Not Quite Done Yet

Will he ever stop?

The mastermind of MLSE, Bryan Colangelo, is at it again. This time, he has done something that no GM has managed to do since the '05-'06 season: Deal Marcus Banks, without Shawn Marion.

The propsed deal would see highly paid benchwarmer, Marcus Banks dealt to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Matt Carroll. Coincidentally, the deal would re-unite him with - you guessed it - Shawn Marion, in Dallas. Banks, the 27 year-old native of Las Vegas, Nevada, was acquired in February along with Shawn Marion from the Miami Heat, in exchange for Jermaine O'Neal, and fan favourite Jamario Moon. Banks, a 6'2" point guard, was suffering from a knee injury and only appeared in 6 games in a Toronto uniform, averaging 2.3 PPG, 1.0 APG, and 0.5 RPG in 6.7 MPG. His career highs in all of those categories came in teh '05-'06 season, while Marcus played big minutes for 40 games while with the lacklustre Minnesota Timberwolves. In 30.7 MPG, Banks put up and average of 12 PPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.9 RPG. It was those type of numbers that lead Phoenix to offer him a 5 year, 21 million dollar contract.

Why it was deemed Matt Carroll deserved his current contract, is yet to be seen. The 28 year old native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania went undrafted out of Notre Dame, and was cut by many NBA teams before finding a name for himself in the Development League (NBDL). After averaging over 20 points a game with the Roanoke Dazzle, he caught the attention of the newly-formed Charlotte Bobcats, and was signed to a contract. After proving he can be a quality depth player in the '05-'06 season, Carroll started 47 out of 80 games in the '06-'07 season, and put up 12.1 PPG, 1.3 APG, and 2.9 RPG in an average of 26.7 minutes. The Bobcats found those numbers worthy of a 6 year, $27 million contract. At the deadline this season, they shipped that contract along with over to Dallas in exchange for DeSagana Diop. Carroll is about to enter the 3rd year in that top heavy contract, and he is on the books for a guarnteed $4.7 million, as opposed to Bank's $4.53 mil. Carroll's contract ends in the summer of 2013, and his yearly salary will be decreasing by $400,000 each year until then, ultimately becoming $3.5 million.

Analysis on this trade and how it effects the Raptors and shapes up their roster, coming soon. Thanks for reading! - Mr. Jonny C. (Raptors Guy#2)