This Day In NBA Trades

It seems liked just a normal day with the NBA Deadline...

Chicago Bulls sends SF James Johnson to Toronto Raptors for a draft pick

New Jersey Nets sends PF Troy Murphy to Golden State Warriors for C Dan Gadzuric, PF Brandan Wright

then, a mega deal went down.

The Nets receive Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz for..
PF Derrick Favors, PG Devin Harris, New Jersey's 2011 1st Round Draft Pick, and Golden State's 1st Round Pick via New Jersey.

Obviously, more to come later.

Toronto Raptors Wallpapers

Toronto Raptors Wallpapers

Toronto Raptors Wallpapers

Toronto Raptors Wallpapers

The G(m) Spot: Raptors Sign Kapono

Free Agency = Love. Seriously, the free agent season in the NBA is one of my favorite times every year. So as the signings begin to roll in we'll examine them here in the G(m) Spot.


The Deal: Jason Kapono (formerly of the Heat) agrees to a 4 year, $24 million contract with the Toronto Raptors.

For the Raptors: The signing of Kapono could have number of ripple effects on the Raptors roster. Kapono provides the elite perimeter shooter that the Raptors have been missing, and his presence on the court will allow Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh a lot more space to operate down low. This signing along with the recent trade made by the Raptors for Carlos Delfino likely spells the end of Morris Peterson's tenure in Toronto. With Kapono and Delfino now on board joining Joey Graham, Jorge Garbajosa, and Anthony Parker at the swing spots there just don't seem to be enough minutes left to go around to justify Peterson staying with the team.

For the Heat: Although any team will miss a player that just finished a season where he shot 51% from behind the arc, the Heat's pick of Daequan Cook in the draft will certainly soften the blow. Cook can shoot, there is no questioning that fact. The most interesting effect that the loss of Kapono could have on the Heat's roster however, is that now Dorell Wright will have an opportunity to show if he was really worth a 1st round pick in 2004. Wright played about 20 MPG last season but should see that number go up to about 25-30 now that Kapono is headed out of town.

For Comparison: Lyle Overbay of the Toronto Blue Jays also signed a 4 year, $24 million contract in January.

Deal At Your Own Risk

Every once and a while there comes a time in sports when a GM just becomes too good at his job. When it happens, you are assured of two things. 1.) Every single one of their draft picks is somehow better than it looks, and 2.) If you make a trade with them, you are probably getting ripped off. Right now there are only two such GMs in all of sports. You can think of one easily, even if you aren't sure of his name. Scott Pioli, the Vice President - Player Personnel of the Patriots, has such a track record of excellence that even when he makes a seeming reach for a draft pick (Logan Mankins in the first round in 2005) the general reaction is not "Man, now that was a dumb move". No, the reaction is something more along the lines of "The Patriots drafted that guy? Ugh, how did we miss him?"

The other GM that has reached that level? None other than former Phoenix Suns GM and current Toronto Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo. Just think of all the moves he has made in the past few years that any other GM would have scoffed at. Signing Steve Nash to $65 million contract. Trading Joe Johnson for two first rounders and Boris Diaw, who at the time was considered a bust. Signing Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbosa for the Raptors. Trading big for small in the T.J. Ford/Charlie Villanueva trade. Very few if any of the other GMs in the league would have to had the guts to pull off even one of these deals, and yet Colangelo has come out on top every time. To put it simply: the man knows his stuff.

So why am I so interested in Bryan Colangelo today? Mainly because I saw this post on Need4Sheed earlier today. To summarize:

The Pistons made their first move of the off-season Friday, shipping Carlos Delfino to Toronto in exchange for second-round picks in the 2009 and 2011 NBA drafts.

So what has the 25 year old Delfino done in Detroit? In three years he has averaged 4.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in less than 15 minutes per game. So...why is Colangelo so high on him? Well, Delfino is best when driving to the basket, and his scoring mentality will fit in perfectly with the Raptors new mindset under Colangelo's watchful eye. Also, the trade probably spells the end of Morris Peterson's career in Toronto, as free agent's 20 minutes a night will likely go to Delfino. So essentially Colangelo was able to take a player that was withering away on Detroits bench for the price of two second rounders, and that player will allow the Raptors to save at least $2 million in cap space in replcing Peterson while being able to bring in a substantially younger player that better fits their system than Peterson did. A year from now, when Delfino is playing 23 minutes a night for the Raptors and playing effectively, everyone is going to turn to the Pistons and ask "How did you let this guy go?" The answer? They dared to deal with best.