part of me understands that the NBA draft is a crapshoot. There's a certain element of luck involved. Sometimes a guy just doesn't work out. I get that.
Another part of me wants to absolutely pummel former Raptors GM Rob Babcock for drafting Rafael Araujo over Andre Iguodala back in 2004.
Araujo. Over Iguodala. Oh, the humanity. All these years later, after I've bitched about it and bitched about it some more, I'm still bitching. It still smarts.
Iguodala was in town last night, along with his Philadelphia 76ers teammates, to remind us once more of what could have been. The 76ers were 2-5 coming into the game, and winless on the road, but they left the ACC victorious, of course.
The ghosts of Araujo, that useless lug, were in the air. Iguodala put on a clinic. He didn't have his best shooting game, going 5-for-13 from the floor, but finished with 18 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. Andre Iguodala is one athletic mother sucker.
He is, to a mother fucking tee, what the Raptors lack: a presence on the wing, who can play either the two or three, that can take the ball to the rack. And defend. It kills me, absolutely kills me, to know that we could have had him.
I don't think any of Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono, and Jamario Moon are starters in the NBA. Not that there's anything wrong with that. All three would be more effective in a defined role off the bench. AP was 4-16 from the floor last night, Kapono was invisible in 30 minutes of action, and if Moon settles for another jump shot, I will kill him myself.
I think Bryan Colangelo knows that the honeymoon is over, and that he's got to fix the team's glaring weakness at the wing. We're not getting points, or defence, from the position. I just don't know what the hell BC can do about it.
To add to mine and the Raptors' woes, it looks like Jose Calderon might be in civilian garbs on Sunday after he tweaked his hamstring yesterday. I was impressed by Will Soloman during last Sunday's snoozefest in Charlotte, but any injury to Jose has to be considered the Raptors' worst nightmare. It's typical, I guess.
Seriously, though. It's one thing to err on a draft pick. It happens (see: Adams, Russ and Cereda, Luca). It's another to draft Rafael "Hoffa" Araujo over Andre Iguodala.
Fuck you, Rob Babcock.
10 comments:
What about Bargnani over Roy......
Bhattorious
Bhatti, I didn't mention Bargnani over Roy because I haven't given up on Bargnani. And I won't. Colangelo told us he was raw, and would take time, and that's what he is doing. Roy was the most NBA-ready, Bargnani had the most upside. We must, MUST, be patient. So don't be a Negative Nancy and show Bargnani some love. He needs it right now.
@ Mike: You know it's not very nice to laugh at people.
When people laugh at me, I like to laugh to. That way they are laughing with me and not at me....
Oh wait... they are still laughing at me aren't they... awww.. Now I went and made myself all sad.
Johnny G, are you Rob Babcock?
This is exactly what I was talking about when I made a comment to your post "Steve Nash Looks Good in Red..." Click Here for comment.
The Raptors need Calderon because they don't have a proven back-up that can handle significant minutes. With Calderon shouldering 35-40mins a night, his health was a question in my eyes from the very beginning.
I just hope he comes back quickly but only if he is 100% healthy.
I wonder how the Raps are going to hold up with Calderon on the bench.
Bosh and O'Neal really need to take the ball down low to lighten the load off of the new starting PG. Bargnani?!?!? where have you been this season??? He needs to step up too.
Speaking of Steve Nash, did you see him get tossed to the ground by T-Mac?
The bigs did pretty well yesterday I think--Bargs has actually had a reasonable start to the season I think (although admittedly, my expectations were low on purpose). But you're right, no Jose=big trouble.
I'm not a fan of Babcock either, but wasn't it on his watch that we signed Jose? Not that he necessarily had anything to do with it, but still, he has to get some credit for that.
Crazy 'brawl' there. Nash was in there quick stirring stuff up Avery-style. Lots of intensity to start this season...gotta love it.
@ Fantasy: Jose will be fine. He'll be in the lineup on Sunday. Watch. As for Bargs, he's shooting above 50%. Last year, his shot was our biggest concern. It was brutal. So, let's be glad he's shooting well right now. He's also looked more active on the defensive end as well. We've got to be patient with him. It's like we're starting from scratch with the big Italian. Patience is key.
And I didn't see this Nash/T-Mac deal y'all are talking about. I'm going to get my YouTube on at work tomorrow.
@ Escaped: I'm glad your expectations for Andrea are low. For way too many they are way too high.
And why did the Raptors pass on AI2? Because they already had Vincent Lamar Carter to play the very same position. Another turn of the screw.
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