Delfino to Toronto

[nbrans]

Pistons trade guard Delfino to Raptors for second-round picks

Associated Press

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons traded guard Carlos Delfino to the Toronto Raptors on Friday for second-round draft picks in 2009 and 2011.

"We appreciate everything Carlos did for us while he was here and we wish him all the best with Toronto," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said.

Delfino, from Argentina, was drafted 25th overall by Detroit in 2003, and averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 180 games with the Pistons.

During the 2006-07 regular season, the 6-foot-6 guard averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes while appearing in all 82 games. He played in all 16 of Detroit's playoff games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.4 minutes.

The 25-year-old player is set to make just over $1.8 million next season.
"Carlos is a talented basketball player that should thrive in our system," Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said. "Like many international players that come to the league, he has much more professional experience than his NBA resume suggests."

Delfino spent four seasons with Reggio Calabria (2000-02) and Skipper Bologna (2003-04) of the Italian league before joining the NBA. He was a member of Argentina's gold medal-winning team in the 2004 Olympics.

Detroit's other first-round pick in the 2003 draft was Darko Milicic, a 7-foot center from Serbia and Montenegro taken No. 2 overall behind Cleveland's LeBron James and ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Milicic appeared in 96 games over 2½ seasons before being traded to Orlando in February 2006.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2906026

 

[Bricklayer]

It will be interesting to see how far Chris Bosh and the Euro All-Stars will be able to finally advance.

 

[ParniValjak]

I think this is a prety good deal for the Raptors. Colangelo striking again!

 

[chrisnu]

Makes sense. The Pistons need to manage other key free agents first, and Delfino could help make up some of the offense lost by Mo Pete (who I imagine won't be rejoining Toronto).

 

[jacobdrj]

Why? What happened to Mo Pete?

 

[chrisnu]

Why? What happened to Mo Pete?

He struggled all season long, in a contract year, and lost his starting job to Anthony Parker. He's a free agent, and may want more playing time than what he's likely to get next season with Toronto.

 

[supamari0]

He struggled all season long, in a contract year, and lost his starting job to Anthony Parker. He's a free agent, and may want more playing time than what he's likely to get next season with Toronto.

No shame in losing your job to Anthony Parker. The guy is damn solid as a shooting guard and way above-average by NBA standards, that was just a genius Colangelo find.

As for Mo Pete, he's just getting old now. He can't play defense anymore, he's not quick enough to slash to the basket anymore, and thus all he can do is shoot three pointers.

Some team will give him an MLE and regret it.

 

[chrisnu]

What's funny is that Parker is actually older than Peterson.

 

[jacobdrj]

I suppose there is something to be said for 'tread'...

 

[twocents]

there is something iffy in delfino's attitude. he might be a decent player by all standards if he keeps his head in the game instead of sulking which seems to be what he is doing most of the time. the pistons are not really international friendly, so it can be sympathized to a certain extent but he will show what he is really made of playing for the raptors.

for the success of the raptors, there are still a few missing pieces; they are probably better off if they trade tj ford with a veteran with calderon starting. bosh has to mature and understand that scoring at the end is more important than keeping your scoring average high. bargnani has to mature fast. and garbajosa should get younger. actually, the raptors is probably a good fit for hedo; maybe trading tj with hedo and finding a veteran pg through some other trade...

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

What is Orlando going to do with Jameer Nelson if they trade Turkgolu for Ford?

Ford is a better player than Calderon, anyway; Calderon is a better shooter, but that's pretty much it.

 

[twocents]

What is Orlando going to do with Jameer Nelson if they trade Turkgolu for Ford?

Ford is a better player than Calderon, anyway; Calderon is a better shooter, but that's pretty much it.

i disagree on the second count. tj ford does not have bball iq, at least not enough of it to become a decent pg. calderon is more mature (relatively speaking, he himself is not quite mature either). the increase in his playing time during the playoff's is a testament to that, i think.

as for orlando, i am pretty sure they will part their ways more than willingly with nelson, should they acquire tj ford. the biggest problem for the magic was the lack of a true pg besides having an uncreative, rigid coach.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Okay, you lost me: Ford isn't good enough to play for Toronto, but he's good enough to play for Orlando? He's not as good as Calderon, but he's better than Nelson? Huh? How's that work?

 

[vytzka]

Okay, you lost me: Ford isn't good enough to play for Toronto, but he's good enough to play for Orlando? He's not as good as Calderon, but he's better than Nelson? Huh? How's that work?

One could state that if he believed Calderon was better than Nelson (I don't, for example).

 

[twocents]

One could state that if he believed Calderon was better than Nelson (I don't, for example).

that is precisely what i think. nelson does not know how to pass, cannot drive effectively because of his physical limitations and is generally quite poor when it comes to taking decisions in a very short time.

the only real minus of calderon i can see is he sometimes gets too excited and too confident of his own game that he makes some wild things, a la ginobili.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Sorry, Doctor. I watched a fair amount of Raptors games last season, and the season before as well, and I'm not seeing it. It's not like Calderon is the "Little Fundamental" out there; he's not Steve Nash waiting to get his shot. The only aspect of his game where it could be definitively said that he's actually better than Ford is his shooting. Statistically speaking, he has a higher assist-to-turnover ratio, but that's not all that hard to do when you don't play significant minutes against starters and the other guy does. But, aside from shooting, Ford's numbers are not only better across the board in-game, but they are also better per-48.

Calderon strikes me a guy that could start on a losing team, or be the backup on a playoff team, and it seems to me that both he and the Raptors are best served by him staying where he is.

 

[twocents]

Sorry, Doctor. I watched a fair amount of Raptors games last season, and the season before as well, and I'm not seeing it. It's not like Calderon is the "Little Fundamental" out there; he's not Steve Nash waiting to get his shot. The only aspect of his game where it could be definitively said that he's actually better than Ford is his shooting. Statistically speaking, he has a higher assist-to-turnover ratio, but that's not all that hard to do when you don't play significant minutes against starters and the other guy does. But, aside from shooting, Ford's numbers are not only better across the board in-game, but they are also better per-48.

Calderon strikes me a guy that could start on a losing team, or be the backup on a playoff team, and it seems to me that both he and the Raptors are best served by him staying where he is.

ok, if you insist on this and if you have watched a fair amount of games, i will give you the benefit of doubt (although i will be keeping the right to say "i told you so" if/when calderon plays the way i claim he does).