[WizardofOzParticipant]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u15IORiDlz8&feature=player_embedded

I know it was just Summer League, but he looks like a totallt different person in this video. He’s actually contesting shots, blocking shots, and fighting for rebounds. Now, he’s just lazy and doesn’t care about rebounding and playing defense (even though he said he needs to improve on both. He clearl lacks the desire to do it though.

And you can clearly see that he’s added much weight since then. He looks more fluid and quick on his feet there, and it looks like the added weight basically screwed up his lift. It bugs me watching this though. Dude pretty much looks like he could play SF in that video, but Colangelo made him bulk up to play C. I’m not sure why they experimented with playing him at small forward AFTER they had him bulk up to over 260lbs. Dumb move. Probably should have tried it more so when he had this build. Peja played SF most of his career & was probably less athletic than Bargnani.

He is so much more fluid & athletic looking. He had some strengths coming into this league & instead of developing them further, the Raptors stunted his growth & tried to make him something he wasn’t, and it was all because Bosh was their.

The management of Bargnani as a player is probably one of the worst I’ve seen in the NBA. I can see why they used to compare him to Dirk.

Would be REALLY interesting to see where he would be today if he was drafted by another team & they developed him as their starting PF or SF, & stuck with it.

[i’m jus so offendedParticipant]

 yeah then he started playing against real competition

[TyrekeJonesParticipant]

Wow, very impressed with his game in this video, even if it was just summer league, you are correct, he was much more fluid and showed the ability to be able to play SF at times as a mismatch, he was much more active on defense, seemed very confident handling the ball and I believe would be a very good PF and at times play SF depending on the matchup. Its a shame what Toronto has done with him, they have tried to make him a player he isn’t, a Center which is not even his proper position and expect him to get tons of rebounds and be a banger down low while scoring whereas he is a more perimeter oriented player, more finesse. I really would like the Raptors to trade him, so they can get the players they want, and he can get a fresh start, trim down a bit, and actually be at his natural position and maybe resemble some of his old self such as in this video.

[TeamShowtimeLakersParticipant]

never saw bargnani ball like that….he was hitting pull up jumpers, crossing over, step-backs…i never been a fan of him playing center or small forward because i feel power forward would be his best position…but seeing this video makes me think he could of played small forward…his career would be so much different if he played either forward position…he would be a matchup nightmare as a small forward.

[torontoraptors10Participant]

I remember watching this video his rookie season and I was like, damn Andrea Bargnani is gonna be a special player in this league! I still think he’s capable of being a decent rebounder, 6-8rpg and scoring around 24-26ppg. He is one of my favourite players believe it or not, I just hope he can become a better player overall.

[iminipandaParticipant]

I remember when Donte dropped 40 in his debut. What a lie summer league is.

Anyone else know that in 06-07 Rookie team had 13 guys? 6 1st and 7 2nd teamers?

[omphalosParticipant]

Damn, that was impressive from a rookie, you can see how bad player management can wreck a guy’s career. You almost can’t blame Bargnani for losing his quickness when the team forced him to bulk up and play out of position. I think this is a make or break year for Bargnani; they need to find a C in the off-season, let him trim down to play the 4 and give him the nod over Davis at PF just to see what he can do. If not, trade him, but please Raptors, stop wasting some of his prime years playing out of position, it happens to far too many players in this League (Horford is another).

[yaboymalParticipant]

very impressive wow it just makes me wonder what goes on in these organizations. Why did they try and make him a center thats obviously not his true position, whats up with the player development system. From Day 1! they should have put a true center next to him that rebounds block shots etc. They definitley should have kept him at the foward position and even though you have to get stronger at least try to maintain his quickness or even work on his speed and explosiveniss, why bulk him up to play center and be a player that he is not? Man o Man I wonder what kind of player he would be (not saying he is not a grood player now)

[omphalosParticipant]

To be fair, from day 1 they already had Chris Bosh, which means it makes even less sense for them to choose a natural PF when Rudy Gay could have been drafted.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Andrea Bargnani was a good defender when Jermaine Oneal was on the team. The year he broke out he was a solid defender, especially on the ball, and showed signs of being pretty good. His rebounding never improved, his on the ball defense got worse from year to year, and his quickness got a little worse too. He looks like he is just playing out there, not competing. He competes against Dirk and thats about it. If he competed every night like he was playing Dirk he would average 25-ppg or more and 8/9-rpg. Thats not inflated its just the truth. If Bargnani played to win instead of just playing he would be one of the best players in the league.

Sam Mitchell tried to play him as a SF it didnt work, he wasnt quick enough, athletic enough, and he wasnt low enough to defend wings. Also they could defend him out on the perimeter negating his best stregth which is a mismatch against bigs.

The team should have brought in a Center for Bosh, they should have had Center to play alonside Bargnani for when Bohs left, and apparently all this will be fixed soon. Whether this msitake will be fixed by losing bargnani is unkown although with Ed Davis emerging it would likely be best. Hopefully they get a Gasol, Jordan, Oden type and not just Dalembert.

[omphalosParticipant]

I think Bargnani has had his competitive fire quenched somewhat by the years of losing so many games. Once this team is on the upswing again don’t be surprised if he starts giving a lot more effort on both ends. His logic might just be, why give it everything and risk injury when I can coast until we are ready to go. It makes a weird kind of sense, but I hope he is just weighed down by losing, not deliberately slacking off.

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