Bryan Colangelo Steals Amir Johnson
If you’re an NBA general manager and you see it’s Bryan Colangelo calling do you even pick up the phone?
Between working some magic with the Hedo Turkoglu sign-and-trade, adding Marco Belinelli for a spare part and now adding a talented young forward in Amir Johnson, he’s clearly had a summer most general managers would drool over.
While the big name in his roster overhaul this summer is Turkoglu, you could easily make the argument one of the biggest moves may be the addition of Johnson. Sure, this marks the second time the talented forward has been dealt this summer. But it’s also true that at this point last year he was seen as one of the untouchables on the Pistons roster and a player they planned to build around. The fact that Colangelo was able to acquire him for a player they probably wouldn’t have signed and a third string point guard who would have rarely gotten off the bench makes this an intriguing move.
With one brilliant move, Colangelo was able to deal a guard that was going to rot on the bench, Roko Ukic, in order to fix the teams most glaring need: front court depth. Even if Johnson only manages to match his 14.7 minutes per game that he averaged last season it will be a great improvement over what Ukic was looking at playing.
Where things could really get interesting is if Johnson flourishes and becomes the player the Pistons envisioned last summer. If what he did in Las Vegas last month is any indication – granted, this was summer league so that’s a big if – then the Raptors have picked up a young stud that will be around for years to come.
Now that the Raptors roster for the upcoming season appears to be set, the only question surrounding the team is how long it will take until members of the media start talking about him about being named Executive of the Year.
21 Comments on “Bryan Colangelo Steals Amir Johnson”.
Have Your Say:
Ryan,
Looking ahead at this point in the off season, there are going to be at least 5 outstanding teams in the NBA with a legitimate shot at winning the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the 2009-2010 season:
[#1-5 in any order, listed alphabetically]
Boston Celtics
Cleveland Cavaliers
LA Lakers
Orlando Magic
SA Spurs
none of which are named the Toronto Raptors, or run by Bryan Colangelo.
Below this elite level group, there is another sub-set of teams with a solid chance to have a very productive season this upcoming season, e.g. by making the playoffs and possibly advancing to the conference finals, including the likes of:
[#6-12 in any order, listed alphabetically]
Atlanta Hawks
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Houston Rockets [except for the injury status of Yao Ming & T-Mac]
Miami Heat
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz
Next comes a 3rd sub-set of Middle-of-the-Pack teams with the capacity to have a solid season, e.g. by making the playoffs and possibly advancing a Round or two before losing in the post-season to one of the other Top 12 teams in the Association, or have a mediocre season, e.g. by making the playoffs and losing in the 1st Round, or just missing out on making the playoffs entirely, including the likes of:
[#13-24 in any order, listed alphabetically]
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Indiana Pacers [pending the injury status of Mike Dunleavy, Jr.]
LA Clippers
New Orleans Hornets
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards
Followed by a 4th sub-set of teams which will play this season in an effort to lose as little money as possible during the current economic downturn and by positioning themselves with an eye toward possible success in the future with another trip to NBA’s Annual Draft Lottery in June 2010, in hopes of landing one of the next superstars in the League to change the course of their franchise in a big way down-the-road, including the likes of:
[#25-30 in any order, listed alphabettically]
Milwaukee Bucks
Memphis Grizzlies
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets
New York Knicks
Sacramento Kings
The NBA game is about WINNING THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP.
Period.
Executives who receive the league’s EOTY Award, voted on by their peers [i.e. not the players, not the coaches and not the national media] while leading their teams to the championship that same season are amongst the very best in the NBA.
Executives who receive this award WITHOUT leading their team to the championship are, in fact, little more than “average” practicioners of their craft.
Credit should go to where credit is due, not to where it isn’t.
August 18, 2009 » 6:55 AM »
[...] Bryan Colangelo Steals Amir Johnson | Hoops Addict – With one brilliant move, Colangelo was able to deal a guard that was going to rot on the bench, Roko Ukic, in order to fix the teams most glaring need: front court depth. Even if Johnson only manages to match his 14.7 minutes per game that he averaged last season it will be a great improvement over what Ukic was looking at playing. [...]
