TRADE ALERT - mcwu11's Blog - Operation Sports

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TRADE ALERT

Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:55 PM.

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In granting the desires of G Jose Calderon, the Toronto Raptors have traded G Jose Calderon, G/F Landry Fields and a 2013 1st round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for F Nicolas Batum and F Martell Webster.

Toronto receives:
F Nicolas Batum
F Martell Webster

Minnesota receives:
G Jose Calderon
G/F Landry Fields
2013 1st round pick

With a recent trade that brought in rookie G Tyshawn Taylor out of Kansas, this move made Calderon expendable by the Raptors. He has a very attractive expiring contract, especially with the upcoming free agency being so popular. The Raptors are able to add a good small forward with unlimited potential in F Nicolas Batum and a strong backup option with F Martell Webster. Hopefully the two will bring an intensity that will spark a fire in the heart of the Raptors and push for some more wins this season.

In Jose Calderon, the Minnesota Timberwolves get a good, solid point guard who can shoot and distribute the ball with excellent efficiency. That, and the fact that he and starting G Ricky Rubio have been teammates on the Spain national team makes the transaction so much more intriguing. Calderon has an expiring contract of around $10M and will be a big part of Minnesota's plans for the upcoming offseason. With G/F Landry Fields, they get a swingman with a variety of talents, with the ability to score, rebound, defend and distribute. In addition, the Raptors fully-guaranteed 1st round pick was the dagger to the deal as this allows the Timberwolves to, once again, add youth and talent to their squad.

The current Raptors roster is as follows:

Toronto Raptors Depth Chart - 2012-13
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
PG	Kyle Lowry	Tyshawn Taylor
SG	Demar Derozan	Martell Webster
SF	Nicolas Batum	Terrence Ross	James Johnson
PF	Andrea Bargnani	Amir Johnson	Quincy Acy
C	Jonas Valanciunas	Joel Przybilla

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In other news, the New Orleans Hornets have acquired G Marcus Thornton and a 2013 2nd round pick from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for F Carl Landry.

New Orleans receives:
G Marcus Thornton
2013 2nd round pick

Sacramento receives:
F Carl Landry

This seems to be a head-scratcher move for the Hornets, as they now have a huge logjam at the shooting guard position with G Eric Gordon, G Marco Belinelli, prospect G Xavier Henry, G Austin Rivers and now G Marcus Thornton. On the other hand, F Carl Landry's addition the the Sacramento Kings gives them an extremely talented inside scorer, able to relieve the offensive pressure from the likes of rookie F Thomas Robinson and C Demarcus Cousins.