In a conversation with reporters in the wake of the Rudy Gay deal, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo made some interesting remarks about Andrea Bargnani, his once prized draft pick whose been rumored to be on the trading block for months (courtesy of the Toronto Sun):
NBA trade rumors: Andrea Bargnani may be next to go in Toronto
After acquiring Rudy Gay on Wednesday, the Raptors are making noises about moving their former No. 1 overall pick as they continue to re-shuffle their roster.
Eric P. Mull-US PRESSWIRE
“Andrea is a player that has definitely garnered interest. Unfortunately when he gets hurt that takes him off the market,” Colangelo said. “That’s not to say we’re going to trade Andrea ... He’s a unique talent, but sometimes a change of address is not bad. I’m not saying he’s asked for a trade, but he would certainly not fight or resist a situation if it was the right situation.”
While Bargnani’s ability to score the ball has never been in question, his commitment to every other part of the game has been. He’s averaging 16 points and 4 rebounds a game on 40/32/83 shooting this year, but the Raptors have been a significantly better team without him in the line-up.
The acquisition of Gay moves them dangerously close to luxury tax territory, which is not somewhere you want to be when you are an under .500 team.
RaptorsHQ, SB Nation’s Raptors blog, has more on how the Gay deal affects the franchise moving forward.
However, with so many teams worried about the looming luxury tax, moving Bargnani’s massive deal won’t be easy. He’s owed $33 million over the next two seasons and very few teams are going to want to pay that type of money for a guy with a PER of 12.4.
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