Friday, December 14th, 2012 at 9:00 am  |  93 responses

Andrea Bargnani is ‘Depressed’ By Injuries and the Toronto Raptors


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Before things went completely sour, before the Toronto Raptors compiled a record of 4-19 (only topped by the incompetence in Washington), there was a sense of hope and promise.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talked about Andrea Bargnani possibly becoming an All-Star this season. Things haven’t quite worked out that way — the team has played an embarrassing brand of basketball, they’re riddled with nagging injuries, trade rumors are swirling, and the franchise player is depressed.

Andrea Bargnani, out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his right elbow and a strained right wrist, tells the Toronto Sun that he’s down in the dumps:

Andrea Bargnani has had the toughest start to a season of his NBA career. He’s not a happy camper these days, aware that he’ll have to miss weeks of action due to a torn ligament. The enigmatic Roman even used the word “depressed” to describe his current state of mind, though head coach Dwane Casey believed something might have been lost in translation.

Bargnani: “I’m very upset that it’s something very bad again (Bargnani missed most of the 2011-12 season due to injuries), kind of depressed,” Bargnani said before lightening up a bit. “It was a bad fall, could have been worse, could have broke some of my bones, my wrist, so I got lucky in certain ways, but it’s really bad. Bad moment, bad timing, everything.”

Casey said he would talk to Bargnani to make sure he isn’t actually depressed. “Down is OK, but depressed is pretty strong,” Casey said. “Nobody is happy about losing. I’m not happy. Fans are not happy. Players are not happy, but I’m not depressed. Depressed is when you’re looking at Christmas or whatever is coming up and you don’t have food for your kids and gifts for your kids. That’s depressed. We’re blessed.”

This is perhaps just a clumsy way for a very frustrated player to express himself – Bargnani has seen his numbers take a considerable dip across the board this season.

Toronto Raptors fans, though, likely aren’t exaggerating when they say that they’re depressed.

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  • MikeC.

    The cRaps depress me too.

  • floe

    he better be depressed the way he’s been playing. i would freakin kill myself.

  • JML-G

    Raptors always been pretty depressing, but their biggest fail to date was that lets-become-euroleague-team experiment.. they still suffering cause of it

  • speedy

    Depression is a disease. Ask Lindsay Vonn or other athletes. So be careful with your words.

    In Germany one of the best football goalkeepers in the country commited suicide, because of depression.
    I hope he just used the wrong words.

  • RunNGun

    Maybe a change of scenery for the franchise might be the cure? Move the Raptors to Seattle and in the Western Conference.

  • MikeC.

    cRaps aren’t going anywhere. Deep-pocket owners and fans who don’t know any better and keep selling out the arena. No pressure to win, perfect scenario for sustained incompetence.

  • bike

    This is depressing.

  • zogs19994

    SHUT UP BARGNANI YOU SOFT PIECE OF SHlT!!!

  • Dagger

    You’re right, switching cities always helps franchises. Moving from a potentially huge market to a medium-sized market will do the trick. Not things like, you know, intelligent drafting, offering sensible contracts or hiring competent executives.

  • Dagger

    To be honest you can’t really blame BC for coming up with that (although you can fault him for sticking with it for far too long). At the time the surge in European talent that had produced Dirk, Gasol, Parker and many others showed no sign of slowing down. And the Raptors did win the Atlantic by signing international players to complement Bosh. Given that many international players want to come to Toronto but American players usually don’t, the strategy made sense.

  • niQ

    Raptors fans are still depressed that Bargnani is still on this team.

  • roscoe

    TOR is an ideal city for the NBA. That team isn’t moving anytime soon.

  • Redd

    At this rate, they’ll end up grabbing a superstar. I feel like they’re deliberately trying to get Wiggins & pieces. But that’s me.

  • adam

    glad we are all on the same page….bargs….either get traded or die….either would be a reason for me to celebrate….u fucking pasta eating whore

  • http://www.facebook.com/rainman1991 Saleem Rainman

    Well as a Toronto native, your Game is depressing me Andrea.