August 18, 2009 » 8:03 AM »
Khan you’re an idiot! So we should just ignore the efforts made a by a general manager in the offseason simply because they may not be championship calibre yet? Thats really stupid logic. Turning a 33 win team into a 45+ win team (what many are predicting) with shrews moves should certainly be acknowledged. You cannot win the championship overnight, but he certainly has put the pieces in place to be competitive over the next 5 seasons, in which they will be competitive for a title. Also how is Miami and Huoston in your second group, ahed of teh Raptors? Miami will likely miss the playoffs and Houston deiniftely will, because they have no depth and their injuries. In fact i will bet the raps finish with better records then both teams, which according to your system, would make them a second tier team. Not a bad turnaround in 1 year and definitely something that needs to be acknowledged.
August 18, 2009 » 10:31 AM »
Khandor – While I understand the goal is to win an NBA Championship, only one general manager will have a team that achieves that goal each season. The reason why Colangelo warrants this is because he gutted a roster that didn’t work last season (only three players remain in Bargnani, Bosh and Calderon) while having a roster that should win advance one or two rounds into the playoffs. Considering he left this roster with future cap flexibility, is there really anything he could have done differently this summer?
Also, in regards to winning a championship being the only goal of any general manager, over the past 20 years only no general manager has won this award the same year they won an NBA Championship. Throw into the mix that Jerry West was given the award while working in the Grizzlies front office and it’s clear that people voting might have a different set of standards or criteria than you do.
Sean – Good points, but is there really a need to call another adult an idiot? Please refrain from childish name calling in the future. I’m also curious as to why Houston and Miami are ranked higher in his ratings system.
August 18, 2009 » 11:01 AM »
Sean,
The same GM was responsible for turning a 47 win team into a 33 win two seasons later.
August 18, 2009 » 1:51 PM »
Ryan,
It’s for that reason that EOTY awards are a waste of time, in general.
The top GM’s in the league are the ones whose team actually win the NBA championship not the ones who just happen to be awarded the EOTY, or the ones who are thought to have “over-achieved” with their team’s performance that season.
Yes, it can be considered harsh to relegate the other 29 GM’s in the NBA to a status which reflects some type of standing which is less than the VERY BEST in a given year but, in fact, that’s the way it works in the often cruel world of professional sports.
August 18, 2009 » 1:56 PM »
re: Houston & Miami
If the Houston Rockets played in the EC there would actually be a decent chance that their team could possibly finish this coming season with a better won-lost record than the Raptors even while playing without two star players like Yao Ming & T-Mac. That’s how good the Rockets are throughout their organization. Their GM might not yet know what it takes to win a championship with the Rockets but he has already proven [at least to me] that knows very well what’s required to produce a consistently winning team in this league. At this point, I would not put it past him to be able to get the Rockets into the #8 spot in the WC this year … which would be a Herculian accomplishment sans Yao, McGrady & Mutombo.
As far as Miami is concerned, I would be more than willing to make a friendly wager with anyone who would like to take the Raptors in a battle with Heat this season, as to which one will in fact finish with more W’s in the regular season.
Why only friendly?
If D-Wade was to serious sustain an injury of some sort … Miami will find itself right back in the Lottery next summer.
There’s a good reason why the Rockets [+1500], Heat [+4500] and Raptors [+7500] are listed at their Current Odds to win the 2010 NBA Title.
August 18, 2009 » 2:17 PM »
Yeah nice job of “what ifs`regarding the Houston Rockets. That team wouldnt make the playoffs in the east or west without those 2 players. Thats how bad their depth in the organization is. This team will crumble big time this year with the loss of T-Mac, Yao and Artest. Also to refer to the eighth seed as herculian is ridiculous since they are supposed to be a tier two team. A real tier two team should be able to at least battle for that spot and not have it considered herculian. As for the bet, i will absolutely take that bet, and the fact that you identified the health of one player as dramatically changing the fortunes of a team from tier two to lottery, shows that they were never a tier two team to begin with. That team is paper thin with everything on Wades back.
