Leandro Barbosa to the Raptors; Turkoglu to Suns; Bobcats deal dead….for now

The Toronto Raptors have done the impossible. With one swoop the Raptors have both got rid of Hedo and his ugly contract and acquired some much needed back court scoring.

The Raptors have traded Hedo Turkoglu for Leandro Barbosa, Dwayne Jones and a portion of the trade exception from the Amare deal.

The Toronto Raptors have landed Leandro Barbosa, 6th man extraordinaire from the Phoenix Suns.  The Suns are perpetually in cost-cutting mode with their thrifty owner and Barbosa became expendable this summer as J-Rich has found his groove and now that Dragic has stepped up his game.

Barbosa was a good investment as a 6th man, but as a pure SG backup playing behind a 30 minute per game player he made little sense to carry into the 10-11 campaign.

Barbosa is an ideal fit for the Raptors who are in need of some back court scoring as well as a competent 6th man.  Barbosa is also a capable starter at SG, his best position but can also play some backup point guard if needed.

The Raptors had been searching since the draft for a player similar to the Brazilian Blur, a potent back court scorer capable of starting or backing up the 1 or the 2; lucky for us we addressed both needs in one player.

Barbosa is a player who is capable of averaging 17 points per game given the requisite shots and minutes, but as stated above has really thrived in a 6th man role for the Suns where his speed and skill are more accentuated.

Barbosa is a good pickup and he will provide quality minutes backing up the 2 and the 1.

Barbosa is an excellent player who has had some brilliant career highs such spread across different games such as 41 points, 11 free throws made, 8 three-pointers made, 12 assists, 2 blocks, 6 steals and 10 rebounds.

Kudos to Colangelo for landing such a potent back court weapon as Barbosa.

Bobcats deal

The rumoured Bobcats deal is now dead in the water and Jose Calderon is unfortunately still a Raptors as Charlotte Bobcats G.M Michael Jordan had second thoughts about giving up Chandler as the team will sorely lack big men upon the departure of both Diaw and Chandler.

But no worries, Calderon is still a valuable piece and this deal may get revisited after Larry Brown talks to MJ.  Barbosa was the most important piece in any of the rumoured deals, and ridding ourselves of Turkoglu was a top priority.  Colangelo will work with his magic with or without the Bobcats.

Update: Chandler has been traded to the Mavericks and thus the rumoured machination is officially dead with no chance of resuscitation.

Raju Byfield is a Senior Sports Writer for Raptors Digest.

Raju Byfield also writes for Win My Fantasy League as a Senior Sports Writer/Fantasy Sports Analyst.