After All That it Looks Like Marion is Our Man.

I’m going to keep this short because it’s not official yet, but it seems like Marion is close to signing with Toronto through the ‘12/’13 season. Rumors in Toronto were ablaze just 2 days ago: first it was Marion, then David Lee, then an offer to Turk for $60 mill, then back to Lee and Ariza, and now today it seems like we have come full circle. Rumors have surfaced that Colangelo is nearing a deal with Shawn Marion worth a reported $32-$34 million for 4 years.

First things first: the latest word is that the three-year, $21-million deal that has been speculated as the Raptors’ offer for Shawn Marion might be a bit light, I’m hearing. Think four years and north of $32-million; maybe as much as $34-million.

- Michael Grange (Globe and Mail) through JE Skeets of BDL.

Thats an average of $8 million over a year which is higher than previously thought, for 4 seasons which is a year longer than previously thought. That actually changes alot in my thoughts about the Ariza, Turkoglu, Marion discussion. At the previously reported amount I was much more inclined to resign Marion for $6-7 million a season for 3 season than sign Turkoglu for $10 million a season for 5 seasons because it gave the Raptors more flexibility to sign more players. But at $8 million a year I would almost rather have Turkoglu.

So until this is official I will be hoping that the figures being reported are a tad bit steeper than they actually will be. Once the news hits that this is official we will let you know the figures, and give you a break down of how it affects the rest of the free agent period for the Raptors.

In other news the Raptors are close to bringing back Carlos Delfino, their backup shooting guard from 2 seasons ago. Delfino would be a nice addition to the Raptors. With DeRozan now a Toronto Raptor we need a veteran guard to start until he is ready to take over and someone who can shoot from distance, while not great he shot .382 from three in ‘07/’08.

- KC Roberts