2009 kings had the worst record - 4th. 2010 2nd and 3rd worst records ended up 4th and 5th 2011 2nd and 3rd worst records ended up 4th and 5th 2012 3rd worst 3rd up 4th.
Yeah, the worst record has a 36% chance of ending up fourth, so the odds are with them if they have the worst record. But it is hardly a sure thing. 2nd or 3rd worst record and you are getting into coin flip territory of not being top three.
Regardless of odds, it's simply impossible for a team to tank this early. Especially since Toronto has on-paper talent. They're not the Pistons or the Bobcats. Sure, their talent may be young or don't really mix well, but there's something to work with. And they sure as hell didn't trade for Lowry in order to be the worst team in the NBA. And as much as everyone felt at the time that Dwayne Casey >>>>>>>> McHale during our coaching search last year, it sure does seem like we actually got the better guy.
Please tell me this isn't actually true. lol ClutchFans, you have no idea sometimes. If there is one coach who is likely to bench the hot hand or fail to call a timeout at a critical juncture, it's Dwayne Casey. Just ask Raptors fans. Basically that whole team needs to reinvent itself and clean house. Fire the GM, fire the coach. Fire the mascot. You over there. Dinosaur. You're fired. Change the dumbass name of the team while you're at it--this isn't the 90s and Jurassic Park was never that cool to begin with. The "Raptors" name is synonymous with getting torched by Kobe for 81 points, having just two star players in the history of the franchise who both couldn't wait to leave, and just being an embarrassment in general. Just clean house. Reinvent the culture of the team from the ground up.
You weren't kidding: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=213657 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=204319 bwahahahaha Lawrence Frank in second place in that poll thread, too. Oh god my sides. looool
I think they're in the process of cleaning house. Colangelo's contract expires this offseason (although giving the ****ty ownership of the team who knows if he'll be back). They need to trade Calderon at the deadline, get Bargnani far, far away. Maybe even dump Klezia and any other European Colangelo guy. And that stupid name and that logo. It looks like something a nine year old would make for his created team in 2k. It's shame too. Toronto usually has solid attendance and is a major city. Unfortunately, the organization is ran so poorly that players avoid going there. I think the ownership needs to change, but whomever buys the team would likely move them to the states.
Their fans are amazing. Always towards the top of the list in attendance, always passionate about voicing their concerns. They don't deserve such a crap franchise in exchange for their loyalty, and really when a team is that bad for that long, it puts that loyalty to the test. Let's hope Colangelo is gone and his legacy in the awful players he picked finally gone as well soon. It would be a breath of fresh air. I have nothing vested in them, I'm no Raptors "fan," but the league already demonstrated that it can't support one poorly run Canadian franchise. The success of the Raptors is going to figure prominently into whether David Stern's dream of a truly international, big time $$$ league can actually become a reality.
Unless free agency drastically changes or the Raptors get multiple top 3 picks (a la OKC) then the Raptors will always bad. Players, for whatever reason, have a stigma of playing in Canada, and this was true even before the teams were established. Francis demanded a trade out of Vancouver. BJ Armstrong never reported to training camp.
I recall Alonzo Mourning pulled the same stunt when he was traded to the Raptors. He never showed up to training camp either. I have no idea why teams aren't just able to reciprocate on the petty power play by docking the player's pay, but for whatever reason, that didn't happen with Mourning. Toronto bought him out of his contract under terms that were never made public, but we can assume he was getting at least some of his contract money, and then Mourning went on to just join his old team in Miami. Incredibly sketchy and perhaps even pre-arranged as a way of ducking salary cap restrictions.
No doubt. That was a commonly used trick (see Illgauskas and the Wizards) until the NBA finally put in a rule against it. But yeah, I can't figure out why Toronto isn't a hot bed for free agents (that aren't foreigners). It's a huge, fun and diverse city, a huge market (especially being the only team in Canada). It's cold, but not much colder than Chicago. Taxes are higher, but they're only marginally higher than here, and with the currency exchange rates being in our favour the lower cost of living balances it out.
Apparently teammates are calling him out on his "self-centered," play. http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/12/11/desperate-raptors-at-yet-another-crossroads/
So maybe that's the kind of thing that stalls an Andrea Bargnani trade? The fact that Andrea Bargnani wants to be a #1 scoring option, thinks he's a #1 scoring option, and yet would never be a #1 option on any team but the Raptors?
Bargnani and Lowry were subjected to a Maoist struggle session: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/12/11/desperate-raptors-at-yet-another-crossroads/
Surely you jest. This is par for the course for Lowry. As much as I love his on-court play, his attitude issues have been well documented throughout his career. My only surprise is that it came so quickly.
