11/05/24
January 26, 2006
Raptors fire Babcock.: Vince Carter remains traded, Charlie Villanueva remains a seventh-overall pick, and the Raptors remain at 14-29 on the season.
posted by DrJohnEvans to basketball at 01:19 PM - 21 comments
Picking Villanueva: not bad (so far). I have to admit that I'm intrigued by the theory that Villanueva is overacheiving because he heard so much criticism about going so high in the draft. Of course, it's not like Joey Graham (who was the consensus seventh pick) has been working wonders. Or even really working. And of course, you have to wonder how much credit for Villanueva's success is due to Sam Mitchell being able to play him and Bosh together after everyone figured they'd just be competing for floor time.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:26 PM on January 26, 2006
The Raptors wont win to many more games now that vince is gone.
posted by lilchico_co2006 at 01:36 PM on January 26, 2006
Aren't the Raptors the team that Kobe dropped 81 on?
posted by pepitothechihuahua at 01:37 PM on January 26, 2006
Now that Vince is gone?
posted by yerfatma at 01:41 PM on January 26, 2006
The Raptors didn't win many games even when Vince was there.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:54 PM on January 26, 2006
Who the hell are the Raptors? lol
posted by GoBirds at 02:16 PM on January 26, 2006
I know it's not cool to say this, but if they can get a decent replacement and then can just stay patient, in a couple of years this could be a real good team. If they still have their first-round pick this year (they haven't done something stupid like trade it, did they?), it'll be another good pick, and Bosh & Villanueva & Peterson could be the nucleus of a team that could get a lot better pretty quickly as these guys grow up and gel together. But they need to be patient at the top. Keep the kids happy and make sure no one jumps ship or forces a trade, and Toronto could be a solid playoff contender for the next decade. If not, we'll be talking about the Craptors for years to come.
posted by chicobangs at 02:28 PM on January 26, 2006
I'm guessing this move has something to do with trying to shake up the team a little, but it also might be the organization's way of giving Sam Mitchell a vote of confidence. If he and Babcock butted heads over the recall of Pape Sow and the GM gets the axe soon after ... well, draw your own conclusions. On preview: GoBirds, have you actually had an opinion on any thread you've ever entered? All I ever see from you is the same stupid shit you just posted here -- "Who cares about (insert team here)?" If that's the extent of your participation, or as witty as you can get, save us the bandwidth and just go the fuck away, huh?
posted by wfrazerjr at 02:48 PM on January 26, 2006
So strange. Why now? Why not say - last year before the draft? Or immediately after drafting Arrujo the year before that? Or following the Vince deal? I mean, comparatively speaking, this year has been Babcock's best - traded for Mike James, is proving some people wrong on the Villanueva front, the emergence of Chris Bosh - All-star.... This team looks dumbfounded after that Kobe game. I think he killed their entire year. Black Mamba indeed. The real culprit here is Peddie. This team has zero upper management with any real basketball savvy. We've certainly got enough basketball operations savvy, but the clown's in charge still think that enough heart and hockey-esque attitude are projected then they'll be just fine. And given that they started out 1-15 and have gone 13-14 since then... Wierd team.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:52 PM on January 26, 2006
Yeah, the those just glancing at the Raptors this year might want to consider that they are pretty average if you ignore the horrendous start. pepitothechihuahua - yeah, but who held Kobe to his season low of 11? It was the Raptors, in their previous meeting. Didn't make the same headlines, obviously.
posted by gspm at 03:38 PM on January 26, 2006
It's not as if there's job stability in the NBA among head coaches . This is just one of many heads that will roll before the season is complete . Expect a change in New York , (Isaiah is history ) Minnesota , Chicago and a few more places to say the least . The name of the game is winning .
posted by alvinthefirst at 03:44 PM on January 26, 2006
I have to think Skiles might be around here in Chicago for at least a little while longer. I think Reinsdorf likes him and Reinsdorf is still basking in the glow of the White Sox WS victory. Maybe Chandler will finally come around and Gordon gets his game back (if last season wasn't a fluke). I expect Skiles at least through next season.
posted by willthrill72 at 03:55 PM on January 26, 2006
You would expect some fire(d) after the torching by Kobe.
posted by irunfromclones at 04:15 PM on January 26, 2006
SI Exclusive recently ran a piece on Chris Bosh in which he praised Babcock's more recent deals: Toronto's recent improvement, however, can be traced to Babcock's off-season moves [...]. "He's piecing the team together," says Bosh of Babcock. "We like one another, we get along, everybody works hard, and everybody's professional. When you have guys like that who come together, then eventually you know you're going to start winning." It then wrapped up with this: Granted, Bosh isn't promising yet that he will sign an extension with the Raptors. First, he wants to make sure the organization doesn't waver in rebuilding. "[My not signing] works because nobody gets comfortable," he says. "I don't get comfortable, the team doesn't get comfortable, and I think some people just work better under pressure." If Babcock's departure interrupts Toronto's rebuilding, could it cost them their franchise player?
