2007-2008 NBA Season Preview: Toronto Raptors

Raptors Avoid Extinction with Emergence of Bosh, International Roster

When Vince Carter was still a Raptor and still the man formerly known as Half-Man/Half-Amazing, the superstar openly criticized the acquisition of up-and-coming Georgia Tech forward Chris Bosh by Toronto in the 2003 draft. He thought that taking an extremely young and inexperienced big man wouldn't help his fortune in getting the team into the playoffs.

Boy, was he wrong.

Since Carter was dealt to the New Jersey Nets in 2005 for a grilled cheese sandwich, a bag of chips and a diet Coke (which ended up being no-show malcontent Alonzo Mourning and a gaggle of fringe players), Bosh has proved to be every bit of the star that Toronto thought he was going to be, all the way up to the part of being a perennial All-Star and Olympian.

But many of the strides the Raptors have taken have come from the front office wizardry of GM/president Bryan Colangelo, who helped transform the roster from a methodical, losing bunch to an uptempo, skill-oriented collection of ball players from all across the world, not unlike the Phoenix Suns, his former employer.

Among those players have been T.J. Ford, another lottery pick in the 2003 Draft, who suffered the setback of suffering a career-threatening spinal injury to become the co-catalyst for Raptor fast breaks, along with Spanish point guard Jose Calderon, a lightning-quick clone of Ford who has brought quick energy to the court from the bench.

Fellow Spaniard Jorge Garbajosa has brought versatility to the team as a nimble inside-out player at the power forward and center positions. The No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Andrea Bargnani from Italy, also has showed promise. At 7-feet-tall, and with supreme shooting and ball handling skills on the perimeter, Bargnani has the ability to re-revolutionize the big basketball player, showing the capability of playing shooting guard, both forward positions, and center in a pinch, not unlike former All-Star Tom Chambers and future Hall of Fame players Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki of the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.