Originally Posted by Toronto Sun

Jorge Garbajosa may have played his last game for the Raptors.

According to Spanish media reports, the Raptors are trying negotiate a buyout of the final year of Garbajosa's contract, worth $4.35 million US.

Garbajosa spent the majority of the past season recovering from a gruesome leg injury suffered in March 2006. The Raptors filed a lawsuit against the Spanish basketball federation in March, over money they felt they were owed on an insurance claim against Garbajosa's contract.

Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said yesterday the team still was trying to come to a resolution in the case, but that he couldn't comment further.

Originally Posted by moremilk

I thought buyouts are for more like 70%+ of the original amount. And buyouts are purely financial measures, they have no impact on cap-space (unless he gets to some other team - not 100% sure about that).

Originally Posted by MikeToronto

Buyouts ABSOLUTELY affect cap, regardless of whether or not the bought out player later signs with another team.

When the contract is bought out, the amount of the buyout is then spread evenly through the remaining years of the contract. Let's say, for the argument sake, that a player X is slated to play another two seasons at 10 mil/season. If the team buys him out for 14 mil, then in each of those two seasons only 7 mil will count against the team's cap rather than 10.

Originally Posted by marca.com

Jorge Garbajosa terminated its contract with the Toronto Raptors, for which that of Torrejón will be able to respond to the Olympic Games of Beijing if Aíto Garcia Reneses considers the opportune. In this way the conflict among the Spanish Confederacy of Basketball is resolved (FEB), the Canadian franchise and the player because the three parts have arrived at an agreement to withdraw the demands related to the insurance signed by the player for respond to the European.

Garbajosa has terminated the year of contract that remained in Toronto and will be able to respond to the Play of Beijing 2008 with Spain, aside from deciding their next destiny once untied of the American club, to the time that the Raptors, the Mutual one and the Confederacy also they leave satisfied by the pact reached, in which all they yield something and all they receive something to change.

Bryan Colangelo, president and general director of Toronto; José Luis Saez, president of the Spanish Confederacy of Basketball; Ignacio Garralda, president of the Mutual resident of madrid; and the own Garbajosa endorsed the documentation that plasma the commitment in the headquarters of the company insurance company, in the of Madrid Walk of the Spaniard.

The center was included in the list of Aíto Garcia Reneses for the Play since the first moment, but conditioned to the resolution of its situation in Toronto, whose president, Colangelo, he declared weeks ago that the player would not go to the Olympic appointment while had contract in vigor with the Canadian franchise. That I is no impediment.

Originally Posted by feb.es

6/17/2008 In a teletype of the agency Europe Press is indicated that the of Madrid Jorge Garbajosa terminated his contract with the Raptors of Toronto, to the ones that arrived originating in the Unicaja in the summer of 2006, as confirmed his representative, for which the player remains freed to sign with a new team and above all he is selectable by Aíto Garcia Reneses for the Olympic Games of Beijing.

Europe Press Garbajosa, that went to the NBA after to be elected better player of the end of the ACB of the season 2005-06, remains freed of the Canadian franchise, with the one that barely has played in barely year and a half and that its participation in the Play had denied him explicitly while was under its discipline. The cancellation of the contract has been possible thanks to the agreement signed today by the Spanish Confederacy of Basketball (FEB), Mutual of Madrid, the Raptors and the own player to extinguish the poliza of the insurance that permitted to Garbajosa to dispute the European of Madrid after the serious wound that suffered in the prior months..

Originally Posted by Dr. J. Naismith

According to Spanish papers its now official that Jorge been bought out by the Raptors.

Best of luck Garbo.

Poor translation to follow:



Source - Click here



Source - Click here

Originally Posted by Doug Smith's Blog

Bye, bye Garbo

It’ll be official probably today, maybe tomorrow, when the league approves the buyout and then Garbo’s gone.

He won’t be back in the NBA, I’m certain, so who knows when we’ll see him next. I’ll get to see him in Beijing but if you want to watch him play, you’ll have to find some sort of internet Euroleague deal because I’ve got a feeling he’s playing in Madrid or Malaga.

A lot of you abhor the notion of a buyout but here’s why this one makes sense: The Raptors are certain Garbo will not be healthy enough to be a regular contributor this coming season. They will save a little bit of money and create a roster spot with the move. Garbo gets his money and, because he thinks he can play, he’ll sign somewhere in Europe and who knows how he’ll do.

The financial implications are not huge, it’s not like paying Alonzo Mourning $10 million knowing he’ll be in the NBA in a week or two; it’s paying maybe $3-4 million to a guy who’s out of the league.

You may think it sucks, and it’s really sad that this had to happen but it really is the best for all concerned.

Waiting for Garbo to play in the Olympics to see if he was fit wasn’t going to happen because the Raptors weren’t going to let him go to Beijing and maybe get hurt again. Waiting for him to come to camp to find out what he had didn’t make sense because now they know they have a roster spot to fill.

It eases the roster glut at small forward and with perhaps the departure of restricted free agent Carlos Delfino, will give Bryan Colangelo a lot of roster flexibility this summer.

It bits that he’s not here but it’s for the best.