When looking at the history of the Toronto Raptors it is easy to get lost in the talent that has walked through the locker room only to continue right out the front door. Many point blame at the draft and mistakes like Rafael Araujo, Michael Bradley and of course Jonathan Bender. Maybe go a little deeper and look at the Coaches the Raptors have put in place Lenny Wilkens, Kevin O’Neill, Butch Carter, Sam Mitchell and even Jay Triano. As we look further down the list you can analyze the General Managers MLSE has put in place Rob Babcock? Need I say more? No.
It appears that Toronto is known as a “Starting Ground” for Talented Basketball Players, Coaches to begin their career and General Managers who well, really have no business managing anything.
Although we can thank Wayne Embry for taking the terrible aftermath of Vince Carter
and preserving the franchise into a suitable situation for the two time executive of the year (2005 – Phoenix & 2007 – Toronto) to come in successfully manage the Toronto Raptors better then any General Manager in Toronto’s 15 year history.
Bryan has done more than any other GM in the league to prove to Chris Bosh he wants to build around him.
Let’s take a look at the resume of Bryan Colangelo in Toronto:
First off he erased a mistake by trading Rafael Araujo for Kris Humphries. He traded Eric Williams and Matt Bonner to the Spurs for some much a much needed big man in Rasho Nesterovich. Then he traded Charlie Villanueva for TJ Ford addressing the point guard issue at that time. He also brought in Europeans such as Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker. Drafter Andrea Bargnani and then traded TJ for Jermaine O’Neal then J.O. for Shawn Marion which turned into Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright and Devon George. George who was then in turn flipped into seldom used Marco Belinelli. Bryan then turned a contract in Carlos Delfino along with Roko Ukic into Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems. Signed Jarrett Jack – college teammate of Chris Bosh.
Not to mention he got CB4 to sign an extension, brought in Maurizo Gherardini as assistant GM, Brought in assistant coach Marc Iavaroni and done as much as one General Manager can do for a franchise player. Maybe it has to do with Bryan Colangelo being 44 years old.
So why the curse of #4?
The Toronto Raptors 4th ever draft was the beginning of the end for the franchise. A curse began with out anyone even realizing it. Was Damon Stoudamire the creator of the curse? Not willing to go into his fourth season as a Raptors he publicly demanded a trade and left Toronto with a curse that can only be broken if Chris Bosh stays in Toronto. In the next year (the Raptors 4th draft in the NBA) Toronto selected 4th overall – Antawn Jamison (jersey #4) and traded him for the hated Vince Carter. We all know how the whole Vince Carter situation played out. Leaving Chris Bosh after his rookie year, which is what Chris Bosh is considering doing to Demar DeRozan because CB4 had to play through the aftermath of “VC”. I guess Chris just wants to return the favor to Demar DeRozan.
So how does this qualify as a curse? Well it doesn’t end there. When looking at Chris Bosh’s legacy and how Toronto will remember him it is easy to see how all these events are interconnected. Could Chris Bosh’s last play on Toronto’s home court be forever remembered as the famous lay-up CB4 missed to beat Golden State and not only win the game but it would have secured a playoff spot in the NBA Playoffs. To make his legacy even more tarnished his last official play as a Raptor may be Chris getting elbowed in the face by none other than the man we drafted #4 in the 1998 draft Antawn Jam
ison. Maybe that elbow injected the VC Bug into Chris’s head. Throw in the fact that Vince’s # was 15 and in the Toronto’s 15th season Bosh’s legacy may come to an end.
Shortly after did Chris Bosh disrespect Toronto – Wait scratch that! He disrespected CANADA’s Team by changing his location on his twitter from Toronto to “Everywhere”. Then changed his profile to no longer read “Captain of the Toronto Raptors”. At least Chris finally realized he wasn’t the Captain or Leader we needed to take us into the Playoffs this year.
Maybe Chris should realize it starts from the top up and Bryan Colangelo built that Phoenix powerhouse and is trying to do the same in Toronto. Things take time, hard work and commitment. Unfortunately Bosh isn’t showing a commitment and you need all three to make a winner.
I guess Toronto fans will always have to wonder how good we could be should players like Damon Soudamire, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter and now Chris Bosh decided to stay. Instead he maybe the 4th all star player to abandon the Toronto Franchise. (hence the curse of the #4). Everybody wants immediate return on investment, but nobody is willing to invest long term!
Chris, remember players like Roy Halladay are respected by Toronto. We want nothing more then to see a class act individual like Roy WIN! Roy even went as far as putting a full page ad in the paper thanking Toronto Fans for their support. Surely when we think names like John Stockton, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor we don’t think Chris Bosh. Leaving a franchise doesn’t make you great. It’s the players around you which help make you great and your commitment to the team.
Would Tim Duncan have won a NBA Championship if players like David Robinson left, Manu Ginobli or Tony Parker? Maybe but we also know that the success the Spurs have had is because of drafting and retaining players.
Players should realize when your contract is up July 1st you should honor and respect it for as long as that contract is valid. If GM’s and Coaches get fined for tampering then players should be held accountable too.
Chris Bosh you should realize that part of the reason you made the NBA All-Star team is because you have an ENTIRE COUNTRY behind you and not just a city. Thank you for the years you have provided us Toronto fans but it’s clear to see that Chris Bosh would
rather be a mayor of a city then a King of a Nation, RAPTOR NATION.
This songs dedicated to you Chris – Enjoy!
