http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Harris/2005/08/05/pf-1160623.html

August 5, 2005

How low can they go?

Raps have fallen further behind

By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun

We heard a crazy trade rumour the other day.

And we mean crazy as in, "That probably never will happen," as opposed to,
"That's an impossibility."

According to an NBA source, the subject of a blockbuster deal involving
Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace has been broached between the
Minnesota Timberwolves and the Detroit Pistons.

The T-Wolves supposedly would send Garnett to the Pistons for the two
Wallaces and two first-round picks.

Sounds goofy, huh?

There certainly is a chance a rumour like that got started merely because
long-time Minnesota coach Flip Saunders now has taken over as coach of the
Pistons.

And while at face value it seems like way too much for the Pistons to give
up, those two picks surely would come very late in the first round. So
essentially it would boil down to a two-for-one deal, notwithstanding the
chance of other players being thrown in to match salaries.

Anyway, the purpose here is not to debate the merits of such a far-fetched
transaction. But when we heard the rumour, it got us thinking:

The Pistons, who a month and a half ago came within one game of winning
their second championship in as many years, already have made some big
changes this off-season (Saunders replacing Larry Brown), and at least are
rumoured to be pondering some others. In fact, just about everyone in the
Eastern Conference has made significant moves, and a good number of the
teams are demonstrably better.

Just about every team, arguably, except the Raptors.

Now, the Raptors take enough gut punches from fans and media, so this is not
meant to be another one. True, Raptors general manager Rob Babcock is
dealing with some financial and roster incongruities that were of his own
making, but he also inherited a grotesquely unattractive situation when he
took over the reins less than a year and a half ago.

So this isn't a blind-side swipe. It merely is a cold calculation of the
prospects for a club that is coming off back-to-back 33-win seasons.

So far this summer, the Raptors have lost Donyell Marshall, they surely are
going to lose Milt Palacio, and they may be in the process of losing Matt
Bonner.

They have added two first-round picks in Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham,
and an undrafted Spanish point guard in Jose Calderon. Second-round pick
Roko Ukic signed with a European team, and Babcock said the other day that
his other second-round pick, Uros Slokar, almost certainly will play in
Europe next season, too.

All things considered, that doesn't stack up particularly well when you
ponder the rest of the East.

From top to bottom, the teams that made the playoffs in the East last season
were the Miami Heat, the Pistons, the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, the
Washington Wizards, the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the New
Jersey Nets. Some of those clubs may take a step back, but we don't feel
we're going out on much of a limb by saying this: All eight of them still
will be better than the Raptors next season.

And what of the other non-playoff squads?

The Cleveland Cavaliers, with LeBron James (not to mention Marshall and
Larry Hughes), are sure to be better.

The New York Knicks, with coach Brown on the job and a few more athletes in
tow, likely will garner a few more wins.

The Milwaukee Bucks, with No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut, should improve.

The Orlando Magic, with an emerging Dwight Howard, won't be a pushover.

And even the bottom-of-the-barrell teams -- the Atlanta Hawks and the
Charlotte Bobcats -- really aren't that bad if you look at their noticeably
athletic rosters.

It's no great mystery where this leaves the Raptors.

This isn't an alarmist tirade. And we understand the concept of taking a
step back before taking a step forward.

But unless Minnesota decides to trade Garnett to Toronto for nothing, how
many games can the Raptors be expected to win next season?

Wow.


After the way Ben Wallace played in the Finals, there's NO WAY I'm trading him.

That's just way too much for Detroit to give up. Benny's been the DPY 2 years in a row.

Sheed is Sheed.

I love KG, but cmon. That's just ridiculous. And 2 1sts on top of it?

That wouldn't be a blockbuster. That would be a citybuster.

^ Ya....I know....corny.

GOAT?

Umm, can we wait till he retires or gets to the Finals atleast to say that?

I'd say, as of right now, Garnett is one of the most special players of all time b/c he can more or less play every position on the floor.

The 2 Wallaces and 2 first rounders...If its possibly to overpay for Garnett I believe that is close to overpaying as those are impact guys. The Pistons are in the unique situation where they also have top notch backups like McDyess, and the supposedly talented Darko. So perhaps the Pistons can afford to give away 2 frontcourt players as talented as either of those guys. Very interesting.

I would do this deal in an instant. The Darko point is an interesting one. Maybe KG can make Darko look good. I always thought that KG is one of the best passing big man in the mold of the Mailman. Darko would get easy shots from the weakside cause they have to double KG with another BIG to slow him down.

See, this is the type of deals it would take to get Garnett. Nobody on our team would interest Minny, besides Marbury.

Posted by bobs3304:

Personally, I don't like saying things like that, b/c while Garnett statistically is up there, it's a little premature to say he's "ONE OF THE GREATEST" when he hasn't really won anything.

That's just how I feel.

If Garnett could do anything more to win a championship and wasn't doing it, then I could blame him for not being good enough--but the man does everything and dominates, you have to look at the players he has around him.