  • KR

    Andrea’s depressed???? What about all of the depressed fans who keep pleading for you to play some defense and rebound the ball.

  • KR

    Cancer is a disease, Aids is a disease…..Depression….Is not!

  • KR

    They suck in the East…Now you want them to move to the West..an even harder division???

  • fishsticks

    OKC has their pick unless its top 2 I think.

  • speedy

    The way your team plays makes you angry and say words that are ignorant and stupid.
    For you it’s not, for people that read and think it is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509819249 Gaurav P.

    Toronto is an amazing basketball city. The amount of diversity in this city is insane, and there is a growing legion of basketball fans. A lot of the minorities that live in the Greater Toronto Area (Asians, Indians) love basketball, and they are making up more and more of the population. Hell, we get decent crowds for games now, and we haven’t won sh*t in 11 years.

    The problem is not the city, it is the ownership. They could give a sh*t about winning – they just want their pockets padded.

  • LLC#12

    If that was a joke, then it was a bad one, if it was serious, then you’re an idiot.

  • DaRaptor

    I really like his Andrea’s game. He can make an offense great, for example our 2006-2008 playoff teams. Unfortunately he’s not a franchise player and not a first option player and many Raptor fans expect him to be, and this is where the hate comes in. He’s not Dirk Nowitzki guys, and it’s clear that he was no where near Nowitzki’s level after playing for 5 years. I think he’s reached his potential.

    That being said, if you have Bargnani playing with talented players around him, he’s a really dangerous weapon and we’ve all seen how great he can be offensively. Rebounds? That’s not his job. It’s not like he gives up offensive rebounds because he does box out. You just have other teammates who rebound the ball. And he’s not going to get any offensive rebounds because he’s not a post player and he plays on the perimeter.

    I’d really hate to see him go because he’ll do amazing on a talented team. The only thing Raptors have going for them now is Andrew Wiggins.

  • speedy

    That’s the problem with the internet.

    It creates these desktop bad asses like you, that don’t think before they write.
    Small brain and no emotional intelligence.

  • KR

    Cancer is a disease, Aids is a disease…. Depression is best described as a Disorder.

    Disease often implies a condition is contagious which depression is not

    Therefore – I repeat: Cancer is a disease, Aids is a disease…..Depression….Is not!

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    “Rebounds? It’s not his job”
    He averaged 4 rebounds as a center, so they moved him to pf where he’s doing even worse. Until last week, Kyle Lowry was leading the entire team in rebounding with 5.5 boards a game – is it a 6’1 point guard’s job to grab the most rebounds? Rebounds are a huge part of a center/power forward’s job. Even perimeter oriented players like Dirk and Bird have averaged over 9.5 rebounds for a season.
    The worst part about Bargs is that he’s a decent athlete with enough athletic ability and length to be a solid rebounder, he just doesn’t want it.
    I have no doubt that he could be a valuable contributor to a team with a dominant center, but he’s the #1 pick and the highest paid player on a team that needs him to do more than just shoot, and further, he’s shooting at 39% for the season!
    So if he’s not rebounding, not defending, not shooting well, and averaging more turnovers than assists, WTF is he doing for the Raps?!

  • DaRaptor

    That’s my point. We have other guys that are rebounding well so it doesn’t matter that Andrea isn’t rebounding. Rebounding shouldn’t even be an issue because the Raptors aren’t losing because of their rebounding, they’re losing because of their horrible offense and horrible defense. You can say that rebounding is apart of defense but the Raptors are above the league average at defensive rebounding and there isn’t really a correlation between defensive rebounding and defense because the Grizzlies, who are in the bottom 10 at defensive rebounding, are the best defensive team in the league.

    Lol at Bargnani having athletic ability. Sure he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive past defenders but he does not have the vertical ability to be a solid rebounder. He can barely get off the ground.

