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"It's tough to have some players going hard, some not. I'm not trying to pinpoint it on anybody, but that's the reality. I'm watching tonight and it looked like the Sixers didn't want to play. They're not 20 points better than us, but it's tough to win games when you don't have a lot of energy and effort." - Pops Mensah-Bonsu after the Raptors lost to the Sixers 115-106 Wednesday night
You know your team has hit rock-bottom when the new guy who has been with the team for three games and is earning minimum wage calls you out. Not only is this season a lost cause, but I have absolutely no confidence in the core of this team and I am now ready to embark on a full-scale rebuild.
To properly rebuild, the Raptors need three things: youth, cap space and draft picks. Here's a trade that will help on all three fronts: Chris Bosh (signed to a contract extension) and Jose Calderon to Atlanta for Josh Smith, Speedy Claxton's $5.2 million expiring contract, and the Hawks' first round picks in 2009 and 2011.
The key to this trade is the fact that the Hawks have the cap space to take back more money than they send out. This move would give the Raptors an additional $8 million in cap space that they can use to re-sign Joey Graham to a reasonable deal (something like three years, $9 million) and then sign a free agent shooting guard like Ben Gordon or Carlos Delfino.
The upcoming draft is likely to be rich with point guard prospects in the top 10 — including Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague and Eric Maynor. If Ricky Rubio enters the draft and the Raptors don't win one of the top two picks in the lottery, the $3 million Toronto received in the O'Neal-Marion trade could be used to entice one of the top two teams to swap picks. Otherwise, the cash could be used to buy another first round pick altogether — giving the Raptors three first-round picks in the draft.
Under this plan, the 2009-10 Raptors could have a young, athletic starting lineup of "Stud Rookie PG", Ben Gordon, Joey Graham, Josh Smith and Andrea Bargnani. Would that team lose 50+ games? Most definitely! Would they be much more fun to watch than this sorry bunch? You bet!
Going forward, this team would have the cap space to make a splash in the 2010 free agent market (not for LeBron or Wade, obviously, but there are plenty of fine consolation prizes in that group) or make an unbalanced trade for a star player on a faltering team next season — basically the reverse of my proposed trade with Atlanta (their 2011 draft pick would be a useful bargaining chip in that scenario).
An important component of this trade is that Chris Bosh would have to agree to sign with the Hawks. Considering the city's location (much closer to home and the climate he undoubtedly prefers) and the fact that a Calderon-Johnson-Williams-Bosh-Horford lineup might win the East, why wouldn't he agree to that? Sure, you could make the case that I would be almost handing a finals appearance to Atlanta on a silver platter — to which I respond: I don't give a shit!
I'm going to guess that most of you will hate this idea and some of you might even compare it to the infamous Vince Carter trade. Did the Raptors get anyone close to a player of Josh Smith's quality in return? Not only is Smith young (he's still only 23 years old) and perfect for a fast-paced style, but the four years and $48 million remaining on his contract are quite reasonable.
If you're serious about a true rebuild like I am, this trade makes absolute sense and the only reason I could see it not working is that the Hawks have a fucked-up ownership group and they might not be willing to pay Bosh the kind of money he wants — even for a shot at a title. And look at it this way, Bosh fans: Don't you want Chris to be happy and have a chance to have a legitimate shot at a ring? Well, he's not getting that in Toronto anytime soon — not with the terrible makeup of this team.
The idea of this trade fills me with excitement that is only tempered by my belief that there isn't even a minute chance Colangelo would do this. If we're going to take his public statements at face value, I don't think he's down with the idea of "starting over" and building towards competing three or four seasons from now. The sad part about that is these Raptors appear to be on their way to missing the playoffs continously over that period, anyway — except that if Colangelo gives Bosh a max contract, there won't be a light at the end of the tunnel. 
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