Who should be a Raptor?
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 6:53 pm
I've been thinking about Dumars' Pistons and the seasonal depression thread.
Toronto and Detroit are cold weather cities. Detroit is by most counts not a fun city to live in for young, wealthy athletes. Dumars builds his teams around character; tough physically and tough mentally. His greatest achievement is the no-star championship. Even as he flips the most recent version of the Pistons, he's got two high-priced free agents coming off the bench. The team plays hard, and, as has been discussed, doesn't use excuses.
In Toronto, there's the sense that it's difficult to attract and retain players, either because of the cold or because it's another country. Whether you agree with this or not, I think it's safe to say we've heard our fair share of players bitch about the cold. Twice we've turned the franchise over to a young star, catered to that star, signed their friends, etc. This isn't unheard of in the NBA, but it creates an interesting dynamic where the star basically has the franchise by the balls. This isn't to slag Bosh or Vince, but rather to point out that there's a successful form of basketball being played nearby that perhaps we'd be better off emulating.
Should we be taking a page from Dumars and embrace this city as an outpost, only the toughest cold weather players need apply?
Toronto and Detroit are cold weather cities. Detroit is by most counts not a fun city to live in for young, wealthy athletes. Dumars builds his teams around character; tough physically and tough mentally. His greatest achievement is the no-star championship. Even as he flips the most recent version of the Pistons, he's got two high-priced free agents coming off the bench. The team plays hard, and, as has been discussed, doesn't use excuses.
In Toronto, there's the sense that it's difficult to attract and retain players, either because of the cold or because it's another country. Whether you agree with this or not, I think it's safe to say we've heard our fair share of players bitch about the cold. Twice we've turned the franchise over to a young star, catered to that star, signed their friends, etc. This isn't unheard of in the NBA, but it creates an interesting dynamic where the star basically has the franchise by the balls. This isn't to slag Bosh or Vince, but rather to point out that there's a successful form of basketball being played nearby that perhaps we'd be better off emulating.
Should we be taking a page from Dumars and embrace this city as an outpost, only the toughest cold weather players need apply?
