The problem with Bargnani offensively is similar to his problems on defense: he doesn’t move. The current Raptors offense revolves around ball movement as well as consistent driving to the hoop and kicking out when necessary. No selfish nonsense. It’s all about constant movement, working to get the best shot possible. While we sometimes drift back into ISO ball or shooting the 3 immediately, for the most part they’ve been doing this very well lately.

With Bargnani in the lineup, the flow disappears. Because when he gets the ball, he either shoots immediately or stands there, waiting for a teammate to bail him out. He doesn’t dribble around or drive and kick out, yet he’s usually on the perimeter. He also doesn’t play down low or help with picks, so he’s basically a solitary unit, a cog that isn’t spinning with the rest of the machine.

So even though he often creates mismatches and occasionally scores a ton of points, he just isn’t the type of guy you can have in the lineup for 30+ minutes. I can see him being effective off the bench on certain teams(hopefully not Toronto, as we like to keep the same pace regardless of who is on the floor), but that’s where his role should stay. To think he can be a consistent starter seems silly at this point, and to try to build a franchise around him as Colangelo has been attempting for years is borderline insanity.

There are other guys like that (Kevin Love, Al Jefferson) but if you’re not making it up with rebounding, intangibles, good efficient offense, etc., then you become a real liability on the court. Which is exactly what Bargnani is.

But a seven footer who refuses to rebound, thinks he’s Reggie Miller on the wing, is a volume shooter like AI but with even less efficiency? I can’t imagine he’d be good for chemistry anywhere. Maybe a team struggling for offense but can hide him on defense/boards.