TORONTO, (Reuters) – There was plenty of construction in and around the Air Canada Centre this summer as the home of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and the Maple Leafs from the NHL underwent a spectacular multi-million dollar facelift.
But by far the most dramatic bit of team renovation was carried out by Raptors’ dapper general manager Bryan Colangelo.
He effectively took a sledgehammer to his under-achieving squad and embarked on the type of massive re-build not often seen in professional sports.
All that remained was a cornerstone, two building blocks and a blueprint.
When training camp opened earlier this month only three players — Chris Bosh, Italian forward Andrea Bargnani and Spanish guard Jose Calderon — had been in camp the year before.
But it is a sturdy foundation for Colangelo to build a playoff-quality team.
“It was a radical makeover,” he conceded to reporters. “We made the changes that we felt would make us a more competitive basketball team.
“I’m not one to under-sell and over-deliver. I always try to put a realistic view on things.”
He admitted changes made last year had failed.
“It didn’t work out, you can’t always be right and I’m going to wear that on my resume,” said Colangelo. “You look at the volume of change from where we were last year in training camp and three guys remain. Those three guys are going to be important parts.”
