$14 million per year. How does that sound? That's what Brian Colangelo, Toronto Raptors President and General Manager negotiated to pay Jermaine O'Neal. This, for a guy who has a history of bad knees. It seems an excessive wager. I wouldn't pay that much for the best knees in the world. To be honest, I haven't followed NBA salaries since--well, never. But J.O.'s season seems to agree with my point of view.
He had a very slow start, putting up numbers like 4-6 points per game. Then, just as he was starting to click with a few high-scoring games, he flopped like a fish out of water. I don't recall how many games he was out for. I don't remember because he's been out several different times already and we're only in the middle of the season. He's probably missed almost as many games as he has played.
Now, there are trade rumours, but who in their right mind will take a chance on him now that they've seen confirmation that he is washed up? Colangelo, for the most part, was hailed as the second coming of Christ in Toronto, but the sheen on his halo has been fading about as fast as the Raptors have been sliding down the Eastern Division standings--currently on a seven-game losing streak.
Colangelo has collected a team of somewhat talented, nice guys who lack the killer instinct necessary to compete in the NBA. No team has blown more double-digit leads than the Raps--once coughing up an 18-point lead. They have the most porous defense in the league. I have seen players literally get out of the way to allow opposing players direct access to the basket. I don't like to name names, but his initials are "Jamario Moon". As a big basketball fan, this is almost unbearable to watch night in and night out.
This team has to be among the most underachieving in the history of the NBA. We have Chris Bosh, a strong, young mutiple all-star averaging over 20 points per game. Bargnagni, who has finally blossomed into one of the most well-rounded seven-footers in the game, also averaging over 20 in the last 10-12 games. Jose Calderon was one the premier point guards in the league before going down with a hamstring injury and who incidentally is perfect from the free-throw line for this entire season--76, I think. We have Jason Kapono, who won the three-throwing competition easily at last year's all-star game. Moon can almost fly to the moon--if he weren't afraid of getting hit. The rest of the supporting cast on a given night can shine.
Despite all that, they lose far more than their share of games. I believe the reason is that you can't have too many softies on one team--no matter how good they are. You can get away with one or two, but load up the squad and you're asking for trouble. You need toughness. And this team is lacking it big time. Are you listening, Bryan?
On Jose's free-throw streak.
And more.
No comments:
Post a Comment