Jarrett Jack, Toronto Raptors
The topic of the day in Raptor land is more than likely about the possible trading of Jarret Jack and less about last night's win over the Houston Rockets. With all honesty, you can't really blame the fans. They have been screaming for change, and with today's deal likely to go down, I for one think it is a good deal and long over due.
The trade involves Toronto Raptors Jarret Jack, David Anderson and Marcus Banks. Jarret Jack played the most out of the 3 players mentioned, splitting time at the point guard position with Jose Calderon. David Anderson joined the team this summer and played a good supporting role off the bench. With a reliable jump shot and rarely putting the team at risk with bad on the court decisions, he was great at filling the void left by the injured rookie Ed Davis. Marcus Banks, a third string point guard, rarely saw minutes over the last few seasons, and although some fans may think he was never given a chance in Toronto, it was clear Calderon and Jack were the better players at that position.
On the Hornets side, point guard Jerryd Bayless and forward Peja Stojakovic are the ones supposedly headed to Toronto. The Hornets have been on fire this season without the help of these 2 players, and this trade should it go through, does great things for both teams, just at different times.
The Hornets get an immediate shot in the arm as far as performance goes with Jarrett Jack backing up All-Star Chris Paul, and Banks likely once again coming off the bench. David Anderson should fit in nicely with the jump shot happy Hornets. Anderson is in good health when compared to Peja Stojakovic, who has been suffering from nagging injuries over the last few years resulting in poor play. The Raptors benefit is one that will pay dividends in the long term rather than propel them to a playoff spot this season. The financial benefits of this trade, were it to go through, give the Raptors a $14 million expiring contract in Peja, the ability to trade Bayless with the $14 million trade exception received in the Bosh trade and $3 million in cash. Add all that with a likely high 2011 draft pick and you have yourself a chance to seriously compete.
After months of Bryan Colangelo taking heat for the Bosh trade and his recent inability to put together a successful roster, he has shown he is one of the best at looking at the big picture. Raptor fans should not kid themselves, the Raptors are going to remain near the bottom of the Eastern Conference this season. The the only hopes of making the playoffs would based on some awful all around performances from all the teams ranked above them. I do understand that no fan wants to feel that their team's season is hopeless after waiting all summer for it to begin. I get that. It's however also important as a fan to understand that this trade doesn't kill the Raptors on a competitive level. They will win about the same amount of games predicted, and go into next year's draft ready to make a lot of noise. Which right now, is better than a 8th playoff spot followed by a 1st round exit and losing a high draft pick.
As a loyal Raptors fan, I hope this traded goes through. What the Raptors have right now is not working, the only thing you can do is try to fix it.
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