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Alex Rucker On Raptors’ Offseason Additions

September 17th, 2012 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Jay Satur of Raptors.com recently sat down with Alex Rucker, the Raptors' Director of Analytics, to discuss a number of topics, including the new players Toronto will add for the coming season. The conversation focused primarily on the Raps' big trade acquisition (Kyle Lowry), the team's major free agent signing (Landry Fields), and last year's fifth overall pick (Jonas Valