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.

Jefferson’s contract, which pays him $15M, expires this season. He can be acquired by the Raps if they send Bargnani and Landry Fields to Salt Lake City. Fine, but does this deal make sense for both teams?

Nov 7, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks shooting guard O.J. Mayo (32) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors small forward Landry Fields (2) and center Andrea Bargnani (7) during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeated the Raptors. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

This season is Al’s 9^th  in the NBA, and he appears to be a cyborg. His stats are eerily similar from year to year, so I’ll only take note of his Per-Game career numbers: 16.3 Points, 9.0 Rebounds, 1.4 Blocks in 30.5 Minutes. Why he has been traded from Boston to Minnesota to Utah is difficult to fathom, as I get no sense that he’s a headcase. He was suspended by the T’Wolves during the 2010 playoffs for a DWI arrest, but that is the only blot I could find on his record. Perhaps we should consider the glass half-full, and view his tour of various teams as part of a maturation process. Does he want to settle down and help a team in, say, Toronto, build for a championship run?

Al’s presence would immediately provide the scoring balance which has been so sorely lacking since our inside game departed with Ed Davis. Al starts tonight at power forward or centre. The bigger issue is his contract status. Ideally Al’s arrival in Toronto would be highlighted by a splashy press conference in which a multi-year contract extension would be announced, at a hefty raise. However, a proven scorer/rebounder big man like Jefferson can write his own ticket this off-season, and odds are he’s not signing anything until he’s been romanced by a number of teams.

Here’s the question, Raps fans – do we want to rent Al Jefferson for 3 months, make the playoffs, and hope he’ll re-sign once he’s decided the team and the city is where he wants to be? If we take that risk, and get spurned, we’ve lost Bargnani and Fields forever. It’s true their departure wipes $16M off our salary cap for the next two seasons, and perhaps we don’t want them here under any circumstances. But as of this writing they are our most valuable trade assets, and could be swapped for players with non-expiring contracts.

Feb 13, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) looks to pass in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Jazz defeated the Wolves 97-93. Mandatory Credit: Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports

I’m going to hop off the fence – if I’m Bryan Colangelo, I’m making the pitch to Utah. I think this is a sound deal for both teams. Neither of our guys will clog up the paint or poach minutes from Utah’s youthful big men. The Raps get a reliable scorer in the low post like we haven’t had since Chris Bosh’s departure – and perhaps Al will stay.

What do you think, Rapture Nation? Am I dreaming in Technicolour? Please drop a Comment.

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.