    I don’t like the #1 pick argument. The only other player that would have worked out is Rudy Gay. Raptors weren’t going to draft Aldridge because of Bosh at the same position and Roy would have brought his injury problems to T.O.

    He’s not shooting well because he’s taking more shots than he’s supposed to. Like I said before he’s not a first option scorer, but yes he is struggling as of late. But we already know that he can be a great scorer. He averaged over 20 points last season before getting injured.

  • speedy

    You say disorder, I say disease. Tomato, tomahto. Whatever you call
    it, at least one thing’s for sure—they both share the same goal, which
    is to prevent it, manage it, treat it and/or find a cure.

    I’m from germany and maybe i didn’t use the right term.

    It doesn’t change that it’s a serious thing and people should be careful with words.
    I Hope it was just the wrong words used by a european either way.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Cancer is contagious?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Junior-Taylor/100003121138419 Junior Taylor

    As a #1 overall pick isn’t it your job to lift a bad franchise from the cellars of the NBA? So, what the hell is this clown complaining about? Maybe if he rebounded and protected the paint like a 7 footer supposed to, the Raptors wouldn’t suck.

  • pposse

    i dont understand why i can’t just thumb down your stupid comment, just add this to the tally.

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    I hate the “we couldn’t draft Aldridge because we had Bosh” argument. You draft the best player available, period! You’re reasoning is the same reasoning that led to us drafting Araujo instead of iguadala – because we already had Carter.
    Brandon Roy accomplished more (multiple all-star, led his team to the playoffs multiple times, ALL-NBA second team) in 4 years than Bargs will in his lifetime.

    So now vertical leap is what it takes to be a good to average rebounder? Again, how’s Dirk’s hops? Because he’s averaged more than 9 rebounds 5 times! Bird averaged more than 9 rebounds 11 times! Sh*t, Peja Stojakovic has posted almost identical rebound numbers from the small forward position! And let’s not even get into Bill Laimbeer’s jumping ability. These are perimeter oriented players who are not exceptionally athletic, even shorter, BUT WANT IT MORE!

    Bargnani is not missing more because he is shooting more. Even with a more limited role he’s only shot better than 45% ONCE! Bargnani is a streaky shooter with great touch for someone his size.

  • Redd

    Ouch..really? OKC is about to get good.

  • DaRaptor

    And the best player available was believed to be Bargnani and that’s why Colangelo drafted him. Any other team would have done the same thing. Obviously Bargnani was expected to be better than he is today but there was no way to tell 6 years ago.

    You understand that drafting is based on potential and team needs right? GM’s aren’t future tellers. You can never know if a player is going to be great or not. That’s why sleepers in the draft exist every year.

    So you’re telling me you’d rather have an injured Brandon Roy right now than Bargnani?

    And even IF Bargnani did rebound more, it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever. If Bargnani averaged 10 rebounds instead of 2 or 3 the Raptors would still be where they are right now. If Bargnani averaged 10 rebounds a game that would just mean Lowry, DeRozan, and Valanciunas would be averaging less. Rebounding alone doesn’t win games. Denver, Cleveland, Los Angeles are great rebounding teams and they aren’t even above .500.

  • zogs19994

    DEPRESSION IS A DISORDER DUMBAS$

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Colangelo made the mistake of assuming Euro-ball could transcend into championships. He drafted an unproven and Raw Bargs rather than players who have proven track records at the high school and college levels. Bosh even went as far to suggest they draft Aldridge because he grew up playing against him and respected his intensity and work ethic.

    I’ll say it again, Brandon Roy has accomplished more in his first 4 years than Bargs will in his career!

    If Bargnani averaged 10 rebounds a game, the team would be better, period. Would they be contenders? No. But they wouldn’t be the worst team in the league and Bargs would be a solid 2 way player who’s intensity and drive would not be in question.

  • DaRaptor

    It’s top 3 protected.

  • DaRaptor

    Actually, Euro-ball transcended the Spurs into a dynasty.

    It doesn’t matter if Brandon Roy accomplished more, he’s injured and broken-up now and will probably never play again.

