The small forward position, which Landry was brought on board to fill, has been a disaster for the Raps for years. Our high hopes for Fields were quickly dashed in the season’s early going, when he suddenly couldn’t make uncontested layups.  Landry underwent an operation to re-route a nerve in his shooting arm. Following a long period of recovery, Landry has appeared in 31 games.

If his arm is improved as a result of the surgery, it’s hellish hard to notice. His shooting percentage appears respectable at 45.6, but that’s because his jump shot is so broken that he rarely tries any shot deeper than about 10 feet from the basket. The bulk of his woefully small number of baskets have occurred on slam dunks off fast breaks, or when he presents under the hoop for a pass. Landry has made 1 (one) 3-point basket this season, in 12 attempts. In his rookie season, he averaged more than one a game. Actually, in almost every stat category you care to name, Landry’s first year was his best. We bought a declining asset at the top of the market. If Bryan Colangelo tried that in any other field of endeavor, he and his bespoke suits would be out looking for work in very short order.  Landry’s failure has already severely impacted the Raps. Despite BC’s irrational love for Rudy Gay’s erratic talents, it’s hard to imagine he would have traded Jose Calderon and a rapidly improving Ed Davis for Mr. Big Shot if our starting small forward had been giving us 12 points and 7 boards per game.

Once the Raps are officially eliminated from the playoff race, I expect to see considerable shake-up in the rotation. Landry, who is an afterthought currently, may be dusted off and put on display as a starter to prospective trade partners. I suspect some Raps fans want to give Landry the off-season to fully recover, but not me. I’d rather sift through the inexpensive eager beavers in the D-League than pony up big dollars to this guy.

March 4, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Toronto Raptors power forward Andrea Bargnani (7) shoots the ball against Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson (11) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Landry isn’t this season’s biggest disappointment. That anti-honorific is firmly affixed on Andrea Bargnani’s forehead with a giant yellow Post-It note, and won’t get displaced unless AB somehow contrives to average 26 points and 7 rebounds in our remaining games. But Landry is another supposedly brilliant Colangelo gambit which has failed, and from which there’s no easy exit.

During the pre-trade-deadline frenzy, I called for AB & Landry to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Pau Gasol. Let’s hope that deal can take place in the off-season.

Brian Boake is a co-editor for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.

Feb 27, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) shoots over Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Hawks won 102-91. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

“The only thing that should surprise us is that we can still be surprised.” La Rochefoucauld

Consider the pressure Utah’s GM Dennis Lindsey was under prior to the trade deadline. The Jazz have two quality big men in Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, both of whom are on expiring contracts. His team is in danger of missing the playoffs in the NBA’s tough Western Conference. If Lindsey does nothing about trading either or both of Millsap and Jefferson, he increases his chances of a playoff berth, which keeps his owner and fans happy. He also has a big chunk of salary cap space at season’s end. However, if both of these players leave the Jazz, there’s a gaping hole in his roster. Fans and the press are cranky because Lindsey didn’t turn one or both of them into assets via trade while he could. It’s an NBA GM’s version of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. Presumably his ownership didn’t order him to make a deal, otherwise he would have. But what if he did receive such an order, like Sacramento Kings’ President Geoff Petrie must have done?

I make that assumption because nothing else save temporary insanity or naked greed can explain the Kings’ donation of Thomas Robinson to the Houston Rockets (I know there were other players involved; Robinson, the #5 pick in last year’s draft, was the big prize and surely the only player of interest to Houston). The press has quite properly flamed Kings’ management and its ownership for this travesty of a trade, which does nothing to improve the Kings, now or in the future. [20 second timeout: David Stern killed the Chris-Paul-to-the-Lakers trade in 2011, so why didn't he squash this one?] The Maloofs, who are just about finished in Sacramento as team owners, apparently grab another million bucks with this trade, while poking Kings’ fans in the eye. Kings’ GM Petrie may well have wanted to resign on the spot when he was ordered to undertake this mockery of a deal. Houston GM Daryl Morey probably couldn’t believe his luck. (“Hi, Geoff, it’s Daryl. What would it take to get Thomas Robinson from you?” “Hmmm….how about 3 guys on your roster who can be proven to have pulses?”)

Feb 19, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings power forward Thomas Robinson (0) drives in against San Antonio Spurs center Boris Diaw (33) during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Rod Thorn was the Nets’ GM who fleeced Raps’ GM Rob Babcock out of Vince Carter in 2004. It was public knowledge that Carter wanted out, and Babcock wasn’t receiving offers anywhere close to equal value. Thorn has since admitted he low-balled Babcock and was astonished that his offer was accepted.

My point is this: every day GMs call each other to offer their rowboat for the other guy’s nuclear submarine – and once in a great while, his counterpart says Yes. There is no such thing  as an impossible trade.

Brian Boake is a co-editor for Raptors Rapture. “Like” Raptors Rapture on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @RaptorsRapture for all the latest news and updates about the best damn NBA team from Canada.