Toronto Raptors

Note: not all players or conditions are listed, only those affected the team most significantly will be shown. Despite their league worst-record, though, the Hawks only landed the number two pick in the 2005 NBA Draft (the first pick went to the Milwaukee Bucks.). None yet. In the 2004-2005 season the Hawks gained the notorious reputation of the league's worst team with a mere 13 victories. None yet. After the change in ownership, though, the Hawks still struggled.
Record: 33 Wins - 49 Losses; 4th in Atlantic Division, 11th in Eastern Conference. In September 2003 the team was sold to a group of executives [1] (http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/business.bg?articleid=262&format=text) by Time Warner, along with the Atlanta Thrashers pro ice hockey team, with which the Hawks share the arena.

Vince Carter's mother also made comments to the media about a "wrestling match" that took place in the locker room between the coach and her son prior to his trade. However, in recent years the Hawks team has struggled, yet again becoming one of the league's worst teams. Later in the season, Alston was suspended two games for "conduct detrimental to the team" for reportedly walking out of a scrimmage practice. In addition, Eric Williams requested a trade, unhappy with the lack of minutes he was receiving. In the 1993- 1994 season coach Wilkens led the team to 57 victories, a team record, and in 1995 Wilkens broke the record (previously held by former Hawk coach Red Auerbach) for most victories by an NBA head coach with victory number 939. Of note, point guard Rafer Alston in a post-game interview contemplated retiring after a tough loss, as he continued to butt heads with Sam Mitchell. In 1993, Lenny Wilkens was hired as coach. Coach Mitchell was also mired in controversies off the court. However, the team could not advance past the semifinals of the playoffs.

However, the home fans were generally entertained as the team managed to thrive off the often well attended Air Canada Centre putting up a record of 22-19 at home. In 1982 the franchise acquired superstar Dominique Wilkins, and in the next four seasons the team had more than 50 victories each season. The Raptors inability to win on the road (11-30) and generally poor defense made Sam Mitchell's first year as head coach unimpressive. In 1979 the Hawks team finished with 50 wins and won the Central Division. Shooting from beyond the arc was a big part of the Raptor's game as Toronto had the second best three point percentage after the Phoenix Suns. In 1977 Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner bought the team and hired Hubie Brown to become head coach. However, GM Babcock held on to Marshall, who eventually scored 12 three pointers in a game versus the Sixers on March 13, tying an NBA record. However, after this period of success, the Hawks experienced a few years of rebuilding; the Hawks had all losing records in those years and never advanced past the first round of the playoffs.

There was much speculation that Marshall would be traded before the trade deadline since he was up for free agency in the up coming season. The following years after the move showcased a talented Hawks team, including Pete Maravich, which won a division championship and advanced to the Finals yet again. Veterans Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall also shined on an otherwise lackluster team. In 1968, however, with new owners Thomas Cousins and Carl Sanders, the team moved to Atlanta, Georgia. After the trade that saw Carter leaving, Chris Bosh stepped up to take the helm of franchise player, and performed admirably in his sophomore campaign; he ranked 10th in defensive rebounds for the season. Apart from Bosh's emergence, the restructuring looked to take a bit of a hit with rookie 8th first round draft pick, Rafael Araujo, struggling to keep a spot in the line up during the Raptor's half-hearted run for a playoff spot during the last month of the season. The next few years the Hawks remained contenders, every year advancing deep into the playoffs and also capturing several division titles. The two Williams also saw few minutes, and were generally under utilized until the end of the season. The following year, with the acquisition of rookie Lenny Wilkens, the Hawks repeated their success, but met the Celtics in the Finals again and lost in five games.

Mourning did not show up to Toronto, forcing Babcock to buy out the remainder of his contract, leaving Mourning free to sign with the Miami Heat, where he had spent 7 years of his career prior. In 1960, under coach Ed Macauley, the team advanced to the Finals yet again, but lost- again- to the Celtics in yet another game seven thriller. From that deal, the Raptors received Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two future first-round draft picks from the New Jersey Nets. The Hawks remained one the NBA's premier teams for the next decade. The trading of the Raptors franchise player, Vince Carter finally came to fruition mid-season ending his 7 year tenure with the team. In 1958, the Hawks again advanced to the NBA Finals under coach Alex Hannum and captured their only NBA Championship in game 6 against the Celtics. Thus, much of the 2004-2005 season's action played itself out off the court. In 1957, the team advanced to the NBA Finals, losing to the Boston Celtics in a double-overtime thriller in game seven.

