Gay in!….Barg’s Out?…

Now that the Toronto Raptors and Bryan Colangelo have officially decided to move Toronto in a new direction, the next logical question for fans is “where, if anywhere, does Andrea Bargnani fit into this plan?” – The answer, he doesn’t.

You could rationalize his shooting ability, and say he’d be a good option from deep – especially with DeMar who’s bound to get cold nights still, or Gay who isn’t a knock down shooter past the arc either – but quite simply, Andrea doesn’t fit what Dwane Casey is trying to build here – and that’s toughness. And, after Bryan Colangelo’s comments on NBA TV following the Gay announcement indicating that a conversation between BC and Bargnani’s agent about a change of venue might be a good idea, a trade seems all but imminent.

I don’t have anything against Bargnani personally; I spent the better part of the last decade absent from the game and as a result I haven’t been tortured by his failings as many of you have – I even think he’s a rather ok guy to have put up with it. But for a 7 footer, he doesn’t give you what you need – which is rebounds, shot blocking and defense. We all keep wanting him to be Dirk, but Dirk couldn’t lead a team to a championship in all his time save once, and the year later they didn’t even come close without Tyson Chandler.

And Bargnani isn’t even Dirk..

Bargnani can shoot and is a decent human being, but we need a banger down low to fit the Dwane Casey style; and in that vein, here are some possible trade scenarios based on a couple of articles I read recently:

Option A:

To Chicago: Andrea Bargnani, extra players

To Toronto: Carlos Boozer

Denver: Possible Third Team Involvement.

Option B:

To Houston: Andrea Bargnani (Then released to clear salary)

To Toronto: Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris

Option C:

To Brooklyn: Andrea Bargnani

To Toronto: Kris Humphries

Option D:

To LAL: Andrea Bargnani, Paul Millsap

To Toronto: Derrick Williams, extra players

To Minnesota: Pau Gasol, Alan Anderson

To Utah: Nikola Pekovic, JJ Barea

Let’s look at these. Quickly they all have pros and cons; but I think we can agree that Option D is by far the most complicated, so let’s leave that one for now. As for Option A, the logic was to say that pairing Derrick Rose with Bargnani could be a drive and dish option for Rose upon his return; and from my point of view, Toronto improves rebounding and veteran leadership – two things we really need. Not bad.

Option B actually seems like something nearer to the more likely of scenarios. Bargnani going somewhere and being waved, only to be resigned for less cash elsewhere. In terms of return value on Bargnani the Raptors would loose horribly here; using your number 1 pick and essentially having nothing to show for him 7 years later is pretty embarrassing if you ask me. Look for BC to stick with his pride and try and get something he can justify as a valuable piece for the future out of this scenario.

Option C; this one has me with the worst feeling in my gut, and I’ve also learned that when I get that feeling I’m usually on to something. Kris Humphries is only signed through next season, where as Bargnani is signed for 2 more years after this one. Having an improved rebounding and defensive presence in the post to help JV would benefit Toronto; but Humphries? Really? I suppose there are worse options out there. But I think there are also better ones. Josh Smith in Atlanta would be fantastic to add to this group; albeit Toronto probably can’t make that happen by themselves, but they’ve already pulled off one three-way-trade this season, why not make it an even 2?

Okay, so maybe Josh Smith is a bit lofty, but hey aim high. Now we’re taking about Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, Demar, Ross off the bench and JV when he’s healthy – doesn’t that sound like a team you’d want to play with? What do you think? Comment on this article and let us know what you think of these possible scenario’s, or if you think there are more options out there? Hit us back on our Facebook page too.