Time for the Raptors to move on from Bruno Caboclo mistake
By Chris Mckee
Masia Ujiri drafted Bruno Caboclo with the 20th pick of the 2014 NBA draft. The pick has proven to be a mistake yet Ujiri and the Raptors continue to hold onto him. It’s time for the Raptors to move on from the Bruno Caboclo mistake.
Paul Bear Bryant was a legendary college football coach won six national titles as the head coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
"Bryant said, “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it; admit it, learn from it and don’t repeat it.”"
It is time for Masai Ujiri to admit that drafting an 18 year-old Bruno Caboclo from Brazil with the 20th pick in the 2014 draft was a mistake.
Its time for the Raptors as an organization to finally move on from Caboclo and provide an opportunity for another player who could potentially help the Raptors today.
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Just seconds after he was drafted, NBA analyst Fran Fraschilla said, “This is the all-time swing for the fences pick.”
Ujiri whiffed on the pick like Tim Tebow in the batters box of a minor-league baseball game.
In the three years since Caboclo was drafted, he has played in a grand total of 23 NBA games and has averaged a whopping 1.2 points per game during that stretch.
Caboclo will turn 22 in just a few weeks and if he had played some college ball in the NCAA he would likely be considered an average mid-major talent at best.
When you look at the rosters of the schools that played in the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament it is safe to say that Caboclo wouldn’t have been a starter on any of those teams.
Even as a 21 year-old, he wouldn’t have seen the floor if he played on teams like North Carolina, Kentucky, Oregon, Gonzaga or Kansas and many of their star players will struggle to make an NBA roster during this upcoming season.
So why is he still on the Raptors roster?
Some will point to an impressive game here and there in the G League as reason for a glimmer of hope as to why the Raptors should try and stick it out with Caboclo and hope he can develop into something more.
If impressive stats in the G League are reason for hope then recent Raptors signings Alfonzo McKinnie and Lorenzo Brown should be consider much higher on the Raptors depth chart than Caboclo because both were All-Stars at the G League level.
Even though dozens of guys have show they can dominate the G League on a consistent basis, Caboclo is still being provided more of an opportunity than many of those guys.
The NBA is the toughest professional sports league in the world to crack because of the limited number of roster spots available. There are dozens of talented young basketball players who are much more deserving of a chance to fulfil their dream of playing in the NBA than Caboclo.
However, Ujiri is refusing to admit that he made a mistake and continues to hang on to a guy who will never be a legitimate NBA player.
Nobody in history has ever choked to death from swallowing their pride and its time for Ujiri to do so and allow for an opportunity for somebody else to show that they can play in the NBA.
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