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When Linas Kleiza was signed by Bryan Colangelo in the summer of 2010 (after a failed bid to bring him to Toronto the previous summer), the move wasnt exactly hailed by NBA pundits. Custom Florida Panthers Jersey . Kleiza is one of dozens of NBAers who doesnt really have a definable NBA skill that hes great at. Hes never averaged more than 11 ppg in his career, never shot better than 47 per cent, his defense has never really impressed and its hard to gauge exactly what Colangelo saw in him that prompted such a dogged pursuit. He was like a role player without a role to play. Former head coach Jay Triano struggled to find a role for Kleiza last season, yo-yoing him in and out of the starting five, trying to make him a creator on the perimeter then a spot-up shooter and in none of these roles did he ever excel. When microfracture surgery ended his season in mid-January we knew no more about Kleiza as an NBA player than we did the day he was signed. In truth, he should be the kind of player that is relegated to the periphery of Torontos future plans, but there is something about him that still intrigues: his play in Europe. When Kleiza became a restricted free agent in the summer of 2009, instead of re-upping with Denver or signing with Toronto, he went to play for a season with Greek powerhouse Olympiacos. While there he won the 09-10 Euroleague Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy, was named to the All-Euroleague First Team and averaged 17.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg in 22 games. After signing with Toronto, he played in the World Championships with Lithuania and averaged 19 ppg, 7.1 rpg, shot 52 per cent from the field, was named to the All-Star Five along with Kevin Durant, Hedo Turkoglu, Luis Scola and Milos Teodosic, as he led his country to a bronze medal. Impressive stuff for such an anonymous NBA player. The biggest reason he succeeds so well overseas is actually quite straightforward. At 68" and 245 lbs., hes big enough to play power forward in Europe. He played quite well as a post-up option for both Olympiacos and Lithuania, he operated mostly in and around the basket, even on face-ups, and his aggressive style got him to the free throw line. In the NBA, however, 68" is not all that tall. Joe Johnson is 6-foot-8 and he plays shooting guard. As a result Kleiza is used far more often as a wing in the NBA, asked to float out at the perimeter where hes not a great option (hes got a career 33.4 per cent three-point shooting mark) and his lack of ball handling finesse makes him prone to turning the ball over a lot. So how does a coach, who knows that a player has legit basketball talent if not an ideal body for those talents in the NBA, make use of Kleiza in an NBA system? Plenty of coaches have found a way to exploit the virtues of good combo forwards in recent years. Thaddeus Young is an indispensable asset for Doug Collins in Philadelphia, Lamar Odom was invaluable with the Lakers and Jeff Green got the job done in Oklahoma City, so you know it can be done. The trick with guys like this is learning how to exploit their unique strengths that make them such odd fits in the NBA. Young may not have the size to dominate opposing power forwards inside, but his quickness and ability to outrun opponents in transition makes him effective. Odom spent years being considered nothing besides an intriguing talent before Phil Jackson ignored his lack of one killer skill and instead used his versatility to shore up holes in various lineup combinations. Its not always easy to find the right balance of utilizing a guys strengths while not losing too much because of his weaknesses, but if you can find that balance you can find an atypical player that opposing clubs may have a hard time preparing to play against. At this point we dont know if Kleizas strengths are strong enough to offset his weaknesses. While he should be allowed to post-up opposing small forwards a lot more and see some plays that get him the ball on the way to the basket, his sky-high turnover rate make it hard for a coach to trust running too much of the offense through him. On the teams second unit hes the most seasoned offensive player after Leandro Barbosa, but his traditionally average (at best) shooting percentages challenge the team to find plays that he can consistently finish. This much is true, though: Kleiza needs more touches. Hes shown too much offensive skill overseas to not be worked into the offense more consistently for one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA. The coaching staff needs to find ways to translate that skill to the Raptors, or at least try to, because thats their job. Colangelo made a sizable investment in Kleiza last year, and since his only real skill is his scoring (actually, hes also a reliable rebounder) theyre wasting their money if hes not given a chance to flex his scoring prowess. Maybe he completely faceplants with more scoring weight on his shoulders. Maybe letting him finish more plays than Rasual Butler yields no better results for the club. However, he was too good overseas to not be more involved in what the team is running so they can find out the limits of his game. Plenty of players have failed to translate the full array of their European production to the NBA (with Kleizas country-mate Sarunas Jasikevicius being a prime example), but now that Kleiza is fully healthy the club has to try harder put him in a position to succeed. There are aspects to the teams future that will no doubt help Kleiza more than what he has to work with this year. Having as shot blocker like Jonas Valanciunas behind him will allow the team to cover for his defensive liabilities, having a true point guard run with the second unit will get him better looks and more familiarity with the system and the coaching staff can only help. Maybe this is as good as Kleiza gets, maybe hes just another version of Ryan Gomes. Either way, the team needs to lean on him a little bit more in order to find out. His production overseas is tantalizing, and the Raptors just need to figure out if that production stayed overseas when he left. Jimmy Hayes Authentic Jersey .A. Happs turn to play in the ongoing game of hot potato, better known as the competition to determine who will comprise the back end of the Blue Jays starting rotation. Dave Bolland Panthers Jersey . -- The Denver Broncos are planning to spend $30 million to upgrade Sports Authority Field at Mile High. NEW YORK -- Is the NBA lockout legal or not under antitrust laws? Thats the question league lawyers want a federal judge to answer -- before players file an antitrust lawsuit as NFL Players Association did during their recent lockout. U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, however, expressed reluctance Wednesday to wade into the NBAs labour mess. In oral arguments in Manhattan, NBA lawyer Jeffrey Mishkin said the NBA Players Association is using the possibility of an antitrust fight like "a loaded gun" on the negotiating table and urged Gardephe to reject the unions request to toss the leagues lawsuit. Mishkin said the NBA is seeking the courts blessing for its actions so that the union stops threatening an antitrust fight to gain an upper hand in negotiations. "They prefer the uncertainty," Mishkin said of the unions effort to get the lawsuit tossed out. "Its like taking a loaded gun and laying it on the table." Gardephe brushed aside Mishkins argument, saying posturing is part of negotiations. "If theyve put the gun on the table, its not clear there are any bullets in it," the judge said. "The courts discount threats of litigation in the context of collective bargaining." The NBA locked out its players July 1, and Commissiioner David Stern already has cancelled all November games. Tomas Fleischmann Authentic Jersey. Union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler said the case should be tossed out because the league was trying to get the court involved on the mere possibility there would be an antitrust fight. "They have no case," he said. "Theyre seeking to do something unprecedented, inappropriate." Mishkin insisted the league had to act to stop threats that were hampering negotiations. He said the union was prepared to dissolve itself, a necessary legal step before individual players could bring antitrust actions against the league in federal court. "Theyve already collected the cards. They can do it at any moment," he said. "We dont have to wait. We dont have to be subject to their whim. "We want to get the antitrust threat out of the bargaining." Gardephe did not immediately rule, but he questioned Mishkin at length and was skeptical of his arguments, saying at one point that the NBA lawsuit contained a "fair amount of speculation." The judge indicated that for all the talk of tangling, the two sides were speaking different languages. Gardephe said reading the written briefs prior to the hearing was like watching "two ships passing in the night." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '