Andrea Bargnani

[mvblair]

27 points (4-7 3s), 7 rebounds but the Raptors still lost to the Charlotte Hornets. I mean Bobcats.

[Visseira]

Bargnani against the Hawks yesterday: 15 points; 6-14 FG's; 1-2 3PT; 1-2 FT's; 29 minutes;

[jugoplastika]

When talking about Toronto Raptors and Andrea Bargnani, 2008/09 season is over.
Some kind of a recap:

Bargnani credits Triano for improvement

Raptors star Andrea Bargnani has credited interim coach Jay Triano for his improvement on the court this season.

Triano used a hands-off approach with the Italian star, and former first overall pick, allowing him to play through rough times.

"That is it, definitely, exactly," said Bargnani. "That's the best thing for a player, let me play through mistakes; if I do make a couple of mistakes, leave me on the court and in the next five minutes, maybe I score 10 points.

"That was the big help from Jay, that was great."

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wir...r_improvement/

[rikhardur]

I definitely think this was the season Bargnani proved what his worth. The start of the season was a bit shaky, but by the middle he started having high-scoring games in a row and making his mark on the team. I don't think he can be considered a bust now in any way. Some rookies take more time to adapt and develope than others I suppose Let's see if he improves even more next season. I think he'll be a full time starter.

[mvblair]

I definitely think this was the season Bargnani proved what his worth. The start of the season was a bit shaky, but by the middle he started having high-scoring games in a row and making his mark on the team. I don't think he can be considered a bust now in any way. Some rookies take more time to adapt and develope than others I suppose Let's see if he improves even more next season. I think he'll be a full time starter.

Absolutely. Right now, the easiest comparison to make is that Bargnani is a Nowitzki-lite. A better comparison is Al Harrington, who is in New York now. They both have very good games all over the court and they can both handle the ball pretty well. They're not the best at defending the post, but they can defend the other faster PFs very well.

Count me as a Bargnani fan. He might be a good candidate for Most Improved Player of the year.

[Visseira]

Absolutely. Right now, the easiest comparison to make is that Bargnani is a Nowitzki-lite. A better comparison is Al Harrington, who is in New York now. They both have very good games all over the court and they can both handle the ball pretty well. They're not the best at defending the post, but they can defend the other faster PFs very well.

Count me as a Bargnani fan. He might be a good candidate for Most Improved Player of the year.

You characterized well Bargnani, but I disagree with you in only one thing: he is more resembling with Nowitzki, because they are slower than Harrington (he also plays as SF)... I think Gallinari (one of the other NBA italians) is more resembling with Harrington...
In the rest, I agree with you...

[rikhardur]

Bargnani picked it up where he left it last season and started this one with 28 pts (9-12 FG, 2-3 3pt) and 5 rebounds.

[mvblair]

Bargnani had 33 points (5-6 from three) and 7 rebounds to help keep the Raptors' play-off hopes alive. Amir Johnson had 26 points for the Raptors.

If Chicago loses to Boston and Toronto beats New York on their last game, Toronto will be in the play-offs as the 8th seed, facing Cleveland in the first round. Toronto has won 2 games and lost 5 in April. They're "shooting themselves in the feet" with these loses.

We'll see what happens when the two young Italian stars play against each other on Wednesday: Bargnani versus Gallinari. Teams be damned!

[Hurricane Basketball]

The biggest italian player I think!

[CKR13]

Toronto Raptors center Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points going 7-13 from the field goals tally and going 1-2 from long distance. Bargnani shot 100% from the Free-Throw lane in 5-5. The Raptors won 101-81 over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

[CKR13]

Andrea Bargnani scoring a game high 29 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Boston Celtics 102-101.

[CKR13]

Andrea Bargnani scores 26 points and added 12 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-99.

[rikhardur]

Just take a look at these numbers: career-high 41 pts + 7 rebs + 6 assists + 2 steals. The Raptors couldn't hold the Knicks though.

[mvblair]

Just take a look at these numbers: career-high 41 pts + 7 rebs + 6 assists + 2 steals. The Raptors couldn't hold the Knicks though.

Wow, that's pretty good!! The other Italian in the game, New York's Gallinari, had 20 points, 9 rebounds. New York is actually winning some games. I don't think it will last, though. But congrats to Bargnani for a superstar game!

[CKR13]

Andrea Bargnani scored a team high 32 points while adding 9 rebounds and 3 assists as the Toronto Raptors snapped their 2 game losing streak with a 98-92 win over the New Jersey Nets.

