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Well!
UPDATE: Knicks and Raptors have agreed to deal to send Bargnani to New York. Awaiting league approval.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) June 30, 2013
Adrian Wojnarowski:
The Knicks will send their 2016 first-round pick to the Raptors, and a package that includes Marcus Camby and Steve Novak, league sources said.
The Knicks will also send two future second-round picks to Toronto, sources said.
Ohhhhh man now it's THREE picks.
So, just to semi-reiterate: Bargnani has been quite a bad player (when healthy, that is!) for some time now. He's supposed to be a shooter, but hasn't even shot well in recent years. I, however, think he has enough potential to turn things around in a new city that I'd be okay with the Knicks trading Novak and Camby for him. That'd actually hasten the expiration date on their fat salary situation (Novak's contract goes all the way into 2015-2016, Bargnani's expires the previous year). It'd be a weird but interesting lateral move.
Losing draft picks suuuuucks, though. Denver has swap rights on that 2016 pick, so it probably isn't going to be a good one. Still, first-rounders are super valuable to a team as inflexible as the Knicks. I was grumpy when I saw New York would be including that pick and a second-rounder. The 2016 pick and TWO second-rounders is just rude. The Knicks looooove giving up picks.
I also have no idea what the Knicks would do with Andrea Bargnani. If he plays like he has the last couple years (in between injuries in a city that hated him, I should add), he won't be useful at all. If he can actually hit shots and not totally ruin lineups on defense...I still don't know where he fits with Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony already demanding minutes. Like, he's not gonna start, is he? Right? That would move Melo to the three, which would upset me. Are there more moves to be made?
So, yeah. Bargnani, until proven otherwise, is a bad player. I happen to think there's some chance he'll prove otherwise, so I'm fine with exporting Novak's contract and Camby's contract for him. The Knicks should really, really not have to part with draft picks for a player like Andrea Bargnani, though. Definitely not a first-rounder (no matter how low that pick's gonna be), and definitely not three picks in total. They are giving up too much.
"Barn-yar-nee", though.
Update:
Raptors getting NY's 2016 first; 2017 2nd and 2014 2nd via OKC; no word on protection on first. Deal is all but done. Bye-bye Bargi
— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) June 30, 2013
Update:
Andrea Bargnani's contract includes a trade kicker.
— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) June 30, 2013
Update:
Well this is interesting. Just told deal won't happen tonight and will have to be reconstructed.
— Steve Popper (@StevePopper) July 1, 2013