Nets Deal Shengelia to the Bulls, Toronto Looks for Another Home Win Against the Lakers

With the weekend off, the Brooklyn Nets (16-22) remained in the news as they prepared to trade Tornike Shengelia to the Chicago Bulls (19-20) for Marquis Teague, reported CBSSports.com. In addition, the Nets are also getting rid of Tyshawn Taylor and some cash for a draft pick to the New Orleans Pelicans (15-24).

Tornike Shengelia

While the deal won’t be final for a few days, it didn’t stop Shengalia from tweeting on Saturday, ‘thankful for every given #opportunity.. Looking forward to meet #BullsNation ..’

So what does the trade mean? The Nets will add a 20-year-old player to their roster who has a 2.4 point average (24.2 percent shooting) over 19 games this season. He was a 2012 first-round pick; he also played in Iowa’s D-League.

The player will add point guard depth, joining Shaun Livingston and Deron Williams. William is currently undergoing therapy for bum ankles and has been on the bench since January 4.

Teague said of the trade via ESPN, “I didn’t always get the minutes and things like that. When the opportunity came sometimes I didn’t play as well as I probably should have. Things happen so I’m not worried about the past anymore. I’m just looking (towards) the future.”

As for the Bulls, Shengelia has played in 17 games this season, including 137 minutes of action. With the Nets’ roster, he was unlikely to see additional minutes any time soon.

By trading Teague, Chicago also got rid of the committed money to him through 2015 and will now look to D.J. August and Kirk Hinrich for the remainder of the season.

And finally with the Taylor deal, according to ESPN, it is “luxury-tax motivated”  and will add to the roster with an open spot, a future draft pick will supposedly come in the second round.

In the Nets most recent play, they defeated the Atlanta Hawks (20-19) on Thursday, 127-110. On Monday, they’ll play their rival, the New York Knicks (15-25) across town. The Nets sit at 50/1 to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

 Toronto vs. LA

On Sunday, the first-place Atlantic division team, the Toronto Raptors (20-18), will look to extend their home winning streak to seven when they host the Los Angeles Lakers (15-25) at noon.

Kyle Lowry

The Raptors can attribute some of their recent success to solid play by Kyle Lowry. He has been averaging 18.6 points per game and 8.1 assists dating back to Dec. 28 while the team has gone 8-3. He’s been hitting 3-pointers more than 50 percent of the time (36 for 71). This ranks him at No.2 for league guards with seven starts or more. For the season, he has a 3.43 assist-to-turnover ratio–also at the top of the NBA.

In Friday’s game, a 94-89 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves (19-21), Lowry scored 24 points, six assists and five rebounds. He had a season-high night with six 3-pointers. In his last game against the Lakers on Dec. 8, he had 23 points and eight assists.

He said of his recent play via ESPN, “I feel good. I’m just happy my team is winning, that’s all that matters.”

Toronto sits four games ahead of the Nets in the division and 100/1 to win the 2014 NBA Championship.

As for the Lakers, they’re in a slump: they’ve only won their second game out of 14 with a 107-104 victory over the Boston Celtics (14-27) on Friday. Their streak won’t continue as the Toronto gets the win on Sunday (-9, 204 o/u).

Taylor and Shengelia played sparingly for the Nets, often being shuttled between Brooklyn and the team’s D-League affiliate in Springfield, Mass.

The deals were earlier reported by Yahoo! Sports.

The Nets now have 14 players under contract. They received a $5.25 million Disabled Player Exception due to Brook Lopez‘s season-ending injury. This would seemingly make it easier for them to acquire a player with the exception, should they choose to do so.