Even with the departure of Turkish Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns, the Toronto Raptors continue the advocacy of tapping international talents for the team. After taking in Brazilian Leandro Barbosa from the Turkoglu-deal with the Suns, the Maple Leaf City outfit has snatched Lithuanian Linas Kleiza from the Denver Nuggets, according to Yahoo! Sports. Toronto signed the four-year veteran forward to an offer sheet which the Nuggets decided not to match. The 6-8 Kleiza suited up for the Greek club Olympiakos last season after spending four seasons with the Mile High City outfit. Kleiza has career norms of 8.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg in 301 total outings. Aside from Barbosa and Kleiza, the Raptors has four other non-American players in its current roster such as Andrea Bagnani and Marco Belinelli of Italy, Jose Calderon of Spain and Rasho Nesterovic of Slovenia.
"Toronto has signed free agent Linas Kleiza to a multiyear contract.
The Raptors acquired the rights to Kleiza nine days ago when the Denver Nuggets opted not to match Toronto’s offer sheet."
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