Finally, a Raptor trade that goes through

It’s done.

No, seriously. It’s done.

Just got word that the league has signed off on the trade that will send Hedo Turkoglu from Toronto to Phoenix for Leandro Barbosa.

Dwayne Jones, a 6-11 centre who was the leading rebounder in D League last season before joining the Suns as a emergency backup when Robin Lopez was hurt, is also included in the trade.

It’s not big news, that’s for sure, since it’s been kicked around since Sunday night but as we saw with the aborted Toronto-Charlotte transaction, nothing is really done until it’s really done.

Barbosa struggled through a so-so 2009-10 season, missing almost two months with a wrist injury that finally required surgery in January.

He averaged 9.5 points and about 18 minutes a game as a backup. When fully healthy, the 6-2 202-pounter known as The Brazilian Blur because of his speed, has proved to a valuable backup combo guard and the Raptors hope he fits well into what they plan is a high-tempo offence.

Barbosa, a native of Sao Paolo, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Suns. He was the 28th overall pick in the 2003 draft – chosen by San Antonio and shipped to the Suns – and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2007. He’s averaged 12.6 points per game in 466 regular season games, shooting 47 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from three-point range.

Jones doesn’t seem to fit into any long-term Raptors plans and could well be waived. The 27-year-old, undrafted out of Saint Joseph’s in 2003, has bounced around the NBA, playing 82 games with Boston, Cleveland, Charlotte and Phoenix in five seasons.

Comments

[Manale]

Wake me in December when we really see what we have.

[mike emmanuel]

Doug, is that optimism I hear in your scribe in regards to the Barbossa deal? I keed, I keed.
hypothetically, if the team goes into the season with Jose, Jarred and LB who mans the helm? If LB spends time at both the 1 and 2 this year doesn't that create a bit of a glut at the guard spots?
Keep on typing good sir.

Mike Emmanuel

Blogger's note: I'd guess the same as the end of last year, Jose would start; but that's getting way ahead of ourselves

[DM]

Hello Doug,

I understand that as he was just traded, the Bobcats Dampier can not be traded for 60 days as part of a package deal, but could be individually...could the Raptors and Bobcats not still do the original deal and break it down into two seperate trades (substituting Dampier for the original piece in Chandler)?Thus they'd receive just Dampier in one trade (for Reggie, etc.), and then a 2nd trade with the other part of the original deal seeing Diaw traded for Calderon.

In your opinion, was it the roughly 13 million expiring contract that the Raptors were interested in with the Chandler portion of the deal or Chandler himself? Dampier would still allow Bargnani to move to the 4 next season, while still giving the Raps a big expiring contract for the end of the season or as a trade chip at the deadline.

Thanks for your feedback.

[João Meneses]

Doug it's São Paulo not Sao Paolo :)

[J]

DM:

Regardless of whether the trade works, Charlotte would make itself out to be an even bigger joke if it pulled what you suggest. Instead of trading Chandler and Diaw to Toronto directly for Calderon, Evans and Dwayne Jones, they'd be trading Chandler and Diaw effectively for Calderon, Evans, Dwayne Jones (?), Eduardo Najera and Matt Carroll. Pretty sure they wanted to save money, not that their Dallas trade actually saved any (it cost them ~$3.1 mil more in the long-term).

[Julien]

Hey Doug,

do you think we have anything that the Magic would like (Belinelli, Evans, TPE...) to get Marcin Gortat and/or Pietrus? Would you do the trade?

Have a nice day.

Blogger's note: Depends on the cost but I like both those guys; like Barnes better