Hedo Turkoglu traded to..

[mjs43 20]

"With the anchor of a relatively slow but effective offence now gone, the emphasis is shifting to speed and athleticism, two attributes addressed in the latest summer transaction.

The long-anticipated trade that sent Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns for guard Leandro Barbosa was finally consummated Wednesday night, fulfilling president and general manager Bryan Colangelo’s desire to build a team around speed and versatility.

“His speed, quickness and scoring ability will mesh well with our desired playing style and talented young athletes,” Colangelo said in a news release announcing the transaction. “With the departure of Chris Bosh now real, this trade fits well with our plan of adding talent to the roster while establishing future salary cap flexibility.”

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

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 healthy, the 6-2, 202-pounder 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, a high-tempo offence.

“Leandro Barbosa is a player I’m quite familiar with and I’m very pleased that he is coming to Toronto,” said Colangelo, who originally obtained Barbosa from the San Antonio Spurs after he was selected 28th overall in the 2003 NBA draft.

The Raptors seem intent on building a roster around players capable of playing multiple positions in the absence of Bosh, who was the team’s anchor for almost his entire seven-year Toronto career.

Barbosa is able to play both guard spots — he’s more comfortable and has been more successful as a shooting guard rather than a point guard as his career progressed — but the Raptors hope he fits well with the young, athletic wings DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems.

The re-signing of free-agent big man Amir Johnson and the drafting of the sleek 6-11 Ed Davis is another step in reshaping the team’s offence.

Linas Kleiza, the free agent who is expected to receive clearance to sign officially with Toronto later this week, is another multi-dimensional player who is able to exploit various mismatches at both forward spots.

Andrea Bargnani will be asked to play both frontcourt positions at times, giving coach Jay Triano a variety of looks he can employ.

However, none of the players under contract can be described as anything close to an all-star and Triano is going to have to coax scoring out of a bunch of players rather than count on one to carry the team nightly.

Barbosa, a native of Sao Paolo, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Suns. He 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.

The move saves the Raptors money in the long term. Barbosa has two years and about $14.7 million (all figures U.S.) left on his deal while Turkoglu has four years and more than $40 million left. Jones has a non-guaranteed deal at the league minimum.

Turkoglu’s departure signals the end of a failed attempt to integrate the 31-year-old into a significant role with the Raptors. He lurched from controversy to controversy in his one year in Toronto, averaging 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 30.7 minutes in 74 games.

“After much fanfare and high expectations, things just didn’t seem to work out here for Turk,” Colangelo said in the release. “I’m certain he will move on and contribute great things to Phoenix. We wish him well.”

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/n...al-finally-done

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So Hedo who did nothing and was overpaid in Toronto for one season is out the door to Phoenix.Leandro Barbaso should be able to help the raptors this season so I like this trade.

[Jimmy]

See... This is why people shouldn't sign a player because they had 1 good year, like Hedo. He was a MAJOR part of our offense when he was with Orlando, and then Toronto jumped at the chance to grab him. If you think about it, he was only good because of a few things. People were always double teaming Howard, that usually freed up another player. Lewis could also shoot the 3, and still can, which is why people concentrated more of Lewis which opened up Hedo. Then Nelson was able to drive and shoot and he was fast, and was able to pass it out.

Hedo was good because he was in the right kind of offense and around the right people to make him successful. This is why teams shouldn't just jump at the chance to sign a player because he had 1 good year...

[mjs43 20]

exactly. It was a dumb signing by toronto. He fit into the magic's offence not the raptors. They tried to change the way he played completely. His public image fell apart, he didnt perform and now he his gone. Raptors GM Brian Colangelo is lucky to get rid of that huge salary Hedo had after such a bad season