Raptor moves...

[badams]

Not a lot to talk about now. So here is some Raptor news...

With Chris Bosh gone, Toronto Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo is wasting no time overhauling his roster.

According to various reports, the Raptors are on the verge of shipping Hedo Turkoglu to Phoenix for guard Leandro Barbosa and forward Dwayne Jones. The Raptors would then reportedly ship forward Reggie Evans and guard Jose Calderon to the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Boris Diaw and centre Tyson Chandler.

The Toronto Star also adds that the Raptors will not have to use their $14.5 million trade exception acquired last week from the Miami Heat in the sign-and-trade deal for Bosh.

Turkoglu has stated he wants out of Toronto just one season after choosing to sign with the Raptors over the Portland Trail Blazers last summer. The six-foot-10 Turkish forward averaged just 11.3 points a game with Toronto last season - his lowest total since 2003-04.

He was also a healthy scratch in late March after reports surfaced that he was at a Toronto nightclub shortly after missing a game against Denver due to a stomach virus. He was also fined by the Raptors. Turkoglu is owed US$43.8 million over the next four years.

When on his game, Turkoglu is a versatile forward who could replace some of the offence Phoenix lost when Amare Stoudemire signed with the New York Knicks.

Barbosa, originally drafted by Colangelo in Phoenix, is a quick guard who has played six seasons with the Suns. The Brazilian played in 44 games last year, averaging 9.5 points and 2.6 assists per game. His best season was in 2006-07, when he averaged 18.1 points and four assists per game.

Chandler, a nine-year veteran who played with the Bobcats, New Orleans Hornets and Chicago Bulls, averaged 6.5 points and 6.3 rebounds a game last season.

The move would give the Raptors a handful of expiring contracts to clear salary room in a couple of seasons - Barbosa has two years and $14.7 million left on his deal, Diaw has two years and $18 million left and Chandler will be paid $13.1 million in his final season this year.

[Basher]

I can't wait for these guys to get traded next season.

[TheSloth]

(Truthfully, I feel bad for the fans of this franchise)

[Thorgnor]

Sounds like the old Suns... maybe a bid for Nash on a retirement tour if the chemistry works out, or agood way to appear respectable while actually chugging monstercock.

[Thorgnor]

Wow... Thanks Mike.

[TheSloth]

(Truthfully, I feel bad for the fans players of this franchise)

[Thorgnor]

Fuck... again.

[TheSloth]

I can't be bothered to re-post that pic again. Raps seem snake bitten.

[Basher]

I don't want to talk about it.

[Schwa.]

Basketball in Canada is done and the next fucking lockout is surely imminent.

[Basher]

Basketball in Canada is done?

[Schwa.]

IMO. Failure after failure after failure..... I actually think the entire league will fail before long. in the long term. The league is losing hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Guest

[Schwa.]

Just wanted to back that up a bit.

Forbes: 12 NBA Teams Lost Money Last Season

Forbes has its annual report on NBA team valuations, revenue and operating income out. The headline might be that in its championship season, the Lakers finally supplanted the Knicks as the league's franchise worth the most, up 4 percent to $607 million. The Knicks' value dropped 4 percent to $586 million after having claimed the top spot for four consecutive seasons, despite terrible on-court performance.

But the real news is likely that 12 NBA teams -- some 40 percent of the league's franchises -- are reported to have lost money last season. The biggest losers happen to be winners: Paul Allen's Blazers are reported to have lost $20 million, and the Mavericks are reported to have lost $17 million. Three other winning teams lost money (Orlando, Atlanta, New Orleans), but the rest of the deficit contingent is made up of the league's worst squads of a year ago (Pacers, Bobcats, Nets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Wolves, Kings).

Of course, if you want to look at the bright side, in that awful, awful economy, 18 of the league's 30 franchises actually made money. Perhaps that's a positive. Forbes doesn't spin it as such, but you imagine the league might do so. (The league and individual teams do not typically disclose revenue, operating income or any financial data.)

