Raptors Trade Belinelli To Hornets For Julian Wright

[mo-sales]

Julian Wright is a stud, I used to bounce around Halifax trying to find a bar that would show his games when he was at Kansas. He has been at the top of the list of guys I've wanted the raps to pursue. Buried in NO in a similar fashion to Amir in Detroit, he has never gotten the opportunity or reps to showcase his skills.

He is the future starting SF for the raps. I could not be more ecstatic about a seemingly meaningless trade. He still needs a fair bit of work since he has spent most of his short career wasting away on the bench, but hopefully the young gunz take him under thier wing and he starts getting with the program.

I actually like Beli, but he become redundant once the raps got the blur.

[ezz_bee]

Coangelo hasn't been the best at landing big names but he seems to excel at getting players for nothing and then moving them when their stock is high for something better. Don't know anything about this guy but he looks like a fit.

[Marz]

I was one person pushing for a Collison trade and consistently got ragged on for my proposals, but I personally think some of the ideas I floated out there would have been as good or better a return for NO than Ariza, given his contract! Ariza for Collison & Posey??? That's it? I assumed NO would insist on a team taking Okafor as well, rather than Posey! WOW!

Um, what exactly were your proposals? Because New Orleans comes out very well in this deal. Being able to shed Posey's contract is huge. Maybe not as big as Okafor, but if they traded Okafor then Paul would get really pissed. And with the addition of Ariza, they have a legitimate (and young) starting SF with championship experience. All this for a bad contract and a young PG that played well for half a season.

[AllDayBreakfast]

Scouting report via http://www.nbadraft.net/players/julian-wright

Strengths: Can create mismatches all over the floor with his size and point guard skills, i.e. dribbling and passing. Can take bigger guys off the dribble and post up smaller players. Able to play the finesse game as well as be a bull in the post. Very tough minded, which is a misconception based upon his slight frame. Led the Jayhawks in rebounding his sophomore year by a wide margin with 7.8 per game, with the next highest total being 5.6 rpg. Improved in every statistical category his sophomore year besides blocks, which stayed on pace at 1.3 per game. A very hard worker, evidenced by his statistical climb from freshman to sophomore year and the noticeable improvement on his jumpshot. Capable of making eye popping plays either as a distributor, a finisher and also on the defensive end of the floor. A great personality in the locker room, any team looking to change the attitude in the locker room or strengthen team chemistry would be doing themselves a disservice by overlooking him. A player capable of filling up the stat sheet; Kirilenko-esque.

Weaknesses: First and foremost, his jumpshot. While it is undoubtedly improved, there is still much work to be done. With a reliable jumpshot that defenders would have to respect, the damage Julian could do to opposing defenses would jump tenfold. Also alarming is Julians performance at the 2007 combine where he came in 66th in total athleticism. Especially startling is his performance in the bench press drills where he could only lift the 185 pound bar twice. After two full years with a major collegiate teams strength program, one would think he would be able to lift more than two reps. Also, which position does Julian fit in the pros? He is a quick four? A big three? It would come down to team need I believe and offensive philosophy.

Conclusion: On the right team, Julians style of play could ignite a teams offense. His long arms, he measured in with a 72 wingspan and a 9 standing reach at the combine, allow his to play bigger than he really is and equip him to play frustrating on the ball defense. While his lack of strength might raise some red flags, it never seemed to be an issue while playing at Kansas, where he faced first class talent on an almost nightly basis. Patience is the key with Julian; once he figures out his role on the team and what he is capable of, and also if he is ever able to consistently knock down his outside jumpers, then the dividends of his game will unfold.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

Um, what exactly were your proposals? Because New Orleans comes out very well in this deal. Being able to shed Posey's contract is huge. Maybe not as big as Okafor, but if they traded Okafor then Paul would get really pissed. And with the addition of Ariza, they have a legitimate (and young) starting SF with championship experience. All this for a bad contract and a young PG that played well for half a season.

I'm just saying that I expected NO to get a lot more for Collison, either by means of additions to their teams (ie: players or draft picks) or subtraction (ie: Okafor's contract). I think Ariza will fit well, I am just surprised they couldn't get more than just him.

[mo-sales]

I'm just saying that I expected NO to get a lot more for Collison, either by means of additions to their teams (ie: players or draft picks) or subtraction (ie: Okafor's contract). I think Ariza will fit well, I am just surprised they couldn't get more than just him.

Okafor only has a bad contract if he is on a bad team. On a playoff team like NO is now, he has a good contract for a Center and provides everything you would want in a Center. They didn't want to trade him unless they were trading Paul. I don't know why it is so hard for some of you to understand. He had a bad year like every player in the NBA who signs a big contract and will likely return to form this year. They got Ariza who has a very nice contract, is a lights out defender, can hit the open 3, create for himself and finish in traffic. Does that sound like the kind of player Chris Paul would like to play with?

The icing on the cake is that NO now has the perfect player to defend against Kobe if NO should ever meet the lakers in the playoffs. NO gets an A+ for the trade which is just overshadowed by Indiana's A++.

[DanH]

Is that scouting report accurate? A 7'2" wingspan? That's gigantic for a SF!

[Marz]

I can't believe no one's asked this question yet: Does this mark the end of Andrea Bargnani?

[DAGman27]

Waiiiiit a sec. We traded for this guy?

[sleepz]

I can't believe no one's asked this question yet: Does this mark the end of Andrea Bargnani?

I don't think so.

It might serve to light a fire underneath him but I don't think BC is ready to pull the plug on Andrea. That being said it would be very interesting to know the type of offers there are out there for Bargnani as Colangelo has gone on record (which means very little coming from him) saying that he is the player most teams ask about.

[Apollo]

If Colangelo ever wanted to deal Bargnani it would be next summer because this would be his showcase season; heavy minutes and lots of shots.

[RaptorRoo]

Bargnani is not going anywhere, he was here long before Belli and will be here long after...Wright has a huge upside and will be better utilized here, especially with the youth movement direction of the franchise.

[LBF]

Waiiiiit a sec. We traded for this guy?

nooooooo!!!!!!!

man, i didn't know that was him, simply a face to palm.

[heinz57]

Waiiiiit a sec. We traded for this guy?

ahahahahahahahahhaa delfino might get ousted as worst open dunk misser ever.. lol

[ceez]

everyone misses dunks and of course it looks bad, relax.