It sounds like Barbosa wanted to be a Raptor long term

[Apollo]

"(Leandro) was drafted by Brian Colangelo and they are very close since 2003," Arturo said. "He would like to be with the Raptors because he had confidence that the team could have a reaction and then go to playoffs." Twitter

Source: Hoopshype.com

[CalgaryRapsFan]

If other teams think/know that Barbosa is likely to return to Toronto in the offseason, it makes sense why they were unwilling to give up anything other than a late 2nd round pick for him, especially without being able to dump any salary on us.

[Nilanka]

Colangelo basically wished Barbosa well, in hopes that he has a strong run to end this season, ensuring a healthy contract results. If Colangelo has plans of bringing back Barbosa, a strong final 20 games will only raise Barbosa's price tag for Colangelo.

[Apollo]

Right and he also said he wanted to make way for Forbes' and Bayless' official "auditions" for next year. If Bayless doesn't make a large impact he's done. Forbes doesn't have as much pressure to make the roster because he doesn't have a $4M qualifying offer but Forbes can't hope to make the impact of Barbosa.

[ReubenJRD]

I really like Forbes' game. Really steady player, he deserves time for sure. Solid player on both ends of the floor, he's got good, quick defensive hands too. Bayless I hope can continue these streak of good games, and I hope he can make better decisions down the stretch of games.

I really do hope Barbosa comes back for next season.

[ebrian]

What kind of "reaction" was Arturo talking about? Like a chemical reaction? Explosionzz!

[Apollo]

Must be a typo. He might have meant "rebuild". Hard to say.

[ceez]

holla @ u later barbosa, all the best

(please don't resign him, BC)

[Nilanka]

I can't say I'd be against the idea of bringing Barbosa back, assuming the rest of the roster's needs are addressed first. I don't think "bench scoring" is as high on the priority list as other needs, going into this summer.

[tucas]

If Valanciunas comes over next season and we draft a good SF(MKG,Barnes) I'm all for bringing him back but like Nilanka said I'd wanna adress our other needs first.

[slaw]

I can't say I'd be against the idea of bringing Barbosa back, assuming the rest of the roster's needs are addressed first. I don't think "bench scoring" is as high on the priority list as other needs, going into this summer.

Assuming JV and a SF in the draft, I'd rather they use their financial flexibility to somehow find a starting SG before looking for a backup SG cause they already have 2 of those in Derozan and Bayless. Not sure Raps need a third one.

[Nilanka]

Assuming JV and a SF in the draft, I'd rather they use their financial flexibility to somehow find a starting SG before looking for a backup SG cause they already have 2 of those in Derozan and Bayless. Not sure Raps need a third one.

Let's pray Bayless isn't part of the 2012-13 Raptors...

[enlightenment]

hahaha if we sign him back in the summer we might as well have just hoodwinked a 2nd round pick and a 7.3mil TPE out of Indiana! BC literally would've created something out of nothing. Higgs Boson Colangelo much?

[ScottBaird]

I can't say I'd be against the idea of bringing Barbosa back, assuming the rest of the roster's needs are addressed first. I don't think "bench scoring" is as high on the priority list as other needs, going into this summer.

Perhaps not, but it's our bench scoring that has kept us in quite a few games this year, and Barbosa is the main reason that's happened. Our starters have probably had the worst first quarters I've ever seen.

Since the talent level of our starting five isn't as high as other teams, bench scoring is a definite need. The best teams in this league are about depth.

[Red and White]

Perhaps not, but it's our bench scoring that has kept us in quite a few games this year, and Barbosa is the main reason that's happened. Our starters have probably had the worst first quarters I've ever seen.

Since the talent level of our starting five isn't as high as other teams, bench scoring is a definite need. The best teams in this league are about depth.

I think you would want to address the talent of the starting five before the talent of the bench. If Barbosa plays well to finish off the season there is no doubt he would want more money (especially in the Raptors situation where he proved his worth in the system already). Why spend money where it is not needed as of now? There are some clear problems like the PG position in the future, the SF position in the future, the log jam at PF (too much depth). To be honest, I think we have a Barbosa like spark already in Bayless. If we draft well and grab a PG (while not likely) there would be no point in having Bosa and Bayless with other talent already. Now whether you want Bayless is another discussion.

[ReubenJRD]

I think you would want to address the talent of the starting five before the talent of the bench. If Barbosa plays well to finish off the season there is no doubt he would want more money (especially in the Raptors situation where he proved his worth in the system already). Why spend money where it is not needed as of now? There are some clear problems like the PG position in the future, the SF position in the future, the log jam at PF (too much depth). To be honest, I think we have a Barbosa like spark already in Bayless. If we draft well and grab a PG (while not likely) there would be no point in having Bosa and Bayless with other talent already. Now whether you want Bayless is another discussion.

+1 Except I don't think you can ever have too much depth in ANY team. It would be nice if all 12 guys played and contributed.

[LBF]

I really like Forbes' game. Really steady player, he deserves time for sure. Solid player on both ends of the floor, he's got good, quick defensive hands too. Bayless I hope can continue these streak of good games, and I hope he can make better decisions down the stretch of games.

I really do hope Barbosa comes back for next season.

one of forbes kleiza amir has to go soon. if the intention is to keep bargnani around til at least the final year of his contract.

unless the plan is to get rid of davis.

[Apollo]

If they want to keep Kleiza then Amir should be traded. Actually at this point I'm thinking Kleiza should stay and one of Ed or Amir should be used to upgrade another position. Kleiza can come off the bench in either forward spot and do a solid job. That versatility can be over looked and underrated. I know I've been guilty as charged.

As for Barbosa, I've been thinking about this. I don't think he gets a better offer than full MLE. To put that in perspective Bayless' qualifying offer is $4M... Give me Barbosa anyday. I don't think he'll be back though. Colangelo wouldn't have moved if he felt Barbosa was part of the long term plan because instead of being focused on talking himself into Bayless' stupid qualifying offer he'd be focused on tinkering with different things in a Barbosa led second unit.

[Matt52]

If they want to keep Kleiza then Amir should be traded. Actually at this point I'm thinking Kleiza should stay and one of Ed or Amir should be used to upgrade another position. Kleiza can come off the bench in either forward spot and do a solid job. That versatility can be over looked and underrated. I know I've been guilty as charged.

As for Barbosa, I've been thinking about this. I don't think he gets a better offer than full MLE. To put that in perspective Bayless' qualifying offer is $4M... Give me Barbosa anyday. I don't think he'll be back though. Colangelo wouldn't have moved if he felt Barbosa was part of the long term plan because instead of being focused on talking himself into Bayless' stupid qualifying offer he'd be focused on tinkering with different things in a Barbosa led second unit.

I'm not sure what to think about Barbosa. Like I said in the 'hitting the ground running' thread, if the Raptors make a trade which adds significant salary prior to July 1st, they will go in to free agency armed with their exceptions. Without this trade, Colangelo loses significant flexibility in orchestrating a trade prior to July 1st.

If Colangelo only has the desire and, more importantly, the ability to spend up to $5M on Barbosa over 3 years (full MLE), then that is not a bad thing in my opinion. Given LB's age and production, a larger or longer contract would be a mistake.

[Apollo]

Who's honestly giving Barbosa more than full MLE at this stage in the game? For the teams who can, this is a deep FA class and Barbosa is way down the list if you're ranking options. For those who can't, a lot of these teams are trying to get under tax or avoid tax. I honestly think you'll see less money spent this summer overall.