TORONTO - In a trade intended to maximize the value of a player, and contract, already on the way out, the Toronto Raptors swapped the partially guaranteed deal of veteran forward John Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Lou Williams and seven-foot prospect Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, the team announced Monday evening. Matt Niskanen . Toronto will also send a 2015 second-round pick to Atlanta in the deal. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri had been shopping Salmons and his cap-friendly contract through last weeks draft, hoping to turn him into an asset that can help the team next season. The 34-year-old can be bought out of the $7 million hes owed in 2014-15, the final year of his deal, for just $1 million if hes waived prior to Monday evening. Toronto was planing to cut Salmons prior to that deadline if a suitable trade could not be found. The Hawks are sure to do the same, saving $6 million in the process and adding to the cap space theyll have at their disposal this summer. Entering the final year of a reasonable contract that will pay him just south of $5.5 million next season, Williams is a low-risk gamble for the Raptors, hoping to add depth and scoring off their bench. One of the NBAs premier reserves when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, the 27-year-old Williams has struggled to regain his form following surgery to repair a torn ACL in 2013. Williams averaged a career-best 14.9 points in his seventh and final campaign with the 76ers before signing with the Hawks as a free agent in 2012, sustaining the injury midway through his initial season in Atlanta. The nine-year vet appeared in 60 games last year, recording 10.4 points, his lowest mark since 2006-07. Another year removed from serious knee surgery, the hope for Toronto is that the 6-foot-2 combo guard can provide instant offence off the bench and bolster the teams depleted second unit. The Raptors ranked 27th in bench scoring a year ago. Although the acquisition of Williams shouldnt impact the future of soon-to-be free agent Kyle Lowry, as hes not considered to be a true point guard, the versatile scorer gives Toronto another option in the backcourt if Lowry or last years backup Greivis Vasquez are not retained. The move jives with Ujiris repeated philosophy of winning now while continuing to accumulate assets and build for the future. Although the Raptors should flirt with the luxury tax this coming season, assuming they re-sign Lowry, Vasquez and Patrick Patterson, they were not expected to be big players in this offseasons free agent market anyway and with Williams contract set to expire theyll still have significant cap space to work with in the summer of 2015. Ujiri had targeted Nogueira, an intriguing Brazilian prospect, in the 2013 draft but was unable to obtain a pick. Nogueira was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics and flipped to the Hawks before spending last season in the Spanish ACB League. The 21-year-old has one year left on his contract in Spain and its unknown whether hell be permitted to join his countrymen Bruno Caboclo in Toronto this season. Like Caboclo, Nogueira is very raw offensively and needs to get stronger to compete in the NBA but he has strong potential as a shot blocker, addressing one of the Raptors primary needs. Salmons was acquired from Sacramento in Decembers seven-player trade involving Rudy Gay, averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 60 with the Raptors. The 12-year vet was a big part of Torontos initial post-trade success and became a fixture in Dwane Caseys rotation thanks to his defence and leadership. He struggled with a lingering back ailment and inconsistent shooting late in the season and fell out of favour as the Raptors made their playoff run in April. Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough had a similar clause in his contract, permitting Toronto to waive him for $1 million this weekend. However, they opted to pick up their team option and keep him around for the final year of his deal, which will pay him roughly $3.3 million in 2014-15. If waived, the savings on Hansbroughs deal would have been minimal, as they would have used the bulk of it to pay a replacement. The 28-year-old averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first year with the Raptors, seeing decreased playing after the arrival of Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. He figures to return as the fourth or fifth big man in Caseys rotation. Justin Peters . </br></br> Apparently this took place at a soccer stadium for a club match in Brazil. John Carlson Capitals Jersey . Poyets immediate challenge is to produce Sunderlands first