TORONTO, (Reuters) – There was plenty of construction  in and around the Air Canada Centre this summer as the home of  the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and the Maple Leafs from the NHL  underwent a spectacular multi-million dollar facelift.

But by far the most dramatic bit of team renovation was  carried out by Raptors’ dapper general manager Bryan Colangelo.
He effectively took a sledgehammer to his under-achieving  squad and embarked on the type of massive re-build not often  seen in professional sports.

All that remained was a cornerstone, two building blocks and  a blueprint.
When training camp opened earlier this month only three  players — Chris Bosh, Italian forward Andrea Bargnani and  Spanish guard Jose Calderon — had been in camp the year before.

But it is a sturdy foundation for Colangelo to build a  playoff-quality team.
“It was a radical makeover,” he conceded to reporters. “We  made the changes that we felt would make us a more competitive  basketball team.

“I’m not one to under-sell and over-deliver. I always try to  put a realistic view on things.”
He admitted changes made last year had failed.

“It didn’t work out, you can’t always be right and I’m going  to wear that on my resume,” said Colangelo.  “You look at the volume of change from where we were last  year in training camp and three guys remain. Those three guys  are going to be important parts.”