The sheer number of teams losing money might worry the league, but the NBA has a whole turned a great profit last year based on the strength of the top flight, big-market squads. The Lakers and Bulls each made more than $50 million in profit, and two others -- the Pistons and Rockets -- surpassed the $30 million mark. Even the lowly Knicks managed to net $21 million.

Of particular interest is that the Thunder, in its first season in Oklahoma City, managed to pull a substantially positive operating income of $12.7 million. The value of Clay Bennett's franchise also rose 3 percent, to $310 million. That was the league's fourth largest value increase. The Blazers, despite losing that $20 million, saw its franchise value jump a remarkable 10 percent to $338 million.

They sure choose to highlight the positive in that article, but with 40% of the League's teams losing money year after year I just don't see how they can survive.

[Basher]

So, if a team is losing $15M per year, but after ten years the franchise is sold for $250M more than it was purchased for, is the team really losing money?

[Basher]

Oh and FYI, the latest Forbes numbers that I could find indicate that 14 NHL teams lost money in (I think) the 2009 season.

[Schwa.]

Yeah, the NHL is in far worse shape, I think, because they're not just fighting the market, they're also fighting keeping teams in markets that are totally not viable.

Wonder if we'll see either League shrink it's number of teams in the future.

[Basher]

I'm just saying that operating income for the team alone does not paint the picture.

[Schwa.]

but then, if the team does lose money in repeated years and the value drops from 250Mil to something lower than are they not losing money? if the team is forced to fold without a buyer do they not lose?

the hypothetical situations abound....but I hear what you're saying.

[Basher]

The other thing to keep in mind is that most pro clubs impact other revenue streams associated with the owner(s). Also, nobody really seems to agree on the math around these figures.

Regardless, basketball is not dead in Canada.

[Schwa.]

not yet

[Basher]

And there is absolutely, positively a lockout on the horizon. As soon as this season ends.

[Thorgnor]

I agree with Schwa. to a degree. I don't think it's "dead" at all on a grassroots or even fan-base level, but the Raps as a franchise are in jeopardy imo. They will not be having a credible winning season for awhile, and let's not forget how often we've been promised a "real" club. These shenanigans kill the vibes, and the hope that the Raptors "aren't that far away from"... whatever.

I don't have much faith left that Colangelo's ability, or his connections, are doing much to help the image of the club. Same old song and dance everyfuckingtime.

Fortunately, the average basketball fan in Canada is younger than the average hockey fan, so the future might brighten due to youthful ignorance and blind hope.

[Basher]

the Raps as a franchise are in jeopardy imo

Just wondering, what is that opinion based on? According to Forbes, even after a down season, the Raptors were ranked #11 in NBA valuations and had an operating income $18M.

Or do you think business has nothing to do with it?

[Thorgnor]

Business has lots to do with it. I'm just not convinced that the economic indicators can tell us fuckall about the future. Check recent history andf then come back and tell me that accountants know what's coming.

I'm basing my opinion on a feeling, and that's all, just a plain old, absolutely feminine feeling, straight from my guts, that a franchise that looses consistently in a city that is growing weary of losers might not have too bright a future.

For all the business acumen down in the sports hub of the universe they seem to have a fuckingridiculous time trying to build winning clubs lately. Without tons of luck and totally unpredictable outcomes that is. Or did Forbes predict the Blue Jays would have heavy bats this year?

What I'm saying is, if the Raps post another five seasons of waste, come talk to me about "market viability". This ain't Cleveland. The Leafs are a phenomena that transcends hockey in Canada, as well as business. The Raptors, not so much.

[Jaimoe]

Colangelo has a questionable future, not the Raptors. They still have good attendance. Obviously the Raps will have their work cut out for them trying to lure back Bosh fans, but hopefully those same fans are real basketball supporters. I'm a fan through thick and thin. I do think one or more of their young bucks must develop into good to great.