re: Hornets interested in Nene and Barea

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There was concern with his buyout situation in Lithuania, mainly because he doesn't have one, but ESPN.com reported over the weekend that could be settled, opening the door for him to join the Raptors this year.

[A] source close to the team told ESPN.com on Saturday that there's a small chance they might be able to get him this season. The source said that the team reached out to Valanciunas' agent over the weekend to gauge the center's interest in joining the Raptors in 2011-12. If Valanciunas has interest, the Toronto would have to work out a buyout with his team in Lithuania, Lietuvos Rytas.

His Lithuania team didn't qualify for Euroleague this season and is losing serious money. Bryan Colangelo said after the draft that he could "confirm" that Valanciunas's buyout was in place. However, that doesn't appear to be happening because Valanciunas does have the needed interest. Consider this from Monday via TSN.ca:

According to the Lithuanian Basketball official site LithuaniaBasketball.com, Valanciunas, who the Raptors took with the fifth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft will remain with his current team until the end of the season.

"I'm currently with Lietuvos Rytas and I'm not really interested in those talks, Valanciunas said. "There's a lot to be done here. I'm in Lietuvos Rytas, not the Raptors."

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