Finally, it’s official (well, almost, pending league approval): Jermaine O’Neal is off to Miami, Shawn Marion is headed to the T-Dot. We’re also getting Marcus Banks and losing Jamario Moon.

This was surely the most anti-climactic trade in recent memory. I can’t remember a trade ever taking this long to happen. Unfortunately, too much time has passed - when this was first reported in mid-January, the Raptors still had a shot at climbing back into the race. Now? Way, way too late. 27 games left, and how many will it take the new team to gel? And how badly is Bosh hurt, and will Jose ever get healthy? Nah, it’s too late. You’d need to add Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan to this team to help it make the playoffs.

As for next year, well… it remains to be seen what Colangelo will do in the summer, but he now has a lot more options. Instead being ~$10 over the salary cap, the team will now be about ~$10 under the cap (even with Marcus Banks). That not only means they have more cap space for free agent signings (welcome back, Mr. Delfino) but also, and perhaps more importantly, they are free to make trades that don’t require the “salaries must match between 20%” rule. Again, we’ll have to wait and see what’s out there, what’s available, etc., but I have regained some trust in Colangelo. Yes, this season was a waste, but he’s realized his mistake and no goes from weak bargaining position to a strong one next summer.

Will he get enough talent to make a deep playoff run, the only thing that will keep Bosh around past next summer? That is the question. Here’s the list of free agents for next year but as I said, keep in mind the key may be the trades BC is now able to pull off.

As for Miami, well, good thing Pat Riley isn’t actually coaching or he might have Jamario whacked after the 19th time he shoots a three with 18 seconds on the shot clock, which should be sometime next week. But O’Neal, well, he’s a Riley type player through and through. If he can stay healthy, he might help vault Miami into fourth place in the east and make them a tough out in the playoffs - but as Toronto fans now know, that if is a big one.

Overall, the O’Neal era in Toronto can only be classified as a disappointment. He played well - not great, but OK - when he was in there and in the groove. The problem, obviously, was that he missed too many games, and with each block of games (including the very start of the season) he needed to work his way back into shape. If he was making 8 million a year, that kind of production would be OK, but, unfortunately, you need to get a little more from the guy taking up a third of your salary obligations. The Raptors will miss his intensity, but again, for a guy that only played in a third of your games, that’s not enough.

And I still don’t understand why he couldn’t sit on the damn bench for games! I’m sorry, I know this shouldn’t bother me, but it does. I see Bosh out there every game, even on the road, why the hell wasn’t O’Neal there? Now that he’s gone, will the real story finally come out?

In any event, it’s onward and upward. The Raptors have a much improved (on paper) starting lineup for the next 27 games and a much improved salary cap situation for the summer. I won’t call the trade a blockbuster win or anything, but I’d say the Raptors are in a better place today than they were yesterday.

Tags: Jamario Moon, Jermaine O'Neal, Miami Heat, Shawn Marion, Toronto Raptors

So, it’s 2-0! Yes! Awesome! Sigh.

Exhibition games are so meaningless. You can’t take anything good or bad from them, really. They’re essentially practice, just practice against other teams.

So I really can’t say anything about what we’ve seen so far. I’m disappointed that Moon is starting and Kapono is coming off the bench - I still believe Kapono is the better option. But again, pre-season is about working out the kinks and seeing what works and what doesn’t. By the end of camp, maybe I will see that Moon is the right starter, or Mitchell will see that Kapono is the right starter.

Early indications are Moon has been a disappointment… he’s out of shape and showed up late and hasn’t contributed much of anything in the two games. But, I have to defend the guy a little bit - and condemn the modern media for always being so quick to judge.

Even though I’d rather have Kapono start, it’s too early to make a blanket declaration that Moon doesn’t have what it takes. So, he’s struggled. But it’s two useless games and a week and a half of practice. Some out there are declaring Moon is resting on his laurels, that now that he’s made it to the bigs he thinks he doesn’t have to work anymore. I don’t buy it - yet. Give him a little time, give the coaches a little time to work with him. It’s disappointing, sure, but it’s not time to panic yet. Mitchell’s plan was to start Moon. Can you be sure that after two exhibition games that that plan isn’t going to work?

If he hasn’t picked up the slack by preseason game #5, maybe you start Kapono and see if that gets Moon’s attention. If he’s still coasting and out of sync by game #8, then there’s obviously a problem, but for now, give the kid a break.

(And my belief that Kapono should start is not slamming Moon, and I will not be happy if Kapono starts because Moon is struggling. I want Kapono to start because in my opinion, his offensive skills are better used in that starting line up and Moon’s defensive skills are better used in the second unit. But no matter who starts or sits, I want them both in shape, playing well, and in sync with their teammates!)

Anyway, you know what, I’m going to lay off the starting SF spot for now. I’m making myself tired with this debate.

Back to the meaningless games… well, I guess the one good thing you can take out of it, is that victories, no matter how small, always build confidence. Even if it’s just a little bit. You know the Raps players, coaches and management have to be happy that Bosh and O’Neal are playing well together, that Bargnani has played well, that Calderon has been solid.

But, the real thing is still three weeks away and there’s a lot of work to be done in the meantime.

Tags: Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Toronto Raptors

I don’t think I need to make my opinion of who the Raptors starters should be any clearer. But now word out of camp is that not only will Jamario Moon (most likely) be the starter at the three, but that Jason Kapono may start ahead of Anthony Parker at the two.Um… what?

Kapono has a hard enough time guarding threes, and most twos are even faster. And Parker is - not that this is saying that much, but it’s true - the best perimeter defender on the team! I don’t see how this helps, at all. In this order, these are your best options:

Parker and Kapono: Decent defense/offense combined with great offense.
Parker and Moon: Decent defense/offense combined with good defense.
Kapono and Moon: Great offense combined with good defense.

Let’s delve a little further into what I said the other day. With Moon out there, you’re basically playing four on five on offense. Yes, some teams get away with that… when you’ve got a Ben Wallace or Dennis Rodman out there. They make up for their lack of scoring skill not just with their defensive presence, but they manage to contribute on the offensive end by setting screens, fighting for rebounds and loose balls, and getting second-chance opportunties with offensive boards. Moon doesn’t do those things; he floats around the perimeter and launches threes. At a .328 clip If you’re going to have someone doing that… why not make it the best three-point shooter in the league, who makes half of his attempts!?

I know it seems like I’m attacking Jamario, and I’m not. He is an above-average defender, he’s a fantastic athlete and he may have worked harder than anyone on the team to get to where he is. But until he learns to stop settling for jump shots and use that long stride and amazing leaping ability to get into the paint and draw fouls, he’s hurting the team on offense.

The value that Moon brings to the defensive end is far outweighed by the value Kapono would bring to the offensive end.

I also don’t buy into the “Kapono brings offense off the bench” argument. Kapono doesn’t create or generate offense - he feeds off of other players, specifically, low-post players and slashers kicking the ball out. (If Moon would drive, this might work, but alas…)

I’d rather have Moon coming off the bench to be a defensive stopper when an opposing player starts getting hot.

Sigh. Well, all I can do is hope that Sam Mitchell was just BS’ing the media when he said that, or that - like the out-of-left-field comment that Bryan Colangelo made about playing Andrea Bargnani at the three! - it was just an abstract thought, training camp speculation, nothing more.

(I also admit that I might be completely off-base and maybe the mix of Jamario defense and Kapono offense is the way to go - I don’t think so, but that’s why they play the games. And if that does turn out to be the case, I will happily admit that I was wrong!)

Tags: Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Toronto Raptors