    One player improving in rebounds will not improve the WHOLE team’s performance. In fact it will have so little effect it will not make a difference. The Raptors would still be crap.

  • RKJ92

    EXACTLY

  • RKJ92

    WORD HE’S SOFT LIKE PILLSBURY

  • RKJ92

    It’s top 3 protected, and as of right now the top 3 picks are Cody Zeller, Nerlens Noel, and Shabazz Mohammed

  • RKJ92

    AHMEN!!!

  • Da-Meat-Hook

    Tim Duncan was the catalyst for those Spurs chips. Tim Duncan, a superb defensive, elite rebounding, amazing shot-blocking, low-post scoring, interior dominating center/power forward . . . pretty much everything Bargnani isn’t.
    I would take 4 remarkably elite years over 10 years of medi0crity. You wouldn’t?!?!
    So Bargnani shouldn’t work on not being the worst defensive/rebounding “big man” in the league, because even if he did, the Raps would still suck?!
    Is that your argument, REALLY???

  • Demar DeBROzan

    It truly is embarrassing to watch them play this year, it honestly doesn’t even look like they have an offense. Last game I saw (L to the Jazz) they jogged the ball up the floor (aka not quite a fast break and not quite a half-court set either) made one pass or half-hearted pick and roll and then stood and watched one dude (usually Demar) try and slice through the entire Jazz team and put up a weak floater in the lane. And the amount of effort exerted on D was about equivalent to the amount of effort it takes me to fall asleep after drunk post-bar sex. I used to have a few theories and scapegoats to explain why they’ve been so terrible the past few years, but it seems like the only thing wrong this year, is everything. #blowUpTheTeamFromTheTopDown

  • DaRaptor

    No, it was the combination of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. Two of which are international players along with the combination of guys like Nesterovic, Oberto, Udrih. The Spurs don’t win those all of those championships without Parker and Ginobili.

    I would take a guy who is averaging over 15 points per game than a guy is averaging 5 ppg and has only played 5 games this season so yes I would rather have Bargnani than Brandon Roy right now. If you had to choose between Bargnani and guy who is probably never going to play again how can you choose Roy right now? I’m not talking about who’s had a better career, I’m talking about the situation that is right now and obviously Bargnani is better than Roy right now.

    Every player should always working on improving their game so yes Bargnani should improve on rebounding. But to blame the Raptor’s losses because he can’t rebound is just blind hate by Raptor fans. His rebounding is not the reason the Raptors are losing. He averaged less than 4 rebounds when the Raptors made the playoffs those two years so I’m saying his rebounding doesn’t affect our wins or losses.

  • DaRaptor

    Ben Mcklemore would probably be the most likely to help the Raptors.

  • RKJ92

    Always take talent over what you need then trade down man.. kinda like we shoulda done with Andre Drummond but clearly Colangelo is a moron :D

  • DaRaptor

    Zeller, Mohammed, and especially Noel scream busts to me. McLemore is projected to go third anyways.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Dude, are you seriously trying to defend Andrea Bargnani??? Nobody expects him to be a franchise player except Brian Colangelo–that’s why BOTH their asses should be shipped out of Toronto. Who seriously expects Bargnani to play like Dirk Nowitzki? We actually do expect him to shoot 39% from the field and grab zero rebounds a game while being a 7 foot matador on defense. That’s the point. That’s why we want him traded.
    I feel bad for him if he’s depressed, and I wish him nothing but success on a different team, where he’ll likely shine, but for the love of Jesus get this man out of Toronto’s starting line-up!

  • speedy

    I will not argue with you about something that complex.
    Even medics got problems clasifing depression.
    And like I said english is not my first language so excuse me if I translated it and didn’t use the perfect term. Nonetheless my comment had a point.(Your comments seem to be written by a guy with tourette syndrom)
    Depression is a very serious threat if it isn’t taken seriously.
    One more thing.

    Your CAPSLOCK IS ON.

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