What Could Have Been For The Toronto Raptors

This post was inspired by Michael Grange’s piece in the most recent SportsNet Magazine, “It’s Time To Forgive Vince” and conversations at work with Chris and at the bar with Erik.

It’s a “what-if” post which means that I need you to allow for some hypotheticals – ie. things happening or not happening. However, I’m not asking for too many leaps of faith here, just an alternate reality and results.

Fact: The Toronto Raptors made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Fact: That was it, it was all downhill from there.

What If: Trades and Free Agency had gone differently between 1998 and 2004?

Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.

In 1995 the Toronto Raptors made Damon “Mighty Mouse” Stoudamire from Arizona with the 7th pick in the 1st round. Stoudamire was the NBA Rookie of the Year. He was a very good Point Guard and he was traded to Portland in 1998 after becoming unhappy with the team over the Isiah Thomas situation.

That brings us to our first what-if… what if Damon Stoudamire hadn’t been so upset that he needed to be traded away as he was coming into his prime in a city that loved him and on a team that needed him?

In 1996, with their second 1st round pick in franchise history, the Raptors selected Centre/Power Forward Marcus Camby from UMass with the 2nd overall pick in the draft. Camby had a solid rookie year with 14.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game and in 1997 he led the entire NBA with 3.7 blocks per game – a glimpse of what was to come for the future Defensive Player of the Year.

However, in 1998 the Raptors traded Camby to the New York Knicks for Charles Oakley and Kevin Willis. That’s our 2nd what-if… what if Camby hadn’t been traded for 2 old big men and we had found some other way to get veteran leadership on the team?

Moving forward to the 1997 draft, the Toronto Raptors selected 18 year old Tracy McGrady straight from high school (Mount Zion Christian Academy) and brought him to the team where he played very sparingly in his rookie year, unlike Stoudamire and Camby before him. In ’98 things started picking up for McGrady and he was a major part of the team until he left as a free agent after the 2000 season. We know that Tracy wanted to leave because Vince was the star in Toronto, because he wanted to be the man, he wanted to be closer to home in Florida… and so he left for Orlando.

And that give us what-if #3… what if Tracy McGrady had elected to stay in Toronto to play with Vince (and in our alternate reality, Damon Stoudamire and Marcus Camby) on an improving Raptors team?

That brings us to June 24, 1998 and NBA draft in Vancouver probably the single most important day in Toronto Raptors history. With the 4th overall pick the Raps took Antawn Jamison from North Carolina and then flipped him to the Golden State Warriors for the 5th overall pick, Vince “Air Canada” Carter and cash.

We all know how great Vince Carter was in Toronto. We know that he was a 5 time All-Star in 6 full seasons. We know that he was a human highlight reel that put the Toronto Raptors on the NBA map in the United States.

We know that he was the best dunker in the game and his performance in the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk contest is legendary. We also know that Vince led the Raptors to the playoffs in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Now, in our alternate reality, imagine a 23 year old Vince Carter playing with a 27 year old Damon Stoudamire at PG, a 26 year old Marcus Camby in the front court and a 21 year old Tracy McGrady at the small forward position full-time and they

So that makes this our 4th what-if… what-if the core of the team was young, talented, together and led by Vince from 1998 to 2004?

Side note: I know that there are other what-if options when it comes to Vince. What if the shot had gone in against Philly? What if he hadn’t been traded in 2004? But we aren’t dealing with those what ifs because this would have been a completely different Raptors team.

So now our hypothetical Raptors team is coming off the 1998 season and looking to get bigger and better. So they make the Jonathan Bender for Antonio Davis trade with Indiana on draft day in 1999 bringing in a good big man to play with Camby.

And then they draft Morris Peterson from Michigan State in 2000 to be there 6th man.

Then in 2001 they get Jerome “Junk Yard Dog” Williams from Detroit and sign Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon as their back-up big man in the twilight of his career.

Imagine that!

A 2001 team that could have had:
Damon Stoudamire PG
Vince Carter SG
Tracy McGrady SF
Antonio Davis PF
Marcus Camby C
Morris Peterson 6th man
Hakeen Olajuwon C bench
Jerome Williams F bench

That team could have competed with ANY team in the NBA Eastern Conference or the Western Conference.

It’s fair to say that if the contracts and players and coaches and GMs could have all stayed on the same page, the Toronto Raptors would have been one of the best teams in basketball from 1999-2000 to 2004-2005 when Stoudamire and Davis would have been exiting their prime, Olajuwon would have been retired, and Williams would have lost most of his usefulness.

But those 5 seasons… 5 seasons with talented players growing together. 5 seasons with guys who wanted to win. 5 seasons with scoring and leadership and athleticism.

Those 5 seasons could have seen the Toronto Raptors legitimately competing for the NBA Championship.

Oh what could have been for the Toronto Raptors.