Kapono a Raptor- WOW!!

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Originally Posted by timvp

Ok, so you withdraw the statement that he's going to sign a cheap deal with the Raptors after opting out?

Still looks like a deal to me. I'd be utterly shocked if Rasho left $8.5M on the table to opt out. Especially after next year when Bargnani moves into the starting lineup and Rasho plays either Elson or Butler level minutes.

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It is only because he does not have control over what the Raptors will want.

Rasho would like to stay in Toronto. If he picks up his option next summer, he is surely gone. If Toronto would like to keep him around, and I think they would, then what I said will come true.

So that is why I said- my wager is that Rasho will opt out if he is still on the Raptors next June (preferably to sign a new deal with Toronto-- but not definitely to sign a new deal with Toronto).

Truth is, if it had worked out with the Spurs, he would have done it in SA- opted out of the last year to save $ for the team and get a new deal in return for more years.

Excellent, maybe the Heat have the need for a 3 pt shooter. Perfect opportunity to ship Brent off.

didn't read the thread, but does that mean mo-pete is available?

More than likely yes.

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Originally Posted by ploto

Peja got a whole lot more than Kapono.

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:clap

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Originally Posted by timvp

No the alternative was playing Bosh at center or biting the bullet and going with Bargnani a year early. Or, in other words, what they ended up doing in the playoffs.

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Clearly you didn't watch many Raptor regular season games because Rasho was a vital cog on the defensive end for the Raps. In the playoffs, the wheels had come off the Raptors offense for whatever reason so Sam Mitchell went with the clear offensive upgrade in Bargnani over the defensive upgrade in Rasho. Since the Nets had pretty much no interior presence, there wasn't much point to having Rasho on the floor.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Without using capspace? :lol

You do realize that if Colangelo would have waited a year, he'd be about $15-20M under the cap right now, right? Instead, Colangelo blew his wad last summer and now this summer the result is he has to overpay a one-dimension jump shooter instead of having max money to go get a player to put with Bosh.

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Thank god you're not the Raptors GM, because you clearly have no clue what the Raptors cap situation is. Bosh's max contract and TJ Ford's extension kicked in July 1st, and brought the Raptors well over the cap. It didn't matter if he traded for Rasho or not. The Raptors would have been over the cap this summer either way. Anyways, I'd rather have my GM "blow his wad" and make lower-profile astute signings like Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa leading to an Executive of the Year award, rather than wait and sign Rashard Lewis to a near-max contract.

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Originally Posted by inagra

didn't read the thread, but does that mean mo-pete is available?

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Always was...

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insid...2=stateChanged

Jason Kapono to Toronto (four years, $24 million)
Short-term C+, long-term C+
I was a bit taken aback by the money here -- $6 million a year for a player I judge inferior to both Carroll and Walton. Kapono had a good year in 2006-07, but he's also had several duds. His projected PER next year of 12.60 is not impressive (I'll have all the projections out in a little while, if you're wondering), and he's not going to add much at the defensive end either.

The reason the grade here isn't worse is because: (a) Kapono answers a short-term need, (b) he fits the system, and (c) they kept the deal short. The Raptors were running low on small forwards, especially with MoPete headed out the door, and Kapono was the best one available within their means. He also lets them space the floor with four shooters around T.J. Ford (Bosh, Bargnani and Parker being the other three), which should make him a good fit there.

But most importantly, they're not paying for his decline years. Kapono is 26 now and will be 30 when the contract ends; there's a huge difference between that and paying somebody like Walton or Carroll until age 33. So while I don't think Kapono is worth $6 million a year, or anything close to it, at least the Raptors limited their downside risk.

Kapono is better than Carroll.