Colangelo quickly turns Raptors into contenders

	Bryan Colangelo's extreme makeover of the Raptors included adding Europeans Jorge Garbajosa and No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani. Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images
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It wasn't the most opportune time for Bryan Colangelo to be starting his new job. Last February, the 40-year-old Colangelo signed on to become president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, a moribund franchise that hadn't made the playoffs since 2002 and had rapidly descended to the bowels of the Eastern Conference.

Colangelo, the 2005 NBA Executive of the Year with Phoenix, was in charge of repairing a dysfunctional roster that had one identifiable superstar (Chris Bosh), a host of malcontents and an embattled coach (Sam Mitchell) entering the last year of his contract. Problem was, there wasn't much Colangelo could do about it.

Having taken over the team just after the February trading deadline, Colangelo was just another fan watching the Raptors limp down the stretch to a 27-55 finish. Yet for Colangelo, the unanticipated down time turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

"I had a chance to sit back and learn some things," Colangelo said. "I learned a lot about the players, the organization, the city; it was a nice chance to gather my thoughts before we got down to business that summer."

That business was a complete overhaul of the Raptors roster, a revamping that has landed Toronto in first place in the Atlantic Division and made the Raptors the biggest surprise of the first half. Politicking and infighting plagued the Toronto locker room last season, making a wholesale housecleaning Colangelo's first order of business.

Senior advisor Wayne Embry, who served as Toronto's interim general manager prior to Colangelo's arrival, had already got the ball rolling by dealing locker room lawyer Jalen Rose. Colangelo continued the purge with sweeping changes that included buying out the contract of oft-injured point guard Alvin Williams, trading former first-round pick Rafael Araujo, and allowing Mike James, the Raptors' second-leading scorer last season, to leave via free agency.

Colangelo brought in nine new players, including foreign stars Jorge Garbajosa (Spain) and Anthony Parker (Israel) and playmaking point guard T.J. Ford. He sought out skill players capable of playing multiple positions, which is the primary reason Toronto made forward Andrea Bargnani the top pick in the 2006 NBA draft.

"All the moves that were made were designed to put a team together," said Colangelo, who was also given $1 million to renovate the Toronto locker room. "The NBA is a star-based league, but we feel like we brought in a nice blend of talent. High character talent."

"When Bryan and I started talking about players [this summer] we talked about what a player's objective would be coming to this team," said Mitchell. "We asked if a player was going to be about the team or was he going to be about him. Guys with bad attitudes can kill your team. Bryan brought in a great group of guys; there is not one player on our team I wouldn't enjoy going to dinner with."