The deal is done, Belinelli for George

For almost a year, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo has been chasing guard Marco Belinelli of the Golden State Warriors.

He got him.

A conference call to confirm the deal is scheduled for late Thursday morning as the Raptors have traded Devean George and “a little bit of cash” to Golden State for the 6-5 guard from Italy.

We’ll have more on this in the morning, and its implications on the possible signing of free agent Carlos Delfino but the deal provides the kind of shooting off the bench and depth the Raptors covet.

Belinelli averaged 8.9 points and 2.1 assists per game with the Warriors last season. The 23-year-old is comfortable playing both guard position spots and has been a target of Colangelo’s for a year.

Comments

[Tim W.]

What?!?! I know Golden State is jam packed with SG's, but are they drunk?? THAT'S the best you could get for Belinelli? Are you kidding me? That's ridiculous.

And for those questioning the trade from the Raptors viewpoint, you're as nuts as Golden State. It's a GIFT, and you're questioning whether it matches the drapes. Who cares! Colangelo can pick up a veteran SF for the minimum that is as good as George is. You DO NOT pass up a chance to trade a 30 year old bench player whose best years are well behind him for a 23 year old, athletic, good shooting SG who has the potential to be a starter in the league because you'll lose Devean George as your backup SF.

I have to agree with those that say that the writing is on the wall for Delfino, who apparently overplayed his hand. No point in giving him all that money, now, especially when with only one roster spot left and a glaring need for a backup SF.

Glancing at who's left, I wouldn't be surprised if Joey Graham ends up back in town. He very well might be one of the better SF's available that the Raptors could afford, and he knows the system. Unless Colangelo can somehow convince Linas Kleiza to come to Toronto for the veteran's minimum. Considering what he's pulled off so far this summer, I wouldn't be completely shocked if he did.

[Garth Smith]

Good work Colangelo! If the ultimate goal is to gather talent I think it is going well. George would likely have played little and Bellineli will likely play some good minutes. Great move! The only worry is the sf position.
Do you think that tax issues for the following season and Delfino's slowed negotiations will mean a 3 will come from a veteran minimum deal? If so, what are the options?

[Wei Jei]

Doug ever since the departure of the 'Oak', we all know the Raptors have been a soft team. Last year, the raps needed more toughness and someone who could break down and slash past defenders. Overall, when you take into account the age difference and potential, Belinelli > George. But do the raps need another Kapono 2.0? This season has a lot of promise because of all the changes, but it sounds like a familiar tune is being played out yet again. That is, chalk up another season of a re-outfitted team who relies on their jump shot and is too soft to be anything more than the first round of playoffs. Will Evans, DeRozan, Jack, and Wright be enough? I don't think so, but I hope they prove me wrong.

[Stefano Vranca]

this is just great news....Belinelli adds a capable scorer and ball handler at the 2. He has uge upside. D. George is not a big loss...it must have been very easy for BC to pull the trigger on this trade. Great job. I am impressed.

[chattagooch]

this one goes out to mark. please keep trade situations believable. why on gods green earth would the hornets trade a proven playoff performer for a bunch of scrubs that may never amount to anything? i believe they're still in 'win-now' mode with the okafor signing. but even if they weren't. banks is totally useless with an awful contract and neither ukic or belinelli have shown any signs of being able to compete on a nightly basis in the nba. if the hornets gm made that move he deserves to be fired. immediately

[Mando]

Not bad for what you called dog days for bball, just this morning! :-)

[Eric]

This trade is incredible from a talent point of view. George wasn't going to play much. In my opinion it's also good from the money standpoint- I'm glad Colangelo kept his word to use money gained from past transactions. Wasn't just talk.

But at the end of the day, I have no idea where this team is headed. This trade pokes yet another (albeit small) hole in an already weak defense and the rebounding and toughness is not addressed. Belinelli is less useful for this roster than he would be for some others. I fail to see why Colangelo stresses more three-pt shooting when that was one of the teams downfalls the last two seasons. Odd logic. He's got to explain that one for me.

But it also gives Bargnani a fellow countryman, and that may help pull him out of his shell. Maybe that's what drives this trade. It can't be a bad thing. Bargnani is a sociol outsider and maybe this move can make him comfortble- which is the only thing keeping him from being a dominent force...... or even an effective pro at all.

