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The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have acquired Jarrett Jack, David Anderson and Marcus Banks from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jerryd Bayless and Peja Stojakovic.
“We are excited about the players acquired today and feel that our short-term and long-term goals will benefit from this move,” said Hornets General Manager Dell Demps. “Peja has been a valued contributor as a Hornet for years and we wish both Peja and Jerryd all the best in their future and thank them for their recent contributions in helping us get off to a strong start.”
“Acquisition of another emerging talent and the creation of additional salary cap flexibility in the coming years were the key drivers in making this deal,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo. “Our plan of developing our existing young players and acquiring future assets remains our focus in retooling this Toronto basketball team.”
Anderson (6-11, 247) has appeared in 11 games for Toronto this season, averaging 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes of play. Originally a second-round draft choice (37th overall) in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks, his draft rights were traded to the Houston Rockets for cash and future considerations on August 12, 2009. The 30-year old played in 63 games for Houston last season before being traded in the offseason to Toronto, averaging 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds. The Australia native played 10 seasons in Europe before coming to the NBA. He played in Spain, Russia and Italy during his professional career, winning the Euroleague Championship in 2001, 2006 and 2008. He also played for Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.
Banks (6-2, 205), has appeared in 348 career games (37 starts) for Boston, Minnesota, Phoenix, Miami and Toronto with averages of 5.9 points and 2.1 assists in 16.0 minutes of play. The UNLV product has appeared in three games for the Raptors this season, averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 assists in 7.3 minutes of play. Banks was a first-round draft choice (13th overall) in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bayless (6-3, 200) was acquired by the Hornets on October 23, 2010 from Portland in exchange for a conditional, future first-round pick. He appeared in 11 games for New Orleans, averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 assists in 13.5 minutes of play. The Arizona product has appeared in 138 career games (11 starts), with averages of 6.6 points and 2.0 assists.
Bayless, 22, is in his third NBA campaign. He was selected 11th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. He is a career .820 per cent (297-362) free throw shooter. He netted a career-best 31 points in his first career start December 23, 2009 at San Antonio.
Bayless averaged 13.5 points, 3.8 assists and 27.7 minutes in six postseason outings with Portland last season. In 138 career games (11 starts), the former Arizona Wildcat has averaged 6.6 points, 2.0 assists and 15.3 minutes.
Stojakovic is in his 13th season in the NBA. The three-time All-Star has appeared in 777 regular season games and 76 postseason contests. He has averaged double figures in scoring in 11 of his 12 seasons, with a career-best 24.2 points in the 2003-04 season when he garnered second-team All-NBA honours.
Stojakovic played eight seasons with Sacramento (1998-2005), part of the 2005-06 season with Indiana and the past five campaigns with the Hornets (2006-2010). He owns a career regular season average of 17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 34.0 minutes. In postseason play, he has contributed an average of 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 36.3 minutes.
One of the top three-point shooters in league history, Stojakovic has placed in the Top 10 in made three-pointers four times and twice in three-point field goal percentage. In 2003-04, Stojakovic made a league-high 240 three-pointers and finished sixth with a .433 (240-of-554) three-point shooting percentage.
