Bye, Bye Babcock

So, it's official now - Rob Babcock is no longer the GM of the Raps. Wayne Embry is and probably has been the real GM since he was placed in the assistant's role this past summer. It was a way of undermining Babcock at the time and remains an embarrassment for the franchise. The Raptors just don't get it.

Yes, he made a terrible draft choice in Araujo (although seemingly Embry didn't oppose the pick at the time) and he got nothing for Vince (even though most media people felt it was time to let Carter go at any price) Again, he received no objections to the trade from Embry or anyone else in the higher ranks.

He had a terrific draft last summer and made a tremendous trade for Mike James, but the Raptor's terrible record likely did him in. It's hard to believe that the team felt that the firing at this time made any sense at all except to provide the illusion that they were moving forward.

The architect of all these moves is Richard (I know nothing) Peddie. As long as he is associated with this team, the Raptors are going nowhere. He loves to hog the media attention by appearing on "the Fan," but he doesn't know the difference between a puck and a basketball. This move has all the markings of an attempt to shield him from blame when, in fact, he is the culprit. He chose Babcock in the first place when others were available and, in my opinion, this firing of Babcock was premature. Peddie has to go, not tomorrow, not next year, but now and a president of basketball operations has to be put in place who knows something about the game. There are no shortages of those people. Wayne Embry is not the answer - a gentleman, yes, but well beyond what is required of a president in today's game.

Did I hear Larry Brown?