Championship or cash?

I believe every Raps fan has at least one team they secretly (or not secretly) root for asides Raptors, preferably in Western Conference. We need somebody to cheer longer than to the first round of playoffs. Providing Raptors even make the playoffs at all. Most of Raptors fans, I hear, have been cheering for the Suns, because of Canadian accent in Steve Nash and the high-speed offense, which is always so much fun to watch.

I am a little different with my 'fancies'. My second favorite team is the Spurs. I've never hidden the fact, that I have a weak spot in my heart for Tim Duncan. I also consider Popovitch as one of the most clever coaches in the league, and the French Flash has that killer instinct Raptors have been cruelly deprived of for years.

Look what the Spurs and the Suns have been doing lately. While Suns were great to watch, they couldn't get the championship trophy. And instead of trying to retool to grab that golden prize, something wrong happened. The Suns started the garage sale. Kerr showed the world, how much of a cheap bastard he is, selling the draft picks and getting rid of the best players. They didn't even make it to the playoffs this year. Now they dumped Shaq to Cavaliers, and rumors make us believe, that the first choice was trading the Big Cactus for expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz, only the big man disagreed. They've been also trying to shop Amar'e, and nobody believes that Steve Nash stays in this pathetically depleted team.




Meanwhile, the Spurs grabbed 4 championships, until finally the age factor hit them. Last playoffs were helluva of a disappointment, with Manu Ginobili injured and 'the old dudes slowin down'. And how did the Spurs react? They started full-speed retooling. They found another cheap team thinking dollars and grabbed Richard Jefferson, shedding some of their elderly citizens. No mistake here, Bruce Bowen used to be very valuable piece on defensive end, but these legs are not young enough to chase Kobe or LeBron on the court. The next step was drafting DeJuan Blair, who magically fell to the second round. Why he fell so low, stays a mystery for me. There's some talking about his bad knees, but there was also something similar about Danny Granger, and look how we feel right now, drafting Joey Graham ahead of him. Next Spurs move might be going after Rasheed Wallace. And we'll see them running deep in the playoffs again if not winning their next 'ship.
Unfortunately, BC seems to still think along the lines 'Suns East'. First, trying to implement the run-n-gun offense with a player like Jose Calderon spells FIASCO. Second, getting Shawn Marion might of been OK if he was 5 years younger. We ended the season as 'Clippers East'. Now, the money issues. Jay Triano as a head coach is one that comes cheaper than hiring a really good and experienced coach. Also, how many times have we heard: 'cap space', 'financial flexibility', 'salary dump', etc. compared to 'we want to win this year'? I know, that BC is on a short leash of MLSE, which mostly belongs to unionized retired teachers [*union - terrorist organization, known for regular riots in demand of more money/holidays/benefits for less work]. But it cannot go forever. I don't have to be a hockey fan to know what kind of product they've been selling under the name of Maple Leafs. The point is that Canada breaths hockey, it needs at least one more generation for people to realize what they're paying for. Not the same with basketball, the market being younger, and actually waiting to see any results. One day the greediness of the MLSE might make them decide to sell the Raptors for yet another sucking hockey team. I hope it's not the case. And I hope we'll hear from BC: 'We're doing our best', without adding: 'to have a financial flexibility'.