Toronto Raptors Acquired Reggie Evans to Make a Man Out of Andrea Bargnani
During this past offseason, when the Toronto Raptors and the Philadelphia 76ers swapped Jason Kapono for Reggie Evans, it looked like a minor move that help fill general needs for both teams – the Sixers were dying for outside shooting and the Raptors were looking to add some toughness and rebounding to the mix.
Now that camps have officially opened, we’re seeing that Raptors seemed to have a specific role in mind for Evans when they acquired him – to beat the hell out of Andrea Bargnani.
The Raptors are committed to Bargnani and his awesome potential, so much so, they signed him to a $50 million extension. But if there are glaring omissions to Bargnani’s game, you could argue that he leaves much to be desired in the rebounding and toughness departments. The career high of 5.4 boards Andrea averaged per game last year are ok for a guy a who spends much of his time on the perimeter, but for him to become the franchise-caliber athlete he needs to be for the Raptors to excel – and survive if they lose Chris Bosh – he has to be much, much better.
Enter Reggie Evans. This from today’s Globe and Mail:
He had his first impact before training camp even started in an informal scrimmage last week at the Air Canada Centre when he gave Bargnani a dose of mid-season nasty. Bargnani took note and came back a day later with a sense of purpose to the delight of those who watched.
“They went at it pretty hard,” said Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, who acquired Evans from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jason Kapono in June. “The first day . . . by the end of it [Bargnani] was like a punch-drunk prize fighter. He looked like he was exhausted. It was fighting on the glass; it was trying to exert more energy on the offensive end because he had someone defending him – whether it was at the three-point line or inside – with physical force.
“I saw him come back the next day with a little different approach and he was more prepared for it. I said wow, if that’s any indication of how Reggie is going to make others on the floor better, it happened in 24 hours.”
I know that you can’t make somebody tough. You can make a player tougher, but true grit is something you’re born with. Still, if having to deal with Reggie Evans on a daily basis makes Bargnani more aggressive and more comfortable really selling out attacking the glass, it could put Bargnani on the path to being an elite player.
* Follow Dime on Twitter: @DIMEMag
* Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE
September 30th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Scott says:
I read about this in another toronto columnists blog. Between Bargs improving toughness and Bosh putting on 20lbs of muscle, of which most of it looks like its been put on the upper body (he finally grew into his grown man body lol). It could be looking good up front for the Raps.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
mavs all the way says:
and he, andrea (what a manly name), should be more prepared for those bitch-ass-slap from him. more slap means he’s doing a great job.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Scott says:
btw, great to see a positive Raps article by someone other than Gerald. Usually the other dime writers to slam articles on something to do with the Raps, right Austin? lol.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Jake says:
I thought it was a great move by the Raps just looking at it on the surface. Having it pay dividends in practice is even better. This is just what this team needs, and seeing Bargnani get tougher and improve must be a great thing for Toronto. It seems like this team’s front line will actually have a lil respect this yr and not just get pushed around.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
doc says:
I can see Reg toughening him up.I like Reggie and wish we kept him instead of nut ass kapono.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Ross says:
Reggie Evans likes white boys.
September 30th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
tre says:
@ mavs all the way
andrea is italian for andre, manly enough for you?
definately a good move for the raps!
September 30th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Utah Jazz Blog says:
Toughness is an underrated commodity and something that is difficult to quantify since it doesn’t always show up in the stat sheet. Evans could prove to be a great addition for Toronto even if he doesn’t get many minutes.
September 30th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Perhaps he can teach Reggie how to score as a trade off?
September 30th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Hugo says:
LOL @ 9 …
Bargnani will be a monster in 2 seasons …
September 30th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
That's whats up says:
so basically Evans is there to see if Bargnani has any nuts?
Usually the doctors figure that out during the physicals
September 30th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
NC says:
I think a lot of this is media hype in TO. I believe they got Reggis first and foremost for his on court hustle. If at the same time he makes a man out of Bargs then sweet. Still though … glad to have Reggie regardless.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Da_Griff says:
Reggie’s always been a human wrecking ball. If you don’t grow a set, you can’t deal with him.
If Reggie were a few inches taller, he would have been a true monster. He’s got a lot of flaws, mainly because of his size. Still, a useful player to have on the bench. He should just never, ever start.
September 30th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
TomGfromCanada says:
why do you need to make it sound so gay
September 30th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
sh!tfaced says:
Andrea will only be a monster if he played in the WNBA
September 30th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
maddskizzle says:
Not as soft as many people automatically label him
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHlCndXvODY
Check out the last play too, oh damn
September 30th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
LakeShow84 says:
I think the title of this article is a little off..
I’ve watched Evans TAKE a males manhood, never MAKE a man..
September 30th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Amar says:
if things work out, the raps can actually beat a few good teams that sleep on ‘em.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
BRUCE says:
For $50 Million Dollars, He Had Better Be!
September 30th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
heartbreaker85 says:
reggie “the nutgrabber” evans is in the hizzie!
September 30th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
utahJZZ says:
calderon
derozan
turkoglu
bosh
barnani….pretty legit 5
watch out for nash, hill, j-rich, stoudemire, & lopez with barbosa as the X factor
October 1st, 2009 at 5:51 am
solomon (el latino machismo) says:
reggie will teach ‘drea the art of nut grabbing and perfect flopping…
October 1st, 2009 at 11:19 am
Rapz says:
I think the 15lbs Bosh put on is actually just his hair
October 1st, 2009 at 11:50 am
ab_40 says:
reggie is gonna slap his a$$ we just don’t know if that is figuratively speaking or litteraly
October 1st, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Mellmeister says:
Reggie “The Nutcracker” Evans will make Andrea from Choir Girl, To a Dominatrix… Lady in Black Shiny Leather… hahahahaha!
October 1st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Soda says:
“mavs all the way says:
and he, andrea (what a manly name), should be more prepared for those bitch-ass-slap from him. more slap means he’s doing a great job.”
Such an ignorant thing to say. Dumb ass.