Colangelo addressed reporters yesterday for the first time since his team finished the season a disappointing 33-49 and 13th in the East, missing the playoffs for the first time in three years.

One of the biggest decisions facing the GM as the team heads into the off-season is the future of Triano, the Niagara Falls, Ont., native who took over on an interim basis when Sam Mitchell was fired 17 games into the season.

"I thought Jay did a very solid job under the circumstances, he never stopped coaching, he never stopped preparing,'' he said. "Coming out of all the player exit interviews, the players have a lot of respect for Jay, they respect his Basketball acumen, they respect his professionalism, they respect his means of communication, and they respect generally the way he leads this team.''

Colangelo says he's received calls from other coaches interested in the position, but he isn't sure he will interview anyone.

As for Bosh, Colangelo scoffed at suggestions the team should trade its captain simply because he'll become a free agent at the end of next season. "It would be foolish to decide to trade him because there's a possibility he might leave a year from now. Chris is still the best player on this team and thus will remain the cornerstone of the franchise until some other time when that decision is made.''

Colangelo plans to meet with the all-star forward and his agent this summer to discuss a contract extension. Bosh was noncommittal about his future with the team when he met with the media last week.

The GM had high hopes heading into the season, saying the team, on paper at least, was the best Raptors squad ever assembled. But the season quickly unravelled, with Colangelo calling Calderon's lingering hamstring injury the team's "biggest obstacle.''

"If there was a glaring weakness, it was the depth at the point guard spot. We simply did not put the experience behind Jose.''

The void at point guard came after Colangelo traded away T.J. Ford to Indiana for Jermaine O'Neal, a move that didn't pan out. O'Neal and Bosh never meshed and Colangelo sent the veteran forward to Miami in February for Shawn Marion.

Colangelo turned around a struggling franchise upon his arrival in Toronto in 2006, winning NBA executive of the year in 2007 after the team won its first division title. Three years later, on the heels of a horrible season, some fans are calling for his dismissal and the GM admitted the criticism hurts to hear. "It drives me,'' he said. "I should have thicker skin after all these years, but I wouldn't be human and I wouldn't have the same kind of passion if it didn't bother me. Take the good with the bad, there's moments when you're a genius and moments when you're a goat . . .''