posted by DrJohnEvans at 04:29 PM on January 26, 2006
Listen if they didnt fire Babcock, I know a guy who knows guys who would have taken care of him. This guy could NOT recruit for a elementary school midget girls team. THE GUY WAS INCOMPETANT MAN. We traded(yea im a torontonian) we traded Vince for ( 0 ) YES NOTHING !!!!! I freakin out. WE GOT NOTHING FOR THIS LAZY GOOD FOR NOTHING FREAK OF NATURE MOMMA'S BOY, DANCING AT THE NELLY CONCERT, MY KNEE HURTS, I GOTTA GET MY DIPLOMA, TRACEY MCGRADY COUSIN HATING... OH I CAN GO ON BUT, THE MEDS ARE KICKING IN. Listen the raptors are in BIG TROUBLE i MEAN VANCOUVER GRIZZLY TROUBLE.
posted by hoopwisdom at 10:39 PM on January 26, 2006
Bosh can go. We lost Vince, Mcgrady, Doug Christie, Camby,Stoudamire, Chancey Billups and Master P We can loose Bosh. Does anybody see that the Raptors dont play defense. Somebody tell Mike James to pass the ball to Chris Bosh in the 4th quarter. Somebody tell Chris Bosh he is 7'0ft tall go in the damn post. Somebody tell the team that Mo p is not the only defender on the court. SOMEBODY PLEASE PLAY JOEY GRAHAM MORE AND POST HIM UP AND GO BACK TO HIM WHEN HE SCORES SOMEBODY TELL SAM TO GET MAD AND KICK SOMEBODYS #@#@# HEAD IN WHEN THESE GUYS DONT GIVE ANY DEFENSIVE ENERGY. THIS TEAM LOST TO A EUROPEAN TEAM. i DONT CARE IF THEY WERE THE BEST TEAM IN EUROPE. Maceo Baston another guy we cut was on the blasted team. Ok I have the solution. the 12th spot on the court needs to go to a Toronto native. YEA THATS THE ANSWER, EUREKA. That will get it going we need some home grown heart. say amen
posted by hoopwisdom at 11:05 PM on January 26, 2006
hoopwisdom, I'm currently drunk, but between your ranty bits, I can tell you two things. One, cut the all-caps. If you feel a phrase needs to be accented more, rewrite the sentence. It's cool, I'd rather read something eloquent a half hour later than some ranty shit ten seconds after the last post. Secondly, how long was Chauncey Billups a Raptor? What, 20 minutes? Also, some of the European club teams are awful good (there's a reason legit NBA-star-level players like Sarunas Jasekevicius took so long to come over), so don't take that as a sign that they suck; hell, the Spurs would have had their hands full, even in a seven-game series. The Raps are not far from turning it around, but they do need some stability and a strong pimp hand in the GM's office. Without that, they're screwed.
posted by chicobangs at 04:02 AM on January 27, 2006
Chicobangs is right. Hoopwisdom is wrong. Vince Carter needed to go and everybody around the league knew it. In some ways, we needed to get rid of him more than the Pacers need to get rid of Artest, and the Pacers will be lucky to get anything useful for him too (even Peja was a free agent at season's end). Anyways the Raptors aren't going anywhere. As part of MLSE they're part of a coordinated entertainment empire, and can survive a downswing for much longer than the Grizzlies could, if not most teams that are independantly owned. They'll be fine once, between the Leafs and Raptors, they learn how to actually manage a salary cap.
posted by loquax at 10:37 AM on January 27, 2006
Listen the raptors are in BIG TROUBLE i MEAN VANCOUVER GRIZZLY TROUBLE. That's Bullshit. The Raptors have a much stronger fan base and far more revenue and money at their disposal. Anyway, a week ago the star ran an article talking about the "rift" between coach and GM so it was obvious something was about to give. What I find surprising is that it's normally the coach that gets the boot in such a situation. sigh. This is going to be a very depressing spring for Toronto sports (and, more specifically, MLSE).
posted by mkn at 12:16 PM on January 27, 2006
I have no idea if hoopwisdom is right or wrong, I can't understand a word he says.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 02:10 PM on January 27, 2006
Vince trade: bad. Picking Villanueva: not bad (so far). Raptors: still bad.