Don't Call It A Comeback Cause I'm Here To Talk About Amare

Ah fellow Raptors fans. I haven't written anything about our intrepid Dinos in a while, mostly because I have been compeltely disgusted by their play. However, word out of PHX is that the Suns are looking to move Amare Stoudamire, and they are willing to settle for some pretty shit pieces like Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, or Raef Laferenz's contract, and a bag of Sour Patch Kids.

Now here's a thought to blow your minds Raptors fans. How come Colangelo doesn't make an offer for Amare, Barbossa, PHX's 1st rounder, and Matt Barnes for Bosh and Kapono. All the parts about this trade makes too much sense not to happen.

Amare has a history with BC, and he is equally as talented as Bosh. He is a better offensive player, and he does give up something on defense, but I would argue that Bosh is a vastly overrated defender. Bosh is a better rebounder than Amare, but Amare can hold his own in that catagory.

Now some of you will have objections due to concerns that Amare has had microfracture surgery. But let's look at reality, in the pasat 2 seasons, Amare has missed ZERO games due to knee problems, and Bosh has missed 12 games in 2007, 10 games in 2008, and at least 1 game (and probably more considering he is out right now with a knee injury) in 2009. At worst I would say that Amare has an equal chance to see his career ruined by knee problems.

I am not going to breakdown the advantages of swapping Barbossa for Kapono. If you don't think the Raptors are getting the better end of that deal, you should probably just keep watching hockey.

So the projected lineup for this revamped Raptors squad would be:

Starting Lineup: Amare, Bargnani, Jose, Barnes, and Barbossa/Parker
Bench: JO, Barbossa/Parker, Graham, Roko (on occasion)

I don't know if that team would be a contender in the East (ie at the level of Cleveland or Boston), but I DO think its infinitely better than the shit show that the Raptors are rolling out right now. In this deal, the Raptors rebuild their bench by bringing in a legit scoring option/ballhandler for the second unit (Barbossa or the demotion of AP) to team with JO to form a formidable 1-2 punch off the bench. As an added bonus, Graham/Moon get to battle it out for the backup wing mins rather than have us suffer with the prospect of watching either start.

Plus the Raptors can become a running team, by putting Barbossa in the backcourt with Jose, and sliding AP over to the 3 spot. That lineup can put its foot on the gas, and run most teams out of the gym. And for all you old school lovers of defense, at the end of the 4th quarter, and you need a stop, just put JO in for Barney, and I would argue that this Raptors squad is much more equipped to play in the NBA.

Worst Case scenario would be that Amare leaves in 2010 (which he won't cause he is a pay cheque player, and he ain't leaving $35 million on the table cause its cold). But isn't that the same worst case with Bosh. Maybe the grass seems greener to me, and Amare is inferior to Bosh, but all I know that the Raps haven't won with Chris, and if BC waits too long, we may end up getting 20 cents on the dollar for Bosh.