Contract That Will Be Bought Out. Numbers Game Look Optiuni

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The Toronto Raptors got a couple of pieces from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a veteran with a contract that will be bought out. Numbers Game looks at the deal that brings Lou Williams to the Raptors. The Raptors Get: SG Lou Williams and C Lucas Nogueira. Williams, 27, has been a productive scoring guard off the bench for much of his career, but he struggled last season, posting his worst Player Efficiency Rating (PER of 14.24) since his rookie season of 2005-2006. Williams shot 40.0% from the field, including 342% on threes, his worst in both categories since 2008-2009, so hes not exactly at peak value. Three times in his career, including in 2012-2013, Williams has averaged better than 14 points per game, yet hes come off the bench in 500 of his 554 career games. Hes a perimeter player who is taking fewer two-point shots. Last season, Williams took 4.3 twos per game, compared to 3.9 threes and his 3.0 free-throw attempts per game was his lowest since 2006-2007; these are signs of a player who isnt getting to the rim. Defensively, Williams is below average; a shooting guard in a point guards body, he doesnt have the physique to handle stronger guards, nor the height to deal with bigger guards. Williams does have quickness and can use that to his advantage but hes consistently rated as a subpar defender. Despite those limitations, Williams can be a useful second-team gunner and theres room for that in the Raptors rotation. Williams is going into the final year of a contract that pays him $5.45-million in 2014-2015. Taken with the 16th pick in last summers draft, Lucas Nogueira is a skinny 7-footer who, as might be expected, has potential as a shot blocker, but the Brazilian they call "Bebe" is considered raw, not unlike the Raptors first-round pick in this summers draft, Bruno Caboclo, who also happens to be Brazilian. Playing in Spain for Estudiantes last season, Nogueira put up 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in 16.0 minutes per game. He turns 22 this summer and could still use time to develop, but is a nice upside play for the Raptors. Nogueira has a contract with Estudiantes that runs through next season, so that will give him additional time to round out his game before worrying about how he might fit into the Raptors plans. The Hawks Get: SF John Salmons. Salmons is a 34-year-old swingman whose best days are well behind him. He hasnt shot 40% from the field in the past two seasons, and shot a career-low 36.3% from the field last season on his way to scoring 5.2 points per game, his fewest since 2004-2005. Hes showing the wear and tear of playing 874 career games. Salmons can still knock down a three, but hes no longer quick enough to get to the basket, nor is he quick enough to defend wings effectively. This could very well be the end of the line for Salmons. The value to the Hawks is that Salmons has a $7-million contract that only requires a $1-million buyout, leaving the Hawks with lots of room to maneuver as the NBA free agent market gets into full swing. Carmelo Anthony, Luol Deng and Lance Stephenson could be among the more appealing wings that the Hawks may try to lure with more than %15-million in salary cap space. This is a case where the Hawks got what they were after, increased cap space, and the Raptors got a few assets in return for providing it. Williams offers some immediate help, and is a trade chip with an expiring contract if the season goes awry, while Nogueira presents some upside for the long run. As it stands today, the Raptors are a better team for having made this trade. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Authentic Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . -- Chris Crawford hit a 3-pointer with 1:36 left to put Memphis ahead to stay, and the 21st-ranked Tigers beat seventh-ranked Louisville 72-66 Saturday, sweeping the season series from the Cardinals. Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys Outlet . The Reds will host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in the opener of a four-game series at Great American Ball Park, and the debut matchup will feature a pair of pitchers whose recent resumes have included a fair number of bases-clearing hits. http://www.jaguarscheap.com/ . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. Wholesale Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . Szabados joined the Southern Professional Hockey League team last week. The 27-year-old goaltender from Edmonton backstopped the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold Feb. Stitched Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore.TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Lightning were impressive at both ends during a dominant second period.Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist during Tampa Bays three-goal second period, Ben Bishop made 13 saves, and the Lightning beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-0 on Thursday night.We were just rolling, Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.Radko Gudas, Brenden Morrow, Jason Garrison and Brett Connolly had the other Tampa Bay goals. The Eastern Conference-leading Lightning improved to 5-0-1 in the last six games, with lone loss in a 2-1 shootout defeat at Buffalo on Tuesday.Buffalo, which had won six of seven, went 22 1/2 minutes without a shot during one stretch before Rasmus Ristolainen got one with 3:41 left in the second.We just lost track of what we have to do in order to be successful, Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. We stopped hitting, we stopped skating, just doing a lot of pirouettes in centre ice, and it got away from us in that second period.The Sabres, last in the Atlantic Division, are 1-13-1 when the opponent scores first, and are pointless when trailing after the first (0-10-0) and second (0-12-0) periods.After Stamkos was left alone near the post and scored his 16th goal of the season off a pass from Ryan Callahan at 4:28 of the second, Morrow made it 3-0 from in-close 71 seconds later.The Lightning went up 4-0 on Garrisons goal with 6:20 left in the period.It was one of the better weve played this year, Stamkos said.Biishop made a nice save on Zemgus Girgensons late in the second.dddddddddddd.It was a good team win, Bishop said. A full 60 minutes.Gudas opened the scoring 2:33 into the game when his long-range shot got past Jhonas Enroth.Enroth was credited with a save on Tyler Johnsons shot during a 2-on-none that hit the post in the final minute of the first. He finished with 30 saves.There were three scrums through the midway point of the third that resulted in four fighting majors and six 10-minute misconducts. Stamkos was given minor penalties for slashing and roughing during the first.At least we showed some fight in the third, Nolan said. The first was OK and the second was awful. In the third, at least we battled back a little.Connolly had a late third-period power-play goal. Stamkos got his second assist of the game on it.NOTES: Bishop is 5-0-1 against the Sabres. ... This was Bishops first shutout this season and ninth overall. ... Buffalo C Cody McCormick was back in the lineup after missing four games with a concussion. ... Tampa Bay C Tyler Johnson had an assist to extend his point streak to five games (five assists, seven points). .... Sabres RW Drew Stafford missed his third game due to a lower body injury but could be back this weekend. ... Buffalo D Tyson Strachan was minus-4. ... There was a video tribute and a moment of silence before the game for Montreal great Jean Beliveau, who died this week. 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