Bargnani, out since Dec. 10 with a torn right elbow ligament and strained right wrist, has a good chance of returning to the active roster on Wednesday when the Boston Celtics come to Toronto.
“[Tuesday] was probably the hardest practice he’s had since he’s been back, because we’ve had so many day-in-between-[games] practices where there is not a lot of banging, hitting and body on body,” head coach Dwane Casey told the National Post. “[Tuesday] was kind of the first day we had that. He went through that well, made it through it. He got some tough rebounds, which was good to see. We’ll wait and see how his body responds [Wednesday].”
According to the newspaper, Bargnani will likely come off the bench, with Amir Johnson remaining as the starting power forward. Bargnani's name has been in the rumor mill and there's a good chance president and general manager Bryan Colangelo will ramp up the effort to deal the Italian big man by the Feb. 21 deadline.