Monday, July 19, 2010

Matt Barnes, Linas Kleiza Moving North of the Border

Matt Barnes has agreed to a 2-year, $10 million deal with Toronto. Additionally, the Denver Nuggets have chosen not to match the 4-year, $18.8 million offer sheet Linas Kleiza signed with the Raptors.

The Breakdown
After trading away Hedo Turkoglu to the Suns, the Raptors have picked up 2 players who can fill the void at SF. This looks like a situation where these 2 kill each other's value, as they'll both likely be splitting playing time right down the middle. The Raptors, though, have been a very high octane offensive team in recent years. That certainly plays into the style of Barnes, a slasher who made a name for himself in the Golden State and Phoenix's run-and-gun offenses, as well as Kleiza, who has deep range and put up some big games while in Denver.

As of now, I wouldn't recommend drafting either player in a standard league. We'll have to monitor training camp and preseason rotations to see if one of them gets the bulk of the playing time and whether they end up on the court together often, which is a strong possibility as well.

Right now, Toronto is one of the few teams where there are a lot of question marks as to who will be the major players in fantasy. Aside from Bargnani, every other position is up in the air. As a result, this is a team you'll want to watch closely during preseason play as any player who starts and plays major minutes in Toronto could be a great pick come draft time.

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