Subsequently, their star player Vince Carter, demanded a trade during the off season. With acquisitions in the draft and free agency, the Hawks became of the league's top teams. With new general manager, Rob Babcock, and new head coach, Sam Mitchell, it was evident that restructuring of the organization was in operation. Louis, Missouri. Record: 33 Wins - 49 Losses. Despite this, the Hawks were one the league's worst teams, and in 1955 the Hawks moved yet again, this time to St. Rob Babcock was named GM on June 7, 2004. In 1953, the Hawks drafted Bob Pettit, a future NBA MVP.

He was replaced with Sam Mitchell, a former NBA player who had been an assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks the previous two seasons. In 1951, however, the franchise relocated to Milwaukee and became the Hawks. Immediately following the season, on April 17, head coach Kevin O'Neill was fired after making some remarks which were taken to question the team's commitment to winning. Led by coach Red Auerbach, the Blackhawks had a successful year. The star individual performers were Carter, with 22.5 points per game, Donyell Marshall, who led the team with 10.7 rebounds per game, and rookie Chris Bosh, a 6-10 forward-center who averaged 11.5 ppg and 7.4 rpg and was named to the rookie all-star team. When the NBL merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA, the Blackhawks reached the playoffs in the NBA's inaugural year. The Raptors finished up the season 3 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. The franchise was formed in 1946 as the Tri-City Blackhawks of the National Basketball League; it was based in the tri-city area between Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.

Grunwald had been the GM since 1997. The Atlanta Hawks are a National Basketball Association (NBA) team based in Atlanta, Georgia. With eight games to go in the regular season, the Raptors fired Glen Grunwald, the general manager on April 1. Lenny Wilkens. The team then suffered through a nine-game losing streak in February, dealing them a serious blow in the standings. Josh Smith. After 50 games, though, they were 25-25 and in position to make the playoffs. 23 Lou Hudson.

The Raptors were inconsistent throughout 03-04, partly due to injuries to key players Jalen Rose, Rod Strickland, Alvin Williams and Vince Carter, with Davis traded early in the season for Rose. 21 Dominique Wilkins. Record: 24 Wins - 58 Losses. 9 Bob Pettit. if anyone can add to this please do. Spud Webb. At the end of the disastrous season (a year marred by defensive breakdowns that still occur today), Wilkens was unceremoniously dumped, ending a three-year stint with the team that started with so much promise but ended with too much disappointment. Hubie Brown (coach).

This was the year that Wilkens overtook Bill Fitch for the lead in most losses by a NBA coach, with his loss total getting dangerously close to his win total. Mookie Blaylock. Almost right from day one, the Toronto media went straight for the jugular when it came to Wilkens, chastizing him for his inability- or, perhaps, unwillingness- to really clamp down on his players when he had to (The Toronto Star's Dave Perkins once wrote that all Wilkens could do during a game where the Raptors self-destructed was sit and stand, instead of yelling at his players like Perkins says he should have been doing). Stacey Augmon. However, right from the beginning of the season that optimism was lost: Carter went through a series of injuries, Davis started to express disinterest in Toronto (reportedly because his wife could not land a TV job in Toronto) and Wilkens' laissez-fair attitude created a team that lacked the motivation and spirit of the previous years' teams. Bob Pettit. The 2002-03 season began with the same optimisim that the Raptors furnished in three straight playoff appearances. Pete Maravich.

Record: 42 Wins - 40 Losses; eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Cliff Hagan. Ben Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse's performances overwhelmed the offensively-limited Raptors. Walt Bellamy. However, the injuries to Davis and Carter were highlighted in the 3-2 series loss to the Detroit Pistons. In spite of an injury to Antonio Davis in January and a subsequent injury to Carter, the team made a record comeback to clinch a playoff berth.

The first half of the season ran well with expected contributions from the starters and the improvement Morris Peterson and Keon Clark. Expiring contracts had also been traded away, so unless the Raptors succeeded with their 2001-2002 lineup, it was unlikely they would remain a very competitive team. Although the team was guaranteed a powerful starting line-up for one season, it was a dangerous gamble as overall player salary almost reached the cap, making significant free-agent signing impossible. The Raptors' exciting playoff performance attracted even more fans and put unprecendented trust from the owners on Grunwald. In an attempt to satisfy Vince Carter so that he would resign with the team, long-term contracts were given to Alvin Williams, Jerome Williams and Davis, and former All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon was signed, to provide Carter with a good supporting cast.

