Things move fast on the free agency rumor wire.
It was just this morning when the Clippers were said to be involved in trade talks with the Raptors to deal for Andrea Bargnani, but as it turned out, the Knicks are the team that has acquired his services.
From Howard Beck of the New York Times:[T]he Knicks are closing in on a deal to acquire Andrea Bargnani, the Toronto Raptors’ jump-shooting 7-footer, according to a person involved in the talks.
The Knicks are offering a package built around Marcus Camby, Steve Novak and two future draft picks, one in the first round and one in the second. Several teams have pursued Bargnani, but the Knicks have emerged as the “strong favorites” to land him, and a handshake deal could come soon, the person said.
The Times updated the initial report to say that the trade has been agreed upon by the two teams, and is awaiting approval from the league office.
The future first round pick is the painful part of this deal for the Knicks, even though Bargnani -- with his remaining salary and recent injury history -- is an underwhelming free agent choice in and of itself.
While the teams may have changed since this morning, the facts on Bargnani have not. He is owed close to $23 million over the next two years, and has only managed to appear in a total of 66 games over the last two seasons due to injury.
It’s worth noting that the reigning Executive of the Year in Masai Ujiri just took over the operations in Toronto, and the fact that he may be able to squeeze draft picks out of anyone for an albatross like Bargnani should be commended -- but it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.
