Now in her fourth season with Raptors NBA TV, Norma Wick hosts roundtable discussion show, “Full Court Press” and a weekly basketball wrap-up titled “Floor Level”. You can always find Norma reporting on the sidelines of an NBA court near you.

by Norma Wick
--raptors.commentator
February 14, 2005

(TORONTO) -- It’s a been another week of incidents in the Raptors world and another week of headlines decrying the events. I have a problem with some of that.

It’s not that these disagreements, altercations, complaints, demands are making copy or the airwaves – it is the job of those covering the team to relay the events surrounding it – but it's the presumption of failure that accompanies every set to and set back that strikes me as a little shortsighted and at worst self-serving in the headline, sound-byte driven world of “info-tainment”.

The Raptors are banking that both Mitchell and Bosh are "Mr. Rights" and not just "Mr. Right Nows". (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)

It's fair to report on the events, but is it fair to judge - on a daily basis - the overall success or failure of this new regime before the dust has settled?

Lost in the sexy headlines of unhappy players and an emotional coach is the larger picture.

Is this a team in “turmoil” or “transition”?

Was nobody listening when the team announced this was, “A New Era in Raptors Basketball”? How do you create an era in six months? How do you change a culture without shaking up its inhabitants? In that case, is conflict a bad thing?

Players don’t want to hear that they’re selfish, taking bad shots, not hustling on defence, or of better use to the team coming off the bench … oh, and they hate having their minutes cut. This just in … it makes them mad at their coach. Apparently, if some players are mad at the coach, then he’s not approaching them the right way. This leads to “turmoil” in the locker room. I know, let’s go find someone the players won’t be mad at.

Oh, hold on … the players loved Lenny Wilkens. The team lost – a lot. There were complaints then too, not from the players, but from the paying customers and attending media. The team wasn’t cohesive; it underperformed, it had no identity, it “cruised” through games. I know what you’re thinking – that sounds like this team on some nights.

But this time – the coach won’t take it on the chin. He’d rather dish it right back – and that has generated some conflict in the locker room.

Finally, the paying customer has an advocate. Finally, there is a vision for this team.

In choosing companionship, Charles Barkley once joked, “I’m not looking for Mrs. Right … I’m looking for Mrs. Tonight”. In selecting the company they want to keep in their locker room, the Raptors are apparently taking a more “long-term approach.”

Rafer Alston has seen some rough spots, but are they all that rare in pro sport? (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)

In other words, they’re not looking for “Mr. Tonight”, they’re looking for “Mr. Right”.

If that means alienating people who have different agendas – is it the wrong approach?

If winning cures everything – the losing reveals it. In the midst of this turmoil, every player in that locker room is bringing his character and commitment to light. There have been positives and negatives. That the negatives can’t be fixed in a day, a week, or even a season, shouldn’t be viewed as failure. Not in the short term. The Raptors didn’t say the new era was here, they said it “had begun”.

It is fair to wonder whether ultimately, their approach will work. But it is far too soon to judge.

I’ll leave you with a parable that to me, draws some interesting comparisons to this current round of incidents and accidents, hints and allegations. It comes from a religious sect known as Sufis, who for centuries have sought the truth within all religions, and none. One of their teaching methods is to tell stories that reveal the follies of human nature.

There once was a farmer whose only possession was a prized horse. All the people of the village ridiculed him. “Why put all your money into a horse? Somebody could steal it and you will have nothing.” The horse did not get stolen, but sadly enough the horse did run away. “You fool,” the villagers said, “you should have diversified; not put so many eggs in one basket. Now you have nothing. You are so unlucky.” The farmer, being a wise man, answered, “Don’t say I am unlucky. Just say that my horse is no longer here. That is a fact. We don’t know what may happen next.” Sure enough, the next day the horse returned and with him was a herd of wild stallions. The villagers exclaimed, “You were so right! Look how fortunate you are!” The farmer replied, “You cannot possibly know if this is fortunate or unfortunate. We do not have the whole story yet. Merely say that we have got more horses than before.” The farmer sent his only son to tame the wild horses. He was thrown and broke his leg. The doctor said he would be crippled for life. The villagers again decried his misfortune, but again the farmer asked them to withhold judgment. Soon thereafter, a war broke out in their country and all the healthy young sons were drafted into battle. Only the farmer’s son was left behind. The fighting was fierce and most of the other boys in the village died at war. “You were right again, farmer,” the villagers said. The farmer shouted, “On and on you go, judging this, judging that. Who do you think you are? How is it that you presume to know how this is all going to turn out?”

The short answer is, you can’t. You just have to wait and see.