



by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Before things went completely sour, before the Toronto Raptors compiled a record of 4-19 (only topped by the incompetence in Washington), there was a sense of hope and promise.

Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talked about Andrea Bargnani possibly becoming an All-Star this season. Things haven’t quite worked out that way — the team has played an embarrassing brand of basketball, they’re riddled with nagging injuries, trade rumors are swirling, and the franchise player is depressed.

Andrea Bargnani, out indefinitely with a torn ligament in his right elbow and a strained right wrist, tells the Toronto Sun that he’s down in the dumps:

Andrea Bargnani has had the toughest start to a season of his NBA career. He’s not a happy camper these days, aware that he’ll have to miss weeks of action due to a torn ligament. The enigmatic Roman even used the word “depressed” to describe his current state of mind, though head coach Dwane Casey believed something might have been lost in translation.

Bargnani: “I’m very upset that it’s something very bad again (Bargnani missed most of the 2011-12 season due to injuries), kind of depressed,” Bargnani said before lightening up a bit. “It was a bad fall, could have been worse, could have broke some of my bones, my wrist, so I got lucky in certain ways, but it’s really bad. Bad moment, bad timing, everything.”

Casey said he would talk to Bargnani to make sure he isn’t actually depressed. “Down is OK, but depressed is pretty strong,” Casey said. “Nobody is happy about losing. I’m not happy. Fans are not happy. Players are not happy, but I’m not depressed. Depressed is when you’re looking at Christmas or whatever is coming up and you don’t have food for your kids and gifts for your kids. That’s depressed. We’re blessed.”

This is perhaps just a clumsy way for a very frustrated player to express himself — Bargnani has seen his numbers take a considerable dip across the board this season.

Toronto Raptors fans, though, likely aren’t exaggerating when they say that they’re depressed.

49