Reports are swirling that new Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri has made his first major splash in the NBA trade market. He has shipped Italian forward Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks.
According to the New York Times, the trade would see Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, and a future first round and second round pick head from New York to Toronto.
Bargnani had a really rough season in 2012-13, as the former first overall pick was plagued with injuries, and did not play well when he did hit the floor, scoring just 12.7 points per game and picking up just 3.5 rebounds per game. This is down from his career averages of 15.2 and 4.8.
Bargnani is owed close to $23 million over the next two years, and has only managed to appear in a total of 66 games over the last two seasons due to injury.
Camby was originally drafted 2nd overall by the Torotno Raptors in 1996. At 38 years old, he may not have much left in the tank. It looks like he is merely a contract going to Toronto in order to make this deal work.
Novak is a backup power forward who scored 6.6 points per game, and 1.9 Rebounds per game in just over 20 minutes of playing time per game with the Knicks. He appears to be another contract dump, but may have some value to the Raptors off the bench.
The real prizes to this trade are the draft picks, and while many Raptors fans and analysts were willing to trade Bargnani and his contract for a handful of magic beans, getting a real return for him will gain Ujiri major credibility in the Toronto market.
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