A lot of people were surprised when the Toronto Raptors removed the interim tag from Jay Triano and gave him a 3-year contract to be their head coach. Prior to the Shawn Marion trade it was far from a given that Triano was going to take over the position on a permanent basis, but a 9-4 finish to the season gave management enough confidence in Triano's abilities to move forward with him as their head coach. After all, he was put in a very tough position but in time the team did start to respond to him at a very high level.
This off season was all about giving Triano a better chance to be successful and the Raptors did so by bringing in one of the top free agents this offseason had to offer in Hedo Turkoglu. Signing Turkoglu was the top priority for the Raptors and they were able to snatch him away at the last minute from the Portland Trail Blazers, who thought they had the small forward they needed to become contenders in the West. The acquisition of Turkoglu has Triano very optimistic about the upcoming season.
"He's gone from being the Most Improved Player to taking his team to the finals," said Triano of Turkoglu. "Anytime you can get a player of that quality you do it and you find out how you can fill the roster out around it. We think we're going to be a lot better not only with him but some of the free agents we're going to bring in around him. We're extremely excited to have him in Toronto."
The Raptors next move after bringing in Turkoglu was locking up the top overall pick in the 2006 draft to a long-term contract. Andrei Bargnani was signed to a 5-year $50 million deal, which Triano felt was a necessary move to lock up a core worth building around.
"Everything kind of falls into place," explained Triano. "We have (Hedo) Turkoglu for five years, Bargnani for five, Calderon for the next four, (DeMar) DeRozan's going to be in that mix giving us athleticism that maybe some of those players don't have. We've got this year to figure out what Chris Bosh is going to do. That's a great nucleus moving forward for the next five years and one that might not be super successful next year but we're definitely going to be a better basketball team. As these guys get to spend more time playing with each other I think the ceiling is very, very high for this group."
While Turkoglu and Bargnani are going to be major contributors for the Raptors next season, the same cannot be said with certainty about DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan, who was selected 9th overall, has as much upside as anyone in the 2009 draft class outside of Blake Griffin but is extremely young and inexperienced. DeRozan is the main player that Triano is in Las Vegas to watch and although his first performance was far from stellar Triano still came away impressed.
"He had only one practice with us because we had to wait to sign his contract but I was pleased with him," said Triano. "We know he needs to be a little bit more aggressive but we've talked to him about that and I think he's got a huge upside with his athletic ability. More important than that is his willingness to learn, he'll do whatever we ask him to do. He's shown that already and I'm very optimistic about his future."
DeRozan's second game left reason for Triano to be even more hopeful as he finally showed the aggressiveness that he did late in his freshman campaign. DeRozan finished the game with 20 points, looking like a star in the making. Nothing is more vital to the Raptors future success though than Chris Bosh. Bosh, one of the best power forwards in the league, is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and if the Raptors do not improve as a team they risk this being his last season in Toronto. Fortunately for the Raptors their offseason moves so far have received Bosh's stamp of approval.
"He's extremely happy and positive about both big moves," revealed Triano. "Even with our draft pick I think Chris has been very impressed and with the other things this organization has done."
Finally: Summer League Games Online!
You asked for it . . .you BEGGED for it . . .and now you can have it. Twenty-one NBA teams will compete in the annual Las Vegas Summer League, and while you watch your favorite team play you'll get a chance to hear commentary from the coaches, GM's and other decision-makers for each team talk about roster moves! Sign up here to catch all the action live - or on demand - from Las Vegas!