victory in the league, with the northeast club bottom with just one point from seven matches. "Trust me, believe, connect with the team," Poyet said after signing a two-year contract. BARCELONA, Spain -- Lionel Messi scored a double to lead Barcelona to a comfortable 3-0 win over Racing Santander on Saturday, while fellow Argentine international Gonzalo Higuain netted a hat trick in Real Madrids 4-1 win over Real Betis. Madrid had provisionally moved ahead of its fierce rivals, but Messi kept the defending champions top of the standings and a point ahead of Madrid with a goal in each half while Xavi Hernandez added another in Barcelonas third straight win. Surprise pacesetter Levante can draw level with Barcelona with a victory over Malaga on Sunday. With 196 goals for Barcelona in all competitions, Messi moved past Laszlo Kubala (194) into sole possession of second place on the club career scoring list, behind only Cesar Rodriguez (235). "The only thing I have to do is give him a shirt with the No. 10 on the back and send him out to play," Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said about Messi, who has 16 goals in 12 games overall this season and leads the Spanish league with 10 goals-- two more than Higuain. Also Saturday, three of Spains "second tier" teams all failed to win. Valencia was held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca, Villarreal drew 0-0 at Getafe as both teams continue to disappoint, and Atletico Madrid failed to score for the third straight game as it finished 0-0 at Granada. As was expected against a team that had only won twice ever at Camp Nou stadium, Barcelona dominated Racing from the start, although the European champions had to cope with the early exit of defender Gerard Pique, who walked off with an injury to his right thigh. Pique had only recently returned from a muscle injury in his left leg and Barcelona is already without new signings Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez due to muscle tears. Andres Iniesta, himself just back from a leg injury, cued Barcelonas 11th-minute opener when he slid the ball over for Messi to shed two defenders and bring the goalkeeper to the ground with a feint before rolling home. The Racing defence scrambled to deny Messi moments later but did not nothing to stop Xavi from charging into the area to head Pedro Rodriguezs cross into the back of the net in the 27th. In the second half, Racing appeared more concerned with not receivinng a thrashing than scoring, but Messi was well-placed to volley in a rebound of a strike by Iniesta in the 68th. Marcus Johansson Capitals Jersey. "We figured out how to get ahead in the first half and that helped us the rest of the way," said Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, whose team has outscored its league opponents at Camp Nou this season 21-0. In the Spanish capital, Higuain scored his third hat trick in 14 days after trebles for Madrid against Espanyol and for Argentina against Chile. Following an evenly matched first half, Madrid brushed Betis aside after Higuain broke through less than a minute into the second half. Marcelo caught the Betis defence flat-footed with a long pass over the top that Cristiano Ronaldo chased down inside the area and laid on for Higuain to tap home. Once ahead, Madrid rolled. Kaka extended the lead in the 59th with a trademark curling right-footed strike around the goalkeeper into the far side of the net. Jorge Molina fired in a pass from strike partner Ruben Castro to give Betis a moment of hope in the 69th, but Higuain finished off a pair of assists in the 70th and 73rd from fellow Argentina international Angel Di Maria to keep Madrid perfect at home. "I am happy, very happy for having scored and helped the team," said Higuain, who had lost his starting role to Karim Benzema after a back injury sidelined him for a large stretch of last season. "A few weeks ago I wasnt playing, but I am in the same form as before, just taking advantage of the opportunities I have," Higuain said. "After all the time I had to wait to play, now I am enjoying it even more." Elsewhere, Tomar Hemeds injury-time penalty kick salvaged a point for Mallorca against visiting Valencia in the debut of coach Joaquin Caparros. France defender Adil Rami scored from a corner to put Valencia ahead in the 39th, but Hemed converted his third spot kick in two games to split the points in the 93rd after Mehmet Topal handled the ball in the area. Rami was shown a red card for insulting the referee following the match. Also on Sunday, its: Rayo Vallecano vs. Espanyol, Zaragoza vs. Real Sociedad and Sevilla vs. Sporting Gijon. Athletic Bilbao hosts Osasuna on Monday. cheap jerseys from chinacheap jerseys ' ' '
