Sports fans are hardly strangers to revisionist history, never shy to look back and be able to ask “What If?”
It’s a question that rarely needs to be asked of winning franchises, but for a team like the Raptors that’s only found success sporadically at best, it’s not like there’s a shortage of What If’s to choose from? But which would have affected the Raptors the most? Simply put: What is the biggest ‘What If?’ in Raptors history? Here are five candidates:
What if…
…Vince Carter never attended his graduation on the morning of game seven?
The deal: “If Vince didn’t go to his graduation that day, if he walked in the fall instead, and came into the arena fresh and ready to go mentally…” Those were the first words out of Tracy Murray’s mouth when I asked whether or not the 2000-01 Raptors team he played on had what it took to make it all the way to the Finals during the former Raptors’ sharpshooter’s appearance on Free Association– Sportsnet’s weekly Raptors & NBA podcast.
It’s still probably the most iconic moment in franchise history: In the dying moments of the last game in the second round and trailing the Philadelphia 76ers by one, Vince Carter catches the ball in the left corner, pump fakes to lose his defender and launches a jumper that clanged off the far iron.
That morning, Carter had attended his graduation ceremony at North Carolina, jetting in to Philadelphia that afternoon. To the resentment of most of his teammates.
“Everybody was upset about it, of course. But what are you going to do? He chose to walk,” Murray continued. “It’s an accomplishment to graduate from college— especially while you’re still playing—so I’m not knocking that. In fact I commend it. But he still had 13, 14 other guys who depended on him because he was the no.1 option. He had a whole organization, a whole city on his back who needed him to perform. For that day he forgot what his number one priority was, and that was the Raptors.”
The Allen Iverson-led Sixers went on to beat the Milwuakee Bucks (whom the Raptors had a paltry 1-3 record against that season, by the way) before getting routinely ousted by the Los Angeles Lakers.
“That should have been us in the Finals against the Lakers. All because of a decision one person makes.”
…The draft exclusion rule wasn’t in place?
The deal: As part of the teams’ expansion agreement, neither the Raptors nor Vancouver Grizzlies were allowed to select first overall between 1996-1998.
In their inagural season (’95-96) the Raptors finished with the third-worst record and drafted second (Marcus Camby) while Iverson went first to the Sixers. The following season they improved to the 8th worst record, yet the season after that once again had the NBA’s second-worst record. Thankfully for the Raptors, the top pick in the ’98 draft was future bust Michael Olowokandi, and Toronto slid all the way to No.4, landing Antawn Jamison, whom they moved for Vince Carter (more on that later).
…Masai Ujiri traded Kyle Lowry to the Knicks?
The deal: With a roster he inherited from the previous regime, the Raptors President and GM wanted to clear house. Ujiri had just shipped Rudy Gay to Sacramento for a package of expiring contracts, and was looking to do the same with his point guard. And so a reported deal to send Lowry to the Knicks for expirings, and one of Tim Hardaway Jr., Iman Shumpert, and a 2018 first-round pick was in the works- only to have it vetoed at the midnight hour by New York owner James Dolan.
The Raptors went on to turn their season around and return to the playoffs for the first time since the Chris Bosh era. The following season they would be back, and Lowry would make his first-all star team, as a starter no less.
…The Raptors used their 1st overall pick to draft someone other than Andrea Bargnani?
The deal: For a club with a pretty shoddy draft record, there are plenty of related What Ifs surrounding the annual event (Aroujo over Igoudala? Araujo over anybody else?) but none carry the same consequences as botching the only 1st overall pick in Raptors history.
2006 wasn’t the strongest draft class, sure, and the emergence of Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas made the notion of locking up a versatile 7-footer with three-point range quite appealing. But Bargnani obviously never became a player worthy of the no.1 pick distinction. In drafting Bargnani, the Raptors and Bryan Colangelo passed on the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge (whom they felt was too similar to Chris Bosh), Rajon Rondo (never a real candidate for the top spot), and Brandon Roy.
But remember: at the time the other serious names under consideration atop draft boards were Adam Morrison and Tyrus Thomas. So…it could have been worse. A lot worse.
…The Raptors kept Antawn Jamison.
The deal: On draft day Toronto dealt Jamison (chosen 4th in 1998) to Golden State for North Carolina teammate Vince Carter (chosen 5th by the Warriors). A franchise-altering move if there ever was one. Needless to say Jamison, while a solid pro over much of his 16 year career (incl. two all-star appearances) could have never carried the Raptors or captured the attention of a new generation of basketball fans in Canada like Carter did.
Bonus!
…The Raptors got anything else from the Nets for Vince Carter?
The deal: There are What Ifs? And then there are What The *#&! Was Thats? GM Rob Babcock and the Raptors got Eric and Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning (who refused to report) and two first-rounders (one was Joey Graham, the other tossed in as part of the salary-dump trade that sent Jalen Rose to New York).
But there may never be a better Raptors quote (and subsequent What If?) than Rose’s immediate reaction upon hearing of the Vince deal: “What’d we get? Richard Jefferson? No, Jalen. Not quite.
So what say you? What is the biggest What If? in Raptors history? And what should have made this list? Vote in the poll and let us know in the comment section below. Results will be revealed later this week.
