Bargnani asks for warm climate, better role … if he’s not a Raptor

Asked in a feature interview where he’d like to play if he could rub a magic lamp and transport himself to another NBA city, Bargnani told Italy’s Sky Sports: “I want to stay in Toronto, at least this is the politically correct answer. If (I am) to go somewhere else, I’d like a warm climate city and a team where I can actually play in my role.”

Bargnani spoke those sentiments in Italian; the translation was provided by a trusted source, fluent in both Italian and English, and confirmed as accurate by the journalist who conducted the interview, Alessandro Mamoli.

In the wake of a season in which the Raptors quietly opened the door to the possibility of trading Bargnani, perhaps Bargnani can be forgiven for musing about the idea of leaving town.

Still, blue-skying sunnier climes, no matter the intention, isn’t exactly a recipe for Hogtown popularity.

And exactly where the shot-happy Roman would find a more desirable role than he currently enjoys — the Raptors, don't forget, allowed him to jack up 17.8 field-goal attempts a game this past season, second-most among NBA players who haven't made an all-star team — is anyone's guess.

While Mamoli said he doesn’ believe Bargnani’s comments should be interpreted as a hint that he wants out of Toronto — and while NBA sources say no trade request has been made — those words weren’t Bargnani’s only eyebrow-raising utterance of the past week.

Asked on the Sky Sports broadcast about Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo’s post-season assessment of his work, Bargnani replied: “(Colangelo) had some unfortunate and not very courageous comments about me ... The facts are there for everybody to see and judge.”

There’ve been other recent reports in the Italian press in which Bargnani has called Colangelo’s words “uncourageous” — if the 25-year-old was any kind of broadcast analyst, he might have leaned toward “dead-on” or “about time.”