Dec 5, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Toronto Raptors center Andrea Bargnani (7) looks to the basket against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Since Bargnani’s role has has now been deemed ”changed,” it’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to stay with the Toronto Raptors past the deadline and potentially through next season. With the Raps apparently wiping the Carlos Boozer-for-Bargnani deal off the table from last week, this was ultimately was a sign of their lack of urgency to deal him at all.

I understand that Bryan Colangelo’s position is to avoid just throwing away Bargnani for the sake of it, but what exactly will Bargnani’s “new” role? Will he make it back into the starting lineup and replace the ever-popular Amir Johnson, who’s been playing great? Will he be the Raptors new 6th man weapon? Do they try him at center again and shove Jonas Valanciunas back to the bench? It’s unclear as to what this changed role will be. About the only thing that is clear with the Raptors recent moves is that he will no longer be the No. 1 option (Gay), and not likely the No. 2 either (DeRozan/Lowry).

The pressure off Bargnani might be a good thing. I was definitely in the “Trade Bargnani” camp over the past few weeks, but if the expectation of him is now one with less pressure and to give the team (and possibly the bench) more versatility, then I can get behind that plan. Especially in the midst of a winning streak and playoff push in the weaker Eastern Conference.

Anything’s possible.

Article via Sam Amick, USA Today Sports can be found here.

Stay with us at SavingtheSkyhook.com as we continue to report more on the highly anticipated NBA trading deadline. We will be getting news out as soon as we hear about it.

Let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings, and see which teams are in good shape…..and which teams are already searching for that Top 5 draft pick that will change the culture of their franchise. (more…)

The Wizards were severely hindered by Arenas's "transgressions" to say the least.

The playoffs are arriving, and they should be great. Just look at the leapfrogging going on at the top of the Western Conference, not to mention the comfortably elite in the East. But before we turn our attention to the postseason, let’s look at what could have been for many of the NBA’s teams. Some teams were truly unsatisfactory this year when they could have been something special.

No. 5 — New Orleans Hornets

The Hornets are only the fifth-most-disappointing team in the league because their struggles can be attributed, in large part, to significant missed time for star point guard Chris Paul. Still, 35-43 is not where they wanted to be at this point in the schedule. Aside from Paul, New Orleans has vastly underrated forward David West and traded for Emeka Okafor for the year. That acquisition didn’t work out. Darren Collison played incredibly well filling in for CP3, which makes their difficulty so much more puzzling. They need to go back to the drawing board for 2010-2011 and figure out what went wrong besides Paul’s injury — that certainly wasn’t their only problem.

No. 4 — Toronto Raptors

The Raptors, too, would be further down on this list if not for extenuating circumstances? What are they? Well, they still have a very good chance at making the playoffs. They sit at 38-38 now, holding the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings, and Chicago is a game behind. But expectations for this team coming in were much higher. Amalgamating the development of Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani with the acquisitions of Jarrett Jack and Hedo Turkoglu, north-of-the-border fans were hoping that the Raptors could establish themselves among the top dogs in the conference. Well, that hasn’t panned out. Bosh is playing the best offensive ball of his career, but his defense is atrocious. As is that of the entire team — absolutely deplorable defensive effort they’ve put together. In addition, Turkoglu is not at all the same player he was in Orlando. It seems he increased his effort for his contract season, and now he’s coasting on a lucrative five-year deal with Toronto. Too bad, because they really could have been great.

No. 3 — Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have suffered in part because of the loss of Blake Griffin to a knee injury. But with Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, and Chris Kaman up front (not to mention Marcus Camby, who they had up until the all-star break), they should have done better. It’s not really fair to blame them, though. After all, they’re cursed.

No. 2 — Detroit Pistons

Everyone knew the Pistons got lowballed in their free-agency quest this past summer. Going all in for a key player, the Pistons failed and had to resort to overpaying two mid-level players in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to keep the roster afloat. But what they had assembled was actually somewhat promising. Gordon, Villanueva, Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum, Detroit staples Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace isn’t all that bad a group. Their record says differently, as they’re 23-53 and have lost their last 11 games. Frankly, I don’t understand why they have been so bad. They have the offensive and defensive pieces to get the job done, so I figure it must have something to do with coach John Kuester. But it goes to show you why overpaying second-tier players is just a bad idea.

No. 1 — Washington Wizards

The Wizards had quite a roster: Gilbert Arenas, Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, newly improved Andray Blatche, and Brendan Haywood make up a rather spectacular group talent-wise. Then Arenas and Javaris Crittendon started fighting like school girls and it all went down the drain. Now Arenas is out for the rest of the year, Butler, Jamison, and Haywood have all been traded away to contenders, and all the Wizards have to show for it is Josh Howard and Al Thornton. That won’t cut it. They could have had a real thing going on, but Arenas is a complete headcase. What a waste of an immense collection of talent.

Come back tomorrow for the most surprising teams of the season in part two of the Expectation Series.