By RaptorTalk


Andrea Bargnani now has a fellow Italian national team member to introduce to his favorite restaurants in Toronto’s Little Italy.

In one of the oddest moves of the off season, the Raptors acquired Marco Belinelli for Devean George and cash. While it was understood that the Warriors placed Anthony Morrow ahead of Belinelli on the depth chart, it is still a mystery that they would literally give him away to Toronto for next to nothing.

Of course, because of the Bargnani and Belinelli connection - rumors that Sportitalia will carry all Raptors games live back to Italy have already surfaced. 


       

Something for nothing

Beat writer Tim Kawakami had this to say about the Raptors/Warrior deal in his San Jose Mercury News blog:

” … Even I didn’t imagine Nelson/Riley would give away Belinelli to Toronto for something as meager as George, who I know fairly well since I covered him his rookie year with the Lakers and have watched him fairly closely in the many years since.

This is just a dump. A we-don’t-know-what-to-do-with-this-talented-player dump. A terrible, misguided, noxious dump by a team now run by an erratic, tired coach and a GM who does his bidding.”

It certainly seems that the Raptors were the beneficiaries of a questionable roster move by Golden State. It makes me wonder why the Warriors backed out at the last minute on a trade deadline deal last February which had Joey Graham and his expiring contract heading to the Bay Area for Belinelli - yet now accepted a scrub in Devean George for Belinelli a mere five months later?

That was a strange situation back in February. Apparently Belinelli was so convinced that he would be a Raptor in a deadline deal that he was cleaning out his Bay Area apartment and telling all his friends he was heading north to Canada. Then suddenly, the deal was off.


A solid reasonably priced asset

Am I expecting Marco to become a superstar or even a starter? No. But he has the potential to provide some legitimate depth at shooting guard and become a solid rotation contributor.

At 6’5” and 200 lbs. he’s a very good passer and a solid offensive performer. Even though his minutes were inconsistent due to coach Nellie’s volatile behavior, when Marco was given regular minutes he performed very well. He also has good range from outside, shooting close to 40% from beyond the arc.

No doubt, Marco has an upside being that he’s only 23 years of age. Plus, he’s an affordable piece which is very important in the new salary cap era. Belinelli earns a mere $1,547,640 this season and there’s a team option at $2,372,542 for next season.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Bryan Colangelo exercised Marco’s team option for 2010-11 before the October 31st deadline. Locking up a young talent like Belinelli for $2.3 million for an additional year is a great move, even before he plays his first official regular season game in a Raptor uniform. The Raps can watch him in the preseason and if they like what they see - extend Marco immediately.


Belinelli vs. Kapono

Oddly enough, Marco Belinelli and Jason Kapono had remarkably similar stat lines last season:

Bellinelli: 21 mpg, 8.9 PPG, .442 FG%, .397 3P%, .769 FT%, 1.7 RPG, 2.1 APG

Kapono: 23 mpg, 8.2 PPG, .432 FG%, .428 3P%, .810 FT%, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG


Now Kapono was a rotation player for the Raptors and in a way, Belinelli could be a more than adequate replacement. Marco actually outscored Kapono in fewer minutes played on a per game basis. Here's where Belinelli is an upgrade over Kapono:

First, he’s 5 years younger and more mobile than Jason. Second, he’s paid about one third of Kapono’s salary, yet he delivers about the same production levels on the court. Third, he’s better defensively than Kapono (and so are 90% of the players in the NBA so we can't get too carried away here). Jack Armstrong noted in a Raps/Warriors game last year that Belinelli was a better overall player than any perimeter player the Raptors had in uniform that night.

Best of all, Marco has an upside and the potential to improve his game in ways that Kapono doesn’t have.

The Kapono comparison is important because it tempers expectations as to what Marco brings to the Raptors. He is a solid contributor, but Raptor fans shouldn't look at him as the second coming. He will provide instant offence off the bench and provide a solid back up to DeMar DeRozan.

On the other hand and by all accounts, Golden State was not a great personal situation for Belinelli who never clicked with Coach Nelson. Based on the fact that European players are more comfortable in Toronto and that the Raptors have a group of six Euros - Marco should fit in well.

Hopefully, Marco Belinelli and Coaches Triano and Ivaronni can work together and bring out the best in the newest Raptor - both offensively and defensively.

This kid should be a keeper if the Raptors staff develop him properly.