Linas Kleiza Has Microfracture Surgery, Done For Rest Of Raptors’ Season

Still a restricted free agent last summer, Kleiza signed an offer sheet with the Raptors, and Denver chose not to match. The deal was worth $18 million over four years, with Kleiza earning $5 million this season.

Perhaps most unfortunate about Kleiza’s long recovery is that his home nation of Lithuania is hosting the FIBA European Championship (known colliquially as Eurobasket) in August and September 2011. Spots in the 2012 London Olympic tournament are up for grabs, and though the Lithuanians have a cadre of powerful young big men rising through their program, Kleiza remains the team’s most explosive weapon. Kleiza will miss Eurobasket, a proud moment in his country’s basketball history. That’s got to be devastating.