If you’re like me, just waiting for something, anything to happen in Raptorland, this past week has been a tonic. The addition of assistant coach Marc Iavaroni was nice, but yesterday’s trade was better. How does the departure of Roko Ukic’s comic foil, Jason Kapono, affect the future of this Raptors lineup? Let’s break it down:

Centres
Starting: Andrea Bargnani
Backup: Rasho Nesterovic, likely
Depth: Nate Jawai, Patrick O’Bryant
Thoughts: Doug Smith says that Rasho is coming and Notorious P.O.B. is staying. That’s a lot of centres. But Jawai could spend some time in the D-League again, while P.O.B.’s contract is partially guaranteed, so could be dropped if necessary.

Power Forwards
Starting: Chris Bosh
Backup: Reggie Evans vs. Kris Humphries
Depth: Whoever loses the Battle of the Backups
Thoughts: New Raptor Evans is the favourite to win the Battle, but don’t forget that Hump was playing well before he broke his leg.

The score so far: 7 big men for 15 roster spots

Small Forwards
Starting: Shawn Marion, possibly
Backup: a 2009 draftee, potentially
Depth: Joey Graham, maybe
Thoughts: The cupboard’s bare here, but Bryan Colangelo wants to keep Marion. If Matrix doesn’t want to stay, then he’ll be signed and traded, perhaps for a ‘2′ or a ‘3′. As for Joey, he’s worth keeping as a bench guy who can play anywhere from ‘2′ to ‘4′. This could afford the Raps flexibility to draft a project like Austin Daye with a later pick.

Shooting Guards
Starting: Carlos Delfino, likely
Backup: 2009 draftee, um, conceivably
Depth: Quincy Douby (unguaranteed)
Thoughts: Delfino seems to fit well into this starting lineup, with three offensive components (Bargnani, Bosh and Jose Calderon) complemented by two defensive ones (Marion, Delfino). That means we need some offense in the backup spot.  DeMar DeRozan? Gerald Henderson? I’m starting to think Tyreke Evans is too ball-dominant to be an NBA SG.

Point Guards
Starting: Jose Calderon
Backup: Anthony Parker?
Depth: Roko Ukic, Marcus Banks
Thoughts: Is AP, a 34-year-old swingman who’s noticeably slowing, the best choice for backup PG? Would an Anthony Johnson (pick one) be better? And can B.C. convince a G.M. to take “Hot Potato” Banks in exchange for a draft pick? We are, after all, at 17 players on the roster at this point, although we can always drop Douby and P.O.B.

So, if Colangelo’s apparent Plan A works out, the lineup would be:

C: Bargnani / Nesterovic / Jawai
PF: Bosh / Evans / Humphries
SF: Marion / Graham / Daye
SG: Delfino / Henderson / Parker
PG: Calderon / Ukic / Banks

Doesn’t that look nice in Raptor colours?

Got some trade, draft or free agent ideas? Got an answer to one of my many questions? Comment below.