Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 4:20pm

KNICKS BRING IN BARGNANI FROM RAPTORS

The New York Knicks acquired power forward Andrea Bargnani from the Toronto Raptors for small forward Steve Novak, center Marcus Camby, swingman Quentin Richardson, a first-round pick in 2016, and second-round picks in 2014 and 2017.

What does it give the New York Knicks
Adding Bargnani is an interesting (and very expensive) gamble by the Knicks. They clearly want more scoring options up front, and Bargnani can definitely score. That said, it will be surprising if 'Il Mago' becomes a regular starter for New York, since he is an awful rebounder for a 7-footer and not much of a defensive force in general. Paying over $22 million over the next two seasons for a sixth man type is beyond pricey, but the Knicks are obviously looking to win a championship and saw a chance here to add a unique player. Bargnani is an upgrade to Novak as a perimeter forward off the pine, and aging vets Camby and Richardson (who gets a sign-and-trade deal in this transaction) weren't key pieces.

What does it give the Toronto Raptors
As the first move in the tenure of new GM Masai Ujiri this is a strong one. While Novak, Camby, and Richardson probably won't help Toronto much (and it'll be surprising if the latter two stick around long on the Raptors), getting a future first-round pick while dumping massive salary by moving Bargnani really helps right now and in the future. This trade also symbolically cuts ties with the reign of ousted GM Bryan Colangelo, who drafted Bargnani No. 1 overall in 2006. Ujiri seems intent on lowering payroll while he builds around promising second-year center {P Jonas Valanciunas}.

Fantasy impact
The arrival of Bargnani in New York doesn't help his fantasy value at all, since he looks likely to go from his longtime starter status to more of a sixth man. His arrival in Gotham does probably hurt {P Amar'e Stoudemire}'s already-declining fantasy value, however. In Toronto this trade is great news for {P Amir Johnson}, who should probably get the first chance to hold down the starting power forward job. Raptors newcomer {P Tyler Hansbrough} also likely gets a boost from the departure of Bargnani.