The move clears almost $2 million in room under the NBA’s salary cap and would appear to make it even more likely that the Pistons will have a roster spot available for Alex Acker, a 2005 second-round draft choice who spent last season in Greece after playing his rookie year with the Pistons.

There is also a very good possibility that the Pistons will draft a perimeter player with the 15th pick of the June 28 draft, given the way the draft is shaping up. Among the possibilities there are small forwards Al Thornton of Florida State and Thaddeus Young of Georgia Tech, shooting guard Nick Young of Southern Cal and combo guard Rodney Stuckey of Eastern Washington – all players who would have competed with Delfino for playing time.

“We appreciate everything Carlos did for us while he was here,” Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said, “and we wish him all the best with Toronto.”

Delfino, a native of Argentina, was drafted 25th overall in the 2003 draft, but spent the following season playing for Skipper Bologna of the Italian league before joining the Pistons the next year. Two knee injuries limited his contributions and Delfino wasn’t on the active roster for the playoffs as the Pistons went to the NBA Finals.

He played in all 82 games for the Pistons this past season as the principle backup to both Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton, averaging career bests of 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 16.8 minutes. But Delfino struggled to find his niche. He shot just 33 percent from the 3-point arc and 41 percent overall and never quite harnessed his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, frequently drawing charging fouls.

In Toronto, Delfino will join a team with a heavy international flavor that includes Spainiards Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa, Italian Andrea Bargnani and Slovenians Rasho Nesterovic and Uros Slokar.

“Carlos is a talented basketball player that should thrive in our system,” Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo said. “Like many international players that come to the league, he has much more professional experience than his NBA resume suggests.”

Delfino was a member of Argentina’s gold medal basketball team at the 2004 Olympics and played a more prominent role in the 2006 national team that got to the semifinals of the World Championships.