February 8, 2006

THERE ARE MANY VALUE$ FOR RAPTORS ON DAVIS’ RETURN

     Ah, the emotional extremes of professional sports.  We once loved Antonio Davis for his leadership and his work ethic as the Raptors nearly made it to the Conference Finals in 2001.  Then we despised him as he floated his way through the beginning of 2003, determined to make his way out of town one way or another.  And now, the prodigal son returns, warts and all, to hopefully add some experience to a youthful front line while bringing the most important facet to the building of any basketball franchise—cap space.

       Let me begin by saying that I think Davis will be a valuable addition to the team this year.  Let me also say that I need to seriously control the vitriol that builds up inside me whenever a professional athlete sulks.  There is no damn way that I, a working stiff like most of you, could ever begin to rationalize how someone who makes fantasy-like money playing a kids game could be so unhappy that he would sabotage his team.  Davis, along with McGrady and Carter, belong in an exclusive club in Raptor lore—they were stars that played like stars at the beginning, were paid like stars at their peak, and then acted like (spoiled) stars at the end.  But then if I’m going to embrace this latest A.D. appearance I’m going to have to put all those feelings aside and give the man something we all need at one time or another, a second chance.

       Alright…now that I have divested myself of more than two years of disapproval I will look at the positives surrounding A.D.’s reappearance.  Davis realizes that his tenure in Toronto has a finite time period—he will be done at season’s end.  He also realizes that, at the end of his contract, if he wants to play again next season he will have to show all teams that he still has something left in his aging tank.  This second chance also gives a hopefully mature Davis a chance to right the wrongs he created on his exit out of town.  He isn’t the difference between this team being a playoff contender or not, but he can make a difference in teaching the young players on the club the right way to play the game.  The organization, coaches and players portrayed the departed Jalen Rose as a solid team player who did and said all the right things.  Rose, however, being a perimeter player, couldn’t show those in the front court the vagaries of the game.  Davis most certainly can. 

      Sure, Davis was acquired because of his contract.  The elimination of Rose’s putridly escalated salary for next season allows the club to move its rebuilding timeline forward by one season.  That money can now be spent on a young player that fits the team’s needs—a front court player like Nene Hilario or Nazr Mohammed (both free agents) or perhaps it opens up further trade possibilities in the off season for the club to acquire a go-to guy in the crunch.  Either way the club is no longer financially hamstrung and now has the flexibility to get better, quicker. 

      In the meantime, Chris Bosh finally has someone of consequence behind him.  Pape Sow, Charlie Villenueva, and even Rafael Araujo have someone to show them the intricacies of playing a power position in the NBA.   The perimeter players will have that much more open space on pick and rolls and screens, and the team rebounding numbers will improve.  Boxing out will now be more than just a basketball term, and defenders will now have a better chance of guarding against penetration knowing there is someone protecting the paint.

       And, of course, there’s that cap space for next year.