Dear Raptors Fans,

As you know, at 0-6 our team has not had the start to the season that we were hoping for. However, we are, for the most part, pleased with the work ethic and dedication our young team has shown--and we remain very positive about the future. We are committed to developing this team through our young players. We are more concerned about building a team that will be consistently in the playoffs and that will compete for a championship than we are about short-term results.

Tough times are going to be a part of a plan like this. Being a young player (especially a rookie) in the NBA is somewhat like being a freshmen in high school. Everyone is bigger, stronger and quicker than they were in college and of course, they're better players. Shots that you thought were open are blocked. Passes that would have gotten through in college are picked off. An extra dribble to the basket that got you a dunk in college is stripped before you get close to the basket. Joey Graham tested out as the best athlete at the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp in June. He is used to being able to do whatever he wants physically. That changes in the NBA. Take a look at Joey's defensive assignments for the first six games: Antawn Jamison, Richard Jefferson, Richard Hamilton, Lebron James, Andrei Kirilenko, and Rashard Lewis. Talk about being thrown into the fire. Joey had what he thought was a wide open shot against Utah (only to have Kirilenko reach up and slap it away).

Joey, like our other young players, is working hard and making adjusments every day. Charlie Villanueva averaged just eight points a game in the first five games as he was learning that defensive intensity changes from pre-season to real games. Then he exploded for 26 points and 12 rebounds vs. Seattle. Now we can't expect him to produce like that every night, but you certainly can see the potential that is there. Our players are watching tape, working with the coaches and they are determined to succeed in this league. More importantly, they are quality people and great teammates that want to win. Believe me, the losing is much more difficult on these players than it is on anyone else.

We will have nights like we did in Detroit where it's just down right ugly, but we will have games like Seattle, where it looked like we were done (several times) and we fought back to force overtime. These young men are talented and each week we are seeing improvement. We're seeing flashes in games of what the future will bring. Eventually, the hard work will result in more wins. Meanwhile, we are being patient and continuing to work with and develop our players. I can tell you that this group of young men are a pleasure to work with and they are all winners. They are not winners on the court yet, but they have winning attitudes and they have the desire and work ethic to get there.

And off the court you won't find a better group of guys that live our philosophy of getting involved in the community and doing things the right way. I hope that you will be patient as we develop this team. What is important for us is that we're better in February than we are in November --and better in April than we are in February. We believe in our plan and we will not scrap it because of early season losses. This is a team for the future and we hope you are there with us.

Thank you for your support,

 

Rob Babcock
General Manager
Toronto Raptors