August 18, 2009 » 2:40 PM »
Wow Khandor you have no respect for the Raptors or B.C do you ? Look what he did in Phoenix when he first signed as their GM. He turned the 2nd worst team in the league into winning 50+ games for the next 5-6 seasons.
B.C is smart and the raps for sure will be making the playoffs. Don’t sleep on the talent he has picked up.
Calderon
Belinelli
Bargiani
Bosh
Turkoglu
look at that starting 5. That is 5 shooters on the floor with a devistating pick and roll option with either Andrea or Bosh in which Hedo never had in Orlando. Bosh and Andrea can shoot a 17 foot jump shot not like D-12. They have surrounded Bosh with legimate shooters and even on th bench have good talent and role players in DeRozan , Jack , Johnson , Evans.
P.S i like how you put SA Spurs in your top 5. Frankly they are the team to beat this year. And once again they get a steal of the year in Blair gong #37th overall. Some GM’s are just stupid
August 19, 2009 » 1:18 PM »
Khan, WOW!!!
Your logic is (for lack of a better word) foolish. Not even David Aldridge and other NBA analyst put Houston and Miami over the Raps. it’s remarks like that that make me wonder do you even watch basket ball. you have 5 teams in the east over the Raps (orlando, cleveland, boston, miami???? and atlanta????). 1 of which i can’t figure out what made u even consider them.
Miami is a alright team and that’s with D-wade healthy. and Atlanta didn’t do much but resign bibby. with all the changes made in the East i really don’t agree with much u are saying. i feel that u have overlooked not just the raps but alot of other teams in the league.
August 19, 2009 » 5:49 PM »
I have seen Sonny Weems with Razorbacks and the Nuggets believe you me this guy is gifted…He needs mentoring. This might sound crazy to everybody but have the coaches teach him the PG position, At 6’6 over 210lbs and extremely athletic he presents matchup problems. You can’t teach height and athleticism is a gift…give him this role, He has a league minimum contract {peanuts} and will spend most times watching and observing in a suit.
If you can make Sonny a role player [with size and more talent] than a Quincy Douby, You hav yur self one hellava breakdown defensive player that can see over most players he’s defending and no one defending him would match his overlooked quick first step… Attention : Mr. Sonny Weems
August 20, 2009 » 3:22 AM »
Bryan Colangelo Steals Amir Johnson : This yet to be determined. Amir at Summer League was beautiful…Man among Boys. If he brings same aggression to the Raps, he will be a Fan Fav… Pops who?
August 20, 2009 » 3:28 AM »
Matt Carroll would be a nice piece.
Poor Man’s Kapono coming off the bench with the pure scorers touch. Better shooter than A.Parker n M.Peterson and we got him I think for 3 or 4 yrs.
His role will be exactly what Kapono was meant to do…lite it up from “da perimita” Bosh in the low post dishes it out to Carroll for three…MONEY
August 20, 2009 » 3:39 AM »
Sean, Brendan and Athony,
re: Miami
Last year’s Heat team finished with 43 Ws, in comparison with the Raptors 33 Ws.
I would simply caution you [or anyone for that matter] from automatically thinking that changing almost every player on the team, save for Bosh, Calderon and Bargnani, is necessarily going to be of more value to a 33-Win team than a 2nd year together is going to be for a 43-Win team that will not have lost a single player critical to their success last year, will have its superstar player in his 2nd-year removed from a serious knee injury and shoulder dislocation, will have its 2008 No. 2 [overall] Draft Pick working in his 2nd-year in the league, will have its starting PG working in his 2nd-year in the league, and will have its Head Coach working in just his 2nd-year in this capacity, as well.
While far-reaching change neend not necessarily be a bad thing, per se, for a team that finishes with only 33 wins … stability will almost certainly be a very good thing for an operation like the Heat, coming off the season they had two years ago and their campaign of regeneration during 2008-2009.
Might Toronto ultimately finish the season with more W’s than Miami does?
Yes, it might. But, this is no foregone conclusion, in my book … and, if I was forced to make a wager on that future outcome this very day, I would have to side with the organization headed up by Pat Riley, in South Beach.
————————————
re: Houston
With a healthy Yao Ming and T-Mac in their line-up the Rockets are, in all likelihood, an elite level team in this league, based on the breadth of their overall talent.
What their GM has shown, thus far, is that he knows what he’s doing when it comes to being to assemble a highly competitive team in this league on an annual basis.
Will the loss of Yao & McGrady hurt their chances straight out of the gate this year?
Undoubtably.
The NBA regular season is a marathon, however, not a sprint … and, it would not surprise me in the least if the Rockets organization is in fact capable of staying afloat [somehow] in the WC this season, as one of the many highly competitive teams that dwell there, even with the long term absences of their two “superstar” players.
Basketball is a team game and with players like Luis Scola, Shane Battier, Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, Trevor Ariza, Brent Barry, Kyle Lowry, Chuck Hayes, Brian Cook, Joey Dorsey, Jermaine Taylor, Chase Budinger and David Anderson, etc., Rick Adelman & Daryl Morey, might not be as bad off as you think … awaiting the return of their biggest gun [in 20010-2011] and, quite possibly, whatever pieces they might be able to obtain in exchange for T-Mac, at some point this season [i.e. if they do not get the man back, himself].
IMO, even though it might not look that way at the moment so, too, might it be folly to ASSUME that the Raptors are going to finish with more W’s this season than a team that somehow managed to extend their playoff series with the Lakers [i.e. the eventual champions] to a rather remarkable 7 games, while playing without Yao, T-Mac and Mutumbo. A team like that has incredible fortitude … and I learned a long time ago, not to make negative ASSUMPTIONS about a TEAM like that.
August 20, 2009 » 4:10 PM »
Those who have paid close attention to what I’ve written thus far in my “Early look at NBA rosters: Eastern Conference” on my blog will note that, at this point, I think there is going to be a dog-fight for the #4-8 playoff spots in this half of the Association, with at least 9 teams solidly in the mix.
While I think that both Atlanta and Miami are relatively safe bets to be in that mix, and eventually earn a playoff spot, given their combination of recent history and individual high end marquee players … it looks to these eyes as though the Raptors and at least 6 other teams could finish anywhere from #4-to-#12 in this conference, depending on how the season’s breaks unfold for the Middle-of-the-Pack outfits.
August 20, 2009 » 4:25 PM »
re: Daryl Morey, Rick Adelman and the Rockets
As I mentioned yesterday …
FYI, Rockets Sign Pops Mensah-Bonsu
Although Dave/nbaroundtable and I do not always agree 100%, frequently we do seem to share a similar slant on the NBA game.
August 21, 2009 » 12:06 PM »
Khandor – Miami will NOT be better than Toronto this year and Houston is BETTER without Tracy McGrady. Thus, as another commenter queried, Do you watch the NBA or the WNBA? WOW!
August 24, 2009 » 2:32 AM »
Rockets fan … FYI.
August 29, 2009 » 3:26 PM »
Khandor, you are nuts if you think Miami and Houston are better teams than the Raptors. Miami will struggle to get to .500 and if they do, it will be b/c of D-Wade. Also keep in mind, before last year, D-Wade only played in 51 games his previous 2 seasons so I’m thinking your love affair with Miami may end with 1 simple injury to Wade. Teams like Miami have no depth and that is what is required for ANY team to make noise in the playoffs. Toronto has depth in every position. Miami will be lucky to make the 7th seed. As far as Houston goes, they looked good last year, but w/o Yao and Artest, they will be hard-pressed to come close to what they did last year. And for the sake of the Houston franchise, I hope T-Mac does not come back. When was the last time he won a round in the playoffs???
September 22, 2009 » 4:01 PM »
[...] This article was originally appeared on HoopsAddict.com [...]
June 6, 2010 » 9:22 PM »
[...] This article was originally appeared on HoopsAddict.com [...]
June 20, 2010 » 1:49 PM »