Balance of Power shifts back to East. Raptors press snooze

They don't make trade deadlines like they used to.

Forget the numbers and just take a look at the players. Anthony, D.Williams, G. Wallace, Brooks, Dragic, Perkins, B. Davis, M. Williams, Battier, T.Murphy, Felton, W. Chandler, Gallinari, Landry, Hinrich, Bibby, Harris, etc...A barrage of household names swapping places and quite possibly the return of the Eastern Conference.

After a few years of the Western Confernce hoarding star players and leaving the East with non .500 teams making the playoffs each year, the acquisition of Melo to the Big Apple and Williams to the Nets is set to reverse the trend.  Star players bring in more star players.  Just ask Dwyane Wade.  While a lot was made of the 2010 free agent class because of the level of top caliber talent, the 2011 free agents class is deeper and filled with more quality players headlined by Chris Paul, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, who recently indicated he'd like to play with Deron Williams.

So your wondering where does this leave your Raptors? Most of you already the know the answer. I mean taking a chance on a former first round underachiever like James Johnson is a start but what about the rest? It was difficult to watch so many good young players swapped around the league knowing full well the Raptors would have no part in any of the action (although supposedly there were talks about Gallinari). Sadly, the Raps won't be involved in many deadline deals or serious free agent signings for at least a few years.  People tend to talk about this team like they are in a true rebuilding stage, but the reality is this is only the very beginning of rebuilding process. The roster is still littered with players trying to find a spot in the league, a handful of veterans, and no proven young star to build around.

That’s not to say all things are grim in Raptorsville. Bargnani and Dorozen have stepped up their offence while we continue to wait for their defensive abililties to catch up. Bayless and Davis have shown a lot of potential but will need to see more minutes to expedite their development. Once they clear up the murky situations of the rest of the team, specific needs can begin to be addressed. In the meantime, you can expect Colangelo (if he's still here) to continue playing a wait and see game, observing which players sink or swim.

So for now, sit back, relax and take pleasure in each Raptor victory....it's for your own health.

Oh, and welcome back enjoyable Eastern Conference games.


Find all the trade deadline action here: http://www.nba.com/news/transactions/2011.trade.deadline.tracker/index.html

The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes

Byran Colangelo and his staff have done quite a job dismantling and trading for other teams castaways.  The end result, a team just ahead of the lowly Cavaliers in the standings.

Say what you will, but at the very least Mr. Colangelo has made this years soap opera season rather enjoyable and this blog is my way of saying thanks.

So without further ado, RaptorsWhiteboard is born.