Toronto Continues to Mimic the International Style
By Cory Elfrink
General manager-extraordinaire Bryan Colangelo showed up in Toronto after a season that saw the Raptors struggle to win 27 games. In his first off-season he made a barrage of moves to adjust the roster around his young 6’10” star, Chris Bosh. He traded their next best prospect, 6’11” Charlie Villanueva, for an oft-injured 6’0” PG, T.J. Ford. He then brought in Euroleague role players by drafting lengthy sharpshooter Andrea Bargnani with the first overall pick and then signing swingman Anthony Parker and post-presence Jorge Garbajosa. He would later complete a trade for Serbian big-man, Rasho Nesterovic. By plucking role players from around the globe, Colangelo helped the Raptors improve 20 games in one season, without having to hire a new coach or signing/replacing a star player. These moves, among other minor ones, earned the “Godfather of Basketball” (as he’s known in Toronto) his second Executive of the Year award.
In the summer of 2007, he has continued bringing the international flavor to the NBA’s only foreign-based team by acquiring Argentine Carlos Delfino from Detroit for a future 2nd round pick before the free agent signing period began.
People around the League knew Colangelo would be targeting certain free agents for his club and if he were to continue his exceptional track record, his free agent targets would not necessarily be the most popular or most sought-after players available.
That’s why few people were shocked to hear Colangelo was on the phone at 12:01 AM the morning free agent negotiations could begin. His target this time? The league’s top 3-point shooter, Jason Kapono.
In Kapono’s 4th season, he found himself with his third team, the Miami Heat. His first two months, he was in a sparsely-used reserve role, but in December, Heat coach Pat Riley began using him on a regular basis and Kapono’s confidence spiked.
Kapono began launching four treys per game and finished the season hitting a staggering 51% of his 3-point attempts. This increased his free agent value from slightly above the minimum contract ($826,000 for a 4-year veteran) to the full mid-level exception ($5.356 million) or even greater. He became just the 5th player in league history to shoot above 50% from behind the arc (three players achieved this when the NBA shortened the arc before the 1994-95 season. The distance has since gone back to 23’9” from the top of the key).
Kapono himself had no idea Colangelo would come calling, but when he did so fast and so confidently, Kapono could not resist calling it “a great feeling to be wanted.” He has since come to terms on a four year, $24 million deal.
"Jason is an ideal fit for our system and for our locker room," general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement. "We anticipate he will contribute significantly to our team in a variety of ways."
In interviews, Kapono has mentioned that he intends to compete for a starting job at SF among Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and Andrea Bargnani. The majority of Parker’s starts last year came at SG and that will likely continue. Bargnani seems to be the favorite to win the spot after many thought he would be forced to play the four. However, Colangelo has assembled Bosh, Garbajosa, Rasho Nesterovic, Kris Humphries and newly acquired Maceo Baston for his post rotation.
While Kapono is one of the best perimeter shooters in the league (he won the 3-point Contest last All-Star weekend), he brings little else to the table. He is regularly over-matched on defense and does not show a great deal of athleticism. He is a fairly good ball-handler but a below-average rebounder and passer. At 26, his game is likely as mature as it will ever become. With the proper role and enough shots, however, Kapono could be a dangerous 15 ppg-caliber player.
The former UCLA Bruin’s price tag averages out to $6 million per year which seems high for a one-dimensional player. The previous five league-leading 3-point shooters were: Richard Hamilton, Fred Hoiberg, Anthony Peeler, Bruce Bowen and Steve Smith. You may notice it is not a guaranteed measurement of high-end contributions. Other players who have recently used a high 3-point shooting percentage to cash in are Damon Jones, Cuttino Mobley, Mike James and Brian Cardinal. Kapono has an elite career 3-point percentage of 46%, so last year does not appear to be a major fluke.
Perhaps the biggest red flag is that the 3-point champ has very little playoff experience. On the Miami Heat championship team of two years ago, Kapono only played 2 minutes in the entire playoffs. In last year’s sweep by the Chicago Bulls, he only scored more than 4 points in one of four games, suggesting he can be stopped when given defensive pressure.
Colangelo’s past history of signings tells me to trust his judgment. After all he managed to pluck Shawn Marion (4-time All-Star, 2-time All-NBA 3rd team) and Amare Stoudamire (Rookie-of-the-Year, 2-time All-Star, All-NBA 2nd and 1st teams) in the draft. He was the one GM willing to throw the most money at a 30-year old PG named Steve Nash, who has since won two League MVPs. He recognized diamonds everyone else overlooked: Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, and Quentin Richardson. This quartet has since accumulated an All-Defensive 1st team, Most Improved Player, Sixth-Man of the Year, and two league leaders in 3-point FGs.
Still, Toronto is running the risk of overpaying for a number and overlooking a list of serious shortcomings. Kapono is not going to change the overall outlook of the franchise, but he may be relied on to take the big shots to keep the Raptors in games. If he hits 51% of them, then this is a steal. If he misses early, and lands on the bench behind Bargnani, Parker, Graham, Dixon and Luke Jackson, than he will be a $24 million bust.
GRADE: B-Photo Courtesy of NBA.com