[PEMAC]

Have we got any exceptions or similar free-agent signing flexibility left? Or are any future acquisitions going to have to be sign-and-trades involving Delfino/other trades?

Blogger's note: As documented, the have Bird rights to Delfino and minimum salary contracts left

[steele]

huge steal for the raps...beli can do a bit of a lot of things, and is one of the better passing 2 guards in the league and fun as hell to watch. warriors offseason trades: crawford and belinelli for speedy claxton, acie law, and devean george...all on their way out of the league...

[Darren Abel]

Doug, I'm just wondering about the financial implications of this deal. George's contract was up after next year giving the Raps some flexibility for 2010. What did Belinelli have left on his deal with GS? It does seem like the Delfino deal is dead. Is there a veteran 3 out there who may accept the veteran's minimum who may not provide a lot of offense but would provide some good D for the Raps?

[Martin]

Good move by BC. Bellineli adds more shooting and scoring off the bench. The only drawback is Bellineli hasn't shown he can defend. Delfino would have provided the same qualitites, plus defence, but as it stands now, signing Delfino is a no go. Overall, still a solid move by BC.

[Imran Pirani]

Who cares about defense, lets just outscore everyone. The run and gun has come north of the boarder!

[Thane]

Excellent. I was worried about only having five people who could play PG.

[Bill]

DeMar is listed at 6'7", he might see some time at SF as well.

[Anwar]

Love this offseason and have been patiently waiting for Delfina to sign, but now I really feel we need a backup SF/PF that is a good rebounder.

[Wayne]

More good news really can't see Delfino coming back for just a year even at 5 mil(never say never). This was a low cost pick up a player who will be very motivated to prove people wrong plus has a lot of Delfino's skill set. This team should able to score enough, can it defend enough to win in the east?

[brad]

This is a crazy trade to wake up to, had to keep double checking b/c it doesn't seem legitimate, like someone making an annoying trade suggestion b/c its seems so obviously one-sided.

Even if Bellini does nothing other than copy the 9pts a game he scored last yr, this is a steal. If he does anything more it's grand larceny!

[brad]

If they run with a bench of Jack-Bellini-Wright-Evans-Rasho they'll have a second unit that started 155 games last year for other teams (53-23-53-7-19). That's pretty impressive, that's even a decent starting line-up for a non-playoff team.

I guess the question with such bench depth now, will be if the starting lineup is good enough to compete with the best in the league? I really want Jay Triano to excel this year, but having to spread out the minutes for 10 legitimate starters will be a challenge for sure. But if he can effectively use this depth, it'll take pressure off the starting lineup and the Rap's could do great things this year!

[Kevin A.]

I thought you were going to get some vacation??

Blogger's note: Soon, my good man. Soon

[Matt Kovacs-age 12]

Hey doug. Man BC is amazing and golden state are boneheads. I wake up and when I see this entry
on my I pod touch I wake up completly. But Doug is this the end of Delfino?

Blogger's note: Could very well be

[Chris]

Lets turn this team completely international.

PG - Jose Calderon
SG - Marco Belinelli
SF - Hedo Turkoglu
PF - Andrea Bargnani
C - Rasho Nesterovic

[Joe]

Wow, another nice move. Lineup now looks like:
C: Andrea, Rasho, O'Bryant
PF: Bosh, Evans
SF: Turkoglu
SG: Wright, DeRozan, Belinelli, Douby, Banks
PG: Calderon, Jack, Ukic
Next step is to try to move Banks/Ukic for depth at the SF/PF spot, preferably guys that can defend. There are enough scorers already. We really need some veterans with playoff experience who are good defenders (ie Posey from the Hornets) Any of these guys available?

Blogger's note: I don't know, but I doubt it

[Leroy]

Interesting move. Btw Doug, is the organization thinks DeMar Derozan play at the 3 spot rather than 4 spot now? Only that, will make Derozan will have more playing time.

Blogger's note: Ah,, DeRozan's a two, who can perhaps play some three

[plusgroove]

I think BC has made outstanding moves. Making sure that Plan B, C, and D are in place in case Bosh decides to relocate. I think they need one more bruiser on the roster in case Evans goes down or needs help.

[Mohammed Jamal]

Uh oh, things are not looking good for Delfino, who I'd much rather have over Belinelli.

And now we have Belinelli, Wright, DeRozan, and Jack at the two, which can't be good for DeRozan's development.

This has gotta mean that Wright is also going to be traded. We need some small forwards!