[rikhardur]

Bargnani's future murky in Toronto

Raptors president/general manager Bryan Colangelo said a lot at Monday's season-wrapping media conference but one of the biggest takeaways was this: The Andrea Bargnani (209-F/C-85) experiment is either coming to an end or will be drastically altered.

With Bargnani's future in Toronto rather murky, Colangelo admitted the obvious. 'Miscast' as a centre, Bargnani was not thriving or lifting the team from that spot.

'We need a bigger, better post presence,' Colangelo said, noting that seven-footers who excel on the boards and defensively are keys to success.

'Defending the rim is one of the main weaknesses we have, we need to get a guy who rebounds the ball.'

Colangelo said nobody on the roster is 'untradeable' and did not discount the possibility he would move the top selection of the 2006 draft, but said either way, a centre must be added.

'The biggest need is we have not paired a legit five (centre) next to Andrea Bargnani. He's our five because we don't have anybody else to play that position at his size.'

Continued Colangelo: 'I don't know if he'll ever become a better defensive player than he is. But can he be a better rebounder? Absolutely. That's a mindset, that's a desire thing. He knows he can do better, but doesn't focus on it.

'Whether Andrea is here or not, we need a guy who can do those things.'

Colangelo noted the team has the cap flexibility that many teams lack heading into a new collective labour landscape and will be in position to spend to sign one of the many free agent centres on the market.

'There are a number of free agent bigs both restricted and unrestricted that we'll have to consider, that fit the bill,' he said.

'I had that guy last year in a deal that fell through. Look what Tyson Chandler has done to Dallas' defence.'

Coincidentally, Chandler finished third in defensive player of the year voting on Monday.

Chandler, of course, was not acquired in the off-season along with Boris Diaw for Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans, only because Charlotte owner Michael Jordan nixed the done deal.

Colangelo said that incident, along with an avalanche of injuries led to a change in direction and a year of rebuilding.

'We had thoughts of being a competitive team. That was derailed. At some point you conclude it's best to go in a different direction,' he said.

'We embarked upon a plan in late November, developing our youth, acquiring additional assets, preserving cap flexibility.'

Colangelo did a solid job of that, adding Jerryd Bayless and James Johnson to the mix, while head coach Jay Triano helped develop youngsters like DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis and Amir Johnson.

The team is certainly in a lot better spot than it was a year ago when Chris Bosh bailed and Hedo Turkoglu was still on the books and Colangelo is right in claiming that both DeRozan and Davis would go a lot higher than 9th and 13th if the 2010 and 2011 drafts were redone today.

Colangelo knows that this draft (the Raptors will pick somewhere between one and five depending what happens at the May 17th lottery) will bring another strong asset but also realizes Toronto's awful three-point shooting must be addressed, as well as the centre issue.

The veteran GM certainly won't give away Bargnani.

'The enigma of all enigmas is Andrea ... he's proven to be a legitimate 20-point scorer and I think he has more where that comes from and has another level to reach,' Colangelo said.

'Clearly he has not done the things that we would all like to see and that's get better at rebounding the ball and defending the rim. He's far from a perfect player but he's a valuable asset for this organization nonetheless ... a considerable asset for this organization despite what many think otherwise.'

Colangelo did well in both selling Bargnani while not ignoring his obvious failings.

Now he must either find another big man who will help Bargnani fulfill his potential or, more helpfully, send him to a team that can better utilize what he does provide and can more easily deal with what he doesn't.

Courtesy of www.torontosun.com

http://www.eurobasket.com/Italy/bask...?NewsID=224009

[mvblair]

First, I think Colangelo is right to be thinking that teams shouldn't go through "rebuilding processes" that take five years. If a team fails miserably, blow it up and try again. Don't assume the players will be better next year - be proactive. Keep a few guys and try to trade the rest.

Second, I think Bargnani could thrive on a team that has a few big guys who don't mind being tough. Imagine Bargnani playing with Jerome Williams or Ben Wallace. In today's NBA, I think he could thrive with a team like OKC, where other players can rebound. Problem is that OKC can't afford him because his offensive skills (huge) raise his salary tremendously.

[CKR13]

Andrea Bargnani ignited rumors and speculation that he could be welcoming a trade to a city with a warm climate as TSN has reported

"I want to stay in Toronto, at least this is the politically correct answer. If I am to go somewhere else, I'd like a warm climate city and a team where I can actually play my role."

[demitriusluke]

Good Call Stuart..!