We've got an all Raptors/Basketball show coming your way tonight, with the guys in the know ... Raptors television play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin, and the radio team of Paul Jones and Eric Smith.

All 3 guys, unquestionably, know their stuff - but I don't agree with everything they've got to say on the ball club. Obviously, watch the show to see for yourself.

The one main area of disagreement is how much this team needs to make a trade to improve their 2 and/or 3 position. The guys contend that Joey Graham has to be the guy, and to me, this is a scary proposition. He's never been able to get it done consistently, and what makes us think now, in his fourth year, out of nowhere, that the light is going to turn on??? If the Raptors expect to win now, you don't want to be relying on that big 'IF'.

The other area I completely disagree with the guys surrounds Andrea Bargnani. They say you can't trade the guy - I say trade away. It's not because I don't like the guy - I'm not as harsh of a critic on Bargnani as most people are. My contention is the team should trade him now, as Bargnani still has league-wide value based on his potential. Teams will take a chance on Andrea because he's got an incredible skill-set. Is the skill-set good for this team - that's debatable. If the core of the team, as we've been told, is Jose/Jermaine/Bosh, then why not use that piece to bring something back that fills a hole?? Bargnani is one of the few pieces on the Raptors roster that has value. So take his value and bring something back that will help you more than he is doing now. If the team wants to win now, Andrea is far too inconsistent to be relied on to make the team a contender. Once again, I like Bargnani, but I think they can get more back in return now, making it worth the risk that he may, or may not turn out to be something decent down the road.

And by the way, nothing yet out on Jose Calderon's hamstring - but the fact he went for an MRI suggests it could be something more serious. YIKES!

gw

You want to respond to this article? Access the Canoe Passport and leave us your comments..