raptors trade the red rocket

[alien270]

matt bonner and Eric williams for rasho nesterovic of the spurs + cash

we take on a bigger uglier contract the spurs apparently are pickin up some of the $ owed to him... rasho is definetly a starting caliber centre in the east
probably the first true centre the raptors has had in a very long time.....

[pir2]

PLUS we don't have to watch Bonner try to drive the ball into the lane and have a turnover

I was a red rocket fan in his first year when all he did was shoot, but once he started trying to drive and dribble, i just got ugly and he couldn't even hit a 3.

[alien270]

i would blame my hate towards matt last year on sam mitchell..
mitchell overplayed him way too much
im just glad hes not here no more

[SW20 MR2]

I like Bonner's heart, but not his game. I like the deal. At the very least, Rasho is a serviceable centre, but I'm confident that he can start in the East.

[KaiShin]

Its a good deal for both sides. Bonner can stop trying to do too much and just catch and shoot, and will provide the Spurs with some needed scoring punch. Nesterovic will do fine in the east and probably welcomes the chance to be a starter.

This sets the Raps up nicely to deal their #1 pick for some depth, and draft a PG to fill out their starting 5.

[BladeNV]

Nice trade for the raps. How does this affect their salary cap?

This move will certainly please Bosh, which probably allows Coangelo to do whatever he wants with the draft pick, whether it be trading it away or picking a raw talent.

Honestly, I don't see any PG in the draft good enough right away to be in the starting lineup. Chris Paul is light years ahead of any PG available in this draft and as good as Felton and Deron Williams are, they didn't really pick up their game until after the break. Their starting pg should arrive through a trade.

Regardless, I am really looking forward to this year's squad and what other tricks are up Coangelo's sleeves.

[KaiShin]

Nesterovic is on the books for 7.3 this year, 7.8 next year, and 8.4 in his final year. Currently the Raps are at around 39m, roughly $14m under the cap. Still plenty of room if they want to deal for a starting PG, but I think its unlikely only because there aren't a ton of quality PGs that are on the block, and if you want one you're going to be coughing up a boatload of players and picks. However, I could see the Raps dealing their #1 for a veteran PG, dropping down and picking up a rookie PG via the draft. If that happens, I sure hope its Randy Foye.

I'm still sticking to my prediction that if the Raps keep the #1, they will draft Bargnani.