Just a few weeks after acquiring veteran forward Devean George, the Toronto Raptors decided to use his expiring contract to further improve their roster. More specifically, General Manager Bryan Colangelo was able to work out a trade with the Golden State Warriors and will send George to Oakland in exchange for the Italian shooting guard Marco Belinelli.

On first glance the trade seems to be fairly one-sided with the Raptors getting the better end of the deal and the Warriors some cap relief next summer. However, one should also take into consideration that Golden State is one of the youngest teams in the NBA and could certainly benefit from more veteran leadership. Likewise, George has proven to be one of the better perimeter defenders in Dallas in the past and can be expected to improve the Warriors’ mediocre team defense. Although Devean George might not get to play heavy minutes, he could still be a valuable addition on and off the court. Last season, George averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in just 16.5 minutes per game. In contrast, Marco Belinelli seemed to be a promising young shooter until he was slowed down by injuries half way through the season. In 2008-09, Belinelli managed to put up 8.9 points, 2.1 assists and 1.7 rebounds in just over 21 minutes per contest. Considering that he still has plenty of time to elevate his game he might turn out to be a steal for the Toronto Raptors. In fact, the franchise may reconsider their initial plan to sign Carlos Delfino in order to gain more depth at the shooting guard position. Belinelli and Antoine Wright could turn out to be a functional tandem with rookie Demar DeRozan getting minutes as shooting guard and small forward backup.

In conclusion, the Warriors gave up a young player for a veteran and a payroll cut while Toronto gained another scorer. Even though Marco Belinelli is a better overall player than George, it remains to be seen how he fits into the Raptors’ current roster. With Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu all taking a lot of shots it might force the Italian guard into becoming a facilitator rather than a scorer.  

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