Off Topic » should flirt with the luxury tax this coming

TORONTO - In a trade intended to maximize the value of a player, and contract, already on the way out, the Toronto Raptors swapped the partially guaranteed deal of veteran forward John Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Lou Williams and seven-foot prospect Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, the team announced Monday evening. Toronto will also send a 2015 second-round pick to Atlanta in the deal. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri had been shopping Salmons and his cap-friendly contract through last weeks draft, hoping to turn him into an asset that can help the team next season. The 34-year-old can be bought out of the $7 million hes owed in 2014-15, the final year of his deal, for just $1 million if hes waived prior to Monday evening. Toronto was planing to cut Salmons prior to that deadline if a suitable trade could not be found. The Hawks are sure to do the same, saving $6 million in the process and adding to the cap space theyll have at their disposal this summer. Entering the final year of a reasonable contract that will pay him just south of $5.5 million next season, Williams is a low-risk gamble for the Raptors, hoping to add depth and scoring off their bench. One of the NBAs premier reserves when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, the 27-year-old Williams has struggled to regain his form following surgery to repair a torn ACL in 2013. Williams averaged a career-best 14.9 points in his seventh and final campaign with the 76ers before signing with the Hawks as a free agent in 2012, sustaining the injury midway through his initial season in Atlanta. The nine-year vet appeared in 60 games last year, recording 10.4 points, his lowest mark since 2006-07. Another year removed from serious knee surgery, the hope for Toronto is that the 6-foot-2 combo guard can provide instant offence off the bench and bolster the teams depleted second unit. The Raptors ranked 27th in bench scoring a year ago. Although the acquisition of Williams shouldnt impact the future of soon-to-be free agent Kyle Lowry, as hes not considered to be a true point guard, the versatile scorer gives Toronto another option in the backcourt if Lowry or last years backup Greivis Vasquez are not retained. The move jives with Ujiris repeated philosophy of winning now while continuing to accumulate assets and build for the future. Although the Raptors should flirt with the luxury tax this coming season, assuming they re-sign Lowry, Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, they were not expected to be big players in this offseasons free agent market anyway and with Williams contract set to expire theyll still have significant cap space to work with in the summer of 2015. Ujiri had targeted Nogueira, an intriguing Brazilian prospect, in the 2013 draft but was unable to obtain a pick. Nogueira was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics and flipped to the Hawks before spending last season in the Spanish ACB League. The 21-year-old has one year left on his contract in Spain and its unknown whether hell be permitted to join his countrymen Bruno Caboclo in Toronto this season. Like Caboclo, Nogueira is very raw offensively and needs to get stronger to compete in the NBA but he has strong potential as a shot blocker, addressing one of the Raptors primary needs. Salmons was acquired from Sacramento in Decembers seven-player trade involving Rudy Gay, averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 60 with the Raptors. The 12-year vet was a big part of Torontos initial post-trade success and became a fixture in Dwane Caseys rotation thanks to his defence and leadership. He struggled with a lingering back ailment and inconsistent shooting late in the season and fell out of favour as the Raptors made their playoff run in April. Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough had a similar clause in his contract, permitting Toronto to waive him for $1 million this weekend. However, they opted to pick up their team option and keep him around for the final year of his deal, which will pay him roughly $3.3 million in 2014-15. If waived, the savings on Hansbroughs deal would have been minimal, as they would have used the bulk of it to pay a replacement. The 28-year-old averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first year with the Raptors, seeing decreased playing after the arrival of Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. He figures to return as the fourth or fifth big man in Caseys rotation. Balenciaga Shoes Cheap Womens . 25 against Miami. Hillis left Browns Stadium about two hours before kickoff, a decision that has led to speculation he was upset over ongoing negotiations with the club on a contract extension. Cheap Wholesale Balenciaga . Those cheers seemed more special this time because the captains run on Broadway could soon be over. The adoration surely sounded much nicer to Callahan than all the recent trade talk. http://www.wholesalebalenciaga.com/. JOHNS, N. Cheap Balenciaga Shoes China . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived. Balenciaga Shoes Wholesale China . Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3.Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Devin Booker scored 19 points and top-ranked Kentucky put on a defensive clinic in an 83-42 obliteration of UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. The Wildcats opened the game on a 24-0 run and allowed just three field goals on 37 shots from the Bruins in the first half en route to building a startling 41-7 lead at the break. The seven points were the lowest total in a half in UCLAs storied history and the fewest Kentucky has permitted in a period since 1943. UCLA finished a miserable 25.4 percent from the field and 1-of-4 from the foul line, committed 15 turnovers and had 13 shots rejected by the Wildcats suffocating defense. Aaron Harrison chipped in 15 points and Andrew Harrison dished out eight assists to help Kentucky (12-0) dominate from start-to-finish. Bryce Alford finished with 13 points and Isaac Hamilton had 12 for UCLA (8-4), though neither scored during the Bruins humiliating opening half. Final Score: (4) Louisville 76, Western Kentucky 67 Bowling Green, KY (SportsNetwork.com) - Terry Rozier had 32 points and three steals in the fourth-ranked Louisville Cardinals 76-67 victory over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday. The game almost got ugly with 38.7 seconds left before the half. After a post-rebound scrum, Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell tried to throw a punch at Western Kentucky guard Avery Patterson. Shortly after, head coaches Rick Pitino and Ray Harper were both given technicals for jawing with each other. Harrell, who had 14 points and six rebounds, was ejected from the game. He will be suspended for Tuesdays game against Cal State-Northridge. Chris Jones added 10 points for the Cardinals (10-0), who survived their first true road test of the 2014-15 campaign. T.J. Price ended with 24 points and seven rebounds for the Hilltoppers (5-5), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. DJ Clayton tallied 14 points. Final Score: (7) Villanova 82, Syracuse 77 (OT) Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Villanova erased a five-point deficit over the final 17 seconds of regulation and the seventh-ranked Wildcats eventually prevailed, 82-77, in overtime over Syracuse at Wells Fargo Center. With 11 seconds left in the second half, Josh Hart hit a 3-pointer to bring Villanova (11-0) within 69-67 and after stealing the inbounds pass the following possessioon, Jayvaughn Pinkstons layup tied the game with four seconds left.dddddddddddd. Pinkston led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds and Darrun Hilliard added 23 points. Harts 21-point game was a career high. Once leading by as many as 15 points, the Orange (6-4) could not put the hosts away. Rakeem Christmas and Michael Gbinije each paced Syracuse with 18 points before fouling out in overtime. Final Score: (10) Kansas 96, Lafayette 69 Lawrence, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Kelly Oubre Jr. gave 23 points and 10 rebounds as No. 10 Kansas crushed Lafayette, 96-69, on Saturday. Frank Mason III had 14 points and nine assists and Wayne Selden Jr. added 12 points and six assists for the Jayhawks (9-1), who have won eight straight since a loss to Kentucky on Nov. 18. Seth Hinrichs had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Leopards (7-3), who had a four-game winning streak stopped. Dan Trist gave 12 points in the loss. Final Score: (24) North Carolina 82, (12) Ohio State 74 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Brice Johnson had 18 points and nine rebounds in the 24th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels 82-74 victory over the 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at the United Center. Marcus Paige added 16 points for the Tar Heels (8-3), who have won two in a row since a loss at top-ranked Kentucky on Dec. 13. Justin Jackson tallied 11 points. Marc Loving ended with 19 points for the Buckeyes (9-2), who had a four-game winning streak snapped. Sam Thompson contributed 17 points. Final Score: Indiana 82, (23) Butler 73 Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Yogi Ferrell scored all 20 of his points in the second half, helping Indiana gain some long-awaited revenge on Butler with an 82-73 victory over the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Troy Williams tied a career high with 22 points and pulled down a personal-best 11 rebounds to aid Indianas cause in the first meeting between the in-state rivals since Butler stunned the then top-ranked Hoosiers in overtime in Indianapolis during December of 2012. The outcome also was a special one for Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean, who garnered his 300th career win. Butler (8-3) received 23 points from Kellen Dunham and 14 out of Andrew Chrabascz, but struggled offensively for a second straight game. ' ' '