Record: 47 Wins - 35 Losses; eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. The series came down to the last 4 seconds of Game 7, when Vince Carter missed a fadeaway jumper, losing the series by 1 point. Philadelphia took full advantage of its mismatch at center whereas Toronto counteracted with a fast-break offense with their shorter but quicker players. Toronto's was much more balanced with Carter, Williams and Davis providing much of the offensive game and Chris Childs and Jerome Williams providing the defensive pressure.

The Sixers relied on Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo for their respective offensive and defensive abilities, along with steady help from Aaron McKie and other teammates. The next series against the Philadelphia 76ers was a landmark of exciting, entertaining play, and the best playoff performance by the Raptors so far. These, however, were non-factors, as it was abundantly clear that the Raptors were vastly superior to the overhyped, undertalented Knicks. The Raptors were also lucky, as Larry Johnson was shut down by a career-ending injury and Marcus Camby was plagued by his family kidnap.

In addition, Charles Oakley's remarks incited Vince to "play it like a man", and steady contribution from Antonio Davis prevailed over the less-focused Knicks. Wilkens was credited for having Williams defend shooting guard Allan Houston and Carter defend small forward Latrell Sprewell, the two major offensive threats of the Knicks. Toronto beat New York in the first round . As predicted by analysts, the team clinched a playoff berth without much difficulty.

Therefore, Raptors management decided to trade McGrady to the Magic during the 2000 offseason for a first-round draft pick in a sign-and-trade deal. Furthermore, McGrady's natural position is at shooting guard, the same position as Carter. Although McGrady and Carter showed impressive improvement at the same time, much of the media and fan attention was focused on Carter, who dunked more often and thus was more entertaining to fans. The loss of former star small forawrd Tracy McGrady was also a factor in the Williamson trade.

As Vince familarized himself with the shooting guard position and played less time at small forward, Christie became expendable and was traded for small forward Corliss Williamson. However, he was a disappointment and was traded during the season for defensive workhorse Jerome Williams. Jackson was later traded to give more minutes for Williams. He scored three quarters of his points in the 4th quarter during regular season. The season marked the development of Alvin Williams as a clutch performer.

In addition, the team finally found a true point guard, when Grunwald signed veteran playmaker Mark Jackson to a 4-year deal with the team. Playoff failures led Grunwald to replace Butch Carter with Lenny Wilkens, who was a Hall-of-Fame coach and player with more than 30 years of coaching experience. Record: 45 Wins - 37 Losses; eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. This was also the first season at the Air Canada Centre, after four years of games at the cavernous SkyDome.

Increased attendance and change of fan base also helped contribute to the decline of the Toronto Blue Jays. Progressive team improvements and the rise to fame of Vince Carter attracted many fans around Toronto, many of whom were not previously basketball fans. However, without significant playoff experience, the Raptors were swept by the New York Knicks in the playoffs. Rotation of Antonio, Oakley and Willis in the front court and the maturation of both Carter and McGrady helped the team make its first ever playoff appearance.

In the backcourt, Butch Carter rotated Carter, Christie, Williams and Dell Curry at the shooting guard position and Williams and Muggsy Bogues at point guard. Thus, during the 1999 draft, he decided to trade first-round draft pick Jonathan Bender for veteran power forward Antonio Davis from the Indiana Pacers, who had been forced to play off the bench behind teammate Dale Davis. He also knew that the aging Willis and Oakley would eventually have to play fewer minutes or risk injury. Grunwald decided that the solution to the Raptors' lack of a true point guard and a strong front court presence would have to come from mature veteran players.

Record: 23 Wins - 27 Losses (a shortened 50-game schedule). Although the team did not make the playoffs, many were optimistic with the brilliant performances from the Rookie of the Year Vince Carter and a much improved McGrady. The new coach Butch Carter, besides doing an excellent coaching job, also helped develop the young players on the team, especially future All-Star Tracy McGrady. With those two holes temporarily filled, the team won more games than ever before.

Kevin Willis, another veteran acquired from trade, solidified the center position. Alvin also showed improvement, on the offensive end. This was an excellent move, as Christie greatly refined his defensive game and became one of the elite defenders in NBA. The coaching staff temporarily solved the lack of a true point guard by rotating Dee Brown, Alvin Williams and Doug Christie to play the position.

However, Oakley's leadership proved crucial to the success of the 1998-1999 Raptors. Many thought the trade would hurt the team, since he was trading away a promising prospect for an aging veteran. Grunwald showed his better management ability than his predecessor by trading Camby to the Knicks for proven veteran Charles Oakley, whose tough mentality and playoff experience helped the maturity of the young players. Record: 16 Wins - 66 Losses.

However, the players reacted by playing harder and Marcus Camby earned the first two triple doubles of his career in the last four games of the season. When Glen Grunwald was named to succeed Thomas in 1998, virtually nobody thought he could turn the team around, demonstrated by the booing from the crowd when he made his first appearance to Air Canada Centre for a speech. Thomas, a brilliant player and skilled evaluator of talent but lacking in management skills, failed to stop the downfall of the team which led to the dismantling of the core players and resignations of the head coach Darrell Walker and eventually of Thomas himself. All optimism evaporated when the team was hit by numerous injuries in early 1997-1998 season.

Record: 30 Wins - 52 Losses. Marcus Camby who was drafted 2nd overall in the 1996 draft by the Raptors had a season to forget in his first season as a Raptor. Analysts predicted a playoff-contending or even a championship caliber team in a matter of a few seasons. The team record improved by 9 games from its inaugural season and attendance was rising.

Record: 21 Wins - 61 Losses. However, Stoudamire proved to be the one bright point in a terrible first season as he won Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 19 points and 9.3 assists per game. The Raptors' pick of Stoudamire was greeted with boos from those present at the NBA Draft at the SkyDome in Toronto, many of whom bought into the hype surrounding UCLA star Ed O'Bannon. Isiah chose to build the franchise around Damon Stoudamire, a point guard out of Arizona.

After Isiah Thomas was named the general manager in 1995, he quickly staffed the management with his own personnel, including the first head coach Brandon Malone (who was later reunited with Thomas in the Knicks organization in 2003). They are currently the only NBA team based outside of the United States. The Toronto Raptors are a National Basketball Association team based in Toronto, Ontario. (December 17, 2004.).

2004- 2005 season: traded Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, and two future first round draft picks. 2004 offseason: signed Rafer Alston. 2003-2004 season: traded Jerome Williams and Antonio Davis to the Bulls for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall. 2002 offseason: lost Keon Clark through free agency to the Kings.

2002 offseason: lost Chris Childs through free agency to the Nets. 2000-2001 season: traded Mark Jackson to the Knicks for Chris Childs. 2000-2001 season: traded Kevin Willis to the Denver Nuggets for Keon Clark. 2000-2001 season: traded Corliss Williamson to the Detroit Pistons for Jerome Williams.

2000 offseason: signed Mark Jackson. 2000 offseason: traded Tracy McGrady to the Magic for a 1st round draft pick. 2000 offseason: traded Doug Christie to the Kings for Corliss Williamson. 1999 offseason: signed Muggsy Bogues.

1999 offseason: signed Dell Curry. 1999 draft day: traded 1st round draft pick Jonathan Bender to the Pacers for Antonio Davis. 1998 offseason: traded with the Rockets for Kevin Willis. 1998 offseason: traded Marcus Camby to the Knicks for Charles Oakley.

1997-1998 season: traded Damon Stoudamire to the Portland Trail Blazers for Alvin Williams. 1996-1997 season: traded with the New York Knicks for Doug Christie. 2004 8th overall Rafael Araujo. 2003 4th overall Chris Bosh.

2002 20th overall Kareem Rush (draft-day trade for 27th overall Chris Jeffries). 2001 17th overall Michael Bradley. 2000 21st overall Morris Peterson. 1999 5th overall Jonathan Bender (traded for Antonio Davis).

1998 4th overall Antawn Jamison (traded on draft day for 5th overall pick Vince Carter). 1997 9th overall Tracy McGrady. 1996 2nd overall Marcus Camby. 1995 7th overall Damon Stoudamire.

Current: Rob Babcock (hired on June 7, 2004). March 1998 - April 2004: Glen Grunwald. 1995 - March 1998: Isiah Thomas. Current: Sam Mitchell (hired on June 29, 2004).

2003 - 2004: Kevin O'Neill. 2000 - 2003: Lenny Wilkens. Feb 1998 - 2000: Butch Carter. 1996 - Feb 1998: Darrell Walker.

1995 - 1996: Brendon Malone. Rafer Alston PG. Morris Peterson F/G. Rafer Alston PG.

Alvin Williams G. Jalen Rose G. Donyell Marshall PF. Chris Bosh C/F.

Jerome Williams (JYD Junkyard Dog). Damon Stoudamire. Hakeem Olajuwon. Tracy McGrady.

Antonio Davis. Keon Clark. Doug Christie. Vince Carter (Vinsanity, Half man Half Amazing, Air Canada).

Marcus Camby. Charles Oakley (Oaktree, Blagnum).