Post by anks on Aug 9, 2005 16:14:06 GMT -5
A country behind a team is all the pressure a GM needs to assess his every move and that is exactly what the Raptors GM Anks has been doing with his team. The Raptors started out with a core of Rafer Alton, Jalen Rose, Chris Bosh, Rafael Araujo and rookie Joey Graham and Charlie Villaneuva. 3 sims into the season and Raptors core has changed from an up and coming team to a rebuilding team yet again. Many Raptor hardcores have been disgruntled with the team’s recent moves and inability to put together a playoff roster.
There were high hopes with this Raptor team. With one of the most underrated pgs in the league in Rafer and an absolute stud at PF in Chris Bosh, things were looking up. Then Anks goes out and trades away one of the streetball legends for Maurice Williams and Ersan Ilyasova who was immediately shipped to Utah for Anks’ personal favourite, CJ Miles. No one seemed to understand the move at the time and most had the Raptors chalked in at the brink of mediocrity for the next decade. “It was hard to let Skip go, trading away one of the legends of the game of basketball for 2 unproven young guys is always a big risk but it was something that had to be done. We were built for an early playoff exit and the backcourt was only getting older. The pain seemed to ease up a bit with the surprising stellar play of Roko Ukic who managed to secure the starting pg position right before he was traded to New York for Miami’s 1st this year. Now, the haters were really scratching their heads. “We didn’t have right on Roko, he would have left us in 2 years since we couldn’t pay him so I got all I could for him”
With so many questionable and seemingly pointless moves, it was apparent that Anks was getting too old for this job. Fast forward 3 sims and the Raptors sit 4 games out of a playoff spot in a very weak eastern Conference with 4 1st round picks in the next 2 years and a young star brewing up in UBDL. CJ Miles has raised many eyebrows with his 19 ppg, 7 rpg, 5 apg, and 2 spg averages in a very competitive UBDL league. He is expected to start at the 2 for the Raptors next year. Most gms, noticeable InsaneRadical and Juniah, have called this a pipe dream but CJ is already upto the task. It doesn’t hurt that he’s still growing both physically and mentally. Milt Palacio has been called up to run the Raptors team from FA and he’s more than happy to call Toronto his home. “Milt knows our system better than anyone out there. He has been with us for the last 3 years and Sam really trusts him to run our team. Infact, Sam recommended him to me. I was willing to go out and trade for a 1. I’m glad it worked out for both sides.” The Raptors had a +500 sim for the first time this season. Its amazing what a good pg can do for your team.
“Its hard for me to take any harsh steps with this team because we are always under the spotlight but I try to not be affected by it. Obviously, I’ve had some good offers on the table for guys like Hoffa, Charlie V, and Bosh but I am not willing to trade any one of them right now. They are what I would call untouchable but anything is possible. Obviously, you have to think twice when someone offers you a superstar like Lebron or Kobe but I think we’ll be ok with what we have right now. Losing is never easy but I am not willing to sacrifice the long term gain of this team for any short sighted successes.”
There were high hopes with this Raptor team. With one of the most underrated pgs in the league in Rafer and an absolute stud at PF in Chris Bosh, things were looking up. Then Anks goes out and trades away one of the streetball legends for Maurice Williams and Ersan Ilyasova who was immediately shipped to Utah for Anks’ personal favourite, CJ Miles. No one seemed to understand the move at the time and most had the Raptors chalked in at the brink of mediocrity for the next decade. “It was hard to let Skip go, trading away one of the legends of the game of basketball for 2 unproven young guys is always a big risk but it was something that had to be done. We were built for an early playoff exit and the backcourt was only getting older. The pain seemed to ease up a bit with the surprising stellar play of Roko Ukic who managed to secure the starting pg position right before he was traded to New York for Miami’s 1st this year. Now, the haters were really scratching their heads. “We didn’t have right on Roko, he would have left us in 2 years since we couldn’t pay him so I got all I could for him”
With so many questionable and seemingly pointless moves, it was apparent that Anks was getting too old for this job. Fast forward 3 sims and the Raptors sit 4 games out of a playoff spot in a very weak eastern Conference with 4 1st round picks in the next 2 years and a young star brewing up in UBDL. CJ Miles has raised many eyebrows with his 19 ppg, 7 rpg, 5 apg, and 2 spg averages in a very competitive UBDL league. He is expected to start at the 2 for the Raptors next year. Most gms, noticeable InsaneRadical and Juniah, have called this a pipe dream but CJ is already upto the task. It doesn’t hurt that he’s still growing both physically and mentally. Milt Palacio has been called up to run the Raptors team from FA and he’s more than happy to call Toronto his home. “Milt knows our system better than anyone out there. He has been with us for the last 3 years and Sam really trusts him to run our team. Infact, Sam recommended him to me. I was willing to go out and trade for a 1. I’m glad it worked out for both sides.” The Raptors had a +500 sim for the first time this season. Its amazing what a good pg can do for your team.
“Its hard for me to take any harsh steps with this team because we are always under the spotlight but I try to not be affected by it. Obviously, I’ve had some good offers on the table for guys like Hoffa, Charlie V, and Bosh but I am not willing to trade any one of them right now. They are what I would call untouchable but anything is possible. Obviously, you have to think twice when someone offers you a superstar like Lebron or Kobe but I think we’ll be ok with what we have right now. Losing is never easy but I am not willing to sacrifice the long term gain of this team for any short sighted successes.”
