NBA's Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that they traded forward Devean George for Golden State Warriors guard Marco Belinelli.

"Marco fills a void at the wing position where his shooting and scoring strengths will be needed," said Raptors president Bryan Colangelo in a statement.

The Italian Belinelli was taken with the 18th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by Golden State and averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds in 42 games last season for the Warriors.

The former Bologna guard had previously played in the Italian league for five seasons and was a member of the 2006 world championship squad.

George, a former Los Angeles Laker for seven seasons, never played a game for the Raptors after coming to Toronto as part of a four-team sign and trade deal along with Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2009)