THE BEST
As with any executive who has managed to stick around seven years, it has not been all bad under Bryan Colangelo’s watch. Here’s a look at the good and the bad, with the benefit of time as the judge, on his tenure here.
- June 8, 2006: Traded worst Raptors’ draft selection of all time, Rafael Araujo, to Utah in exchange for Kris Humphries and centre Robert Whaley. At least Humphries amounted to something.
- June 30, 2006: Acquired guard T.J. Ford and cash from Milwaukee for Charlie Villanueva. Were it not for that Horford foul, Ford might still be a productive Raptor.
- July 14, 2006: Signed free-agent guard Anthony Parker to a multi-year contract. Parker was a solid contributor throughout his tenure.
- July 24, 2006: Signed free-agent forward Jorge Garbajosa to a multi-year contract. Garbajosa, like Parker, was key to the early success but that unfortunate injury in Boston derailed his career.
- June 25, 2009: Selected DeMar DeRozan ninth overall in the NBA draft. You could argue he should have gone for a point guard — Holiday, Lawson, Teague, and Collison all went later — but DeRozan has steadily improved and continues to do so.
- Aug 18, 2009: Acquired Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems from Milwaukee for Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic. Johnson has become an integral member of the Raptors and was arguably team MVP last season.
- June 24, 2010: Selected Ed Davis 13th overall. Davis would later become part of a package for Rudy Gay.
- June 23, 2011: Selected centre Jonas Valanciunas fifth overall in the NBA draft. Biggest reason on the roster right now for optimism.
THE WORST
- June 28, 2006: Selected Andrea Bargnani first overall in the NBA draft. It’s not so much the drafting of Bargnani that was the problem but the insistence of forcing him on his coaches when it wasn’t working.
- May 21, 2007: Re-signed head coach Sam Mitchell to multi-year deal. Colangelo and Mitchell were not a good mix but Colangelo was worried about the optics of not re-signing his coach of the year. It ended badly.
- July 11, 2007: Signed free agent Jason Kapono to a multi-year contract. Kapono was a skilled three-point shooter but nothing else and not worth the four-year $24-million he signed for.
- July 9, 2008: Acquired Jermaine O’Neal and the draft rights to Nathan Jawai from Indiana for guard T.J. Ford, forward Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and the draft rights to centre Roy Hibbert. The beginning of the slide.
- Feb. 13, 2009: Trade O’Neal, forward Jamario Moon and a conditional pick to Miami for forward Shawn Marion, guard Marcus Banks and cash. This deal eventually helped Miami create it’s big three.
- July 8, 2009: Signed forward Andrea Bargnani to a multi-year extension. Plenty of heartache to come.
- July 9, 2009: Acquired Hedo Turkoglu in a sign and trade with Orlando plus forward Devean George and guard Antoine Wright from Dallas as part of a four-team trade. Gave up forward Shawn Marion, forward Kris Humphries and forward Nathan Jawai as well as a future second round pick and cash.
- July 9, 2010: Sent Chris Bosh to the Miami Heat in a sign-and-trade in exchange for two 2011 first-round picks and a trade exemption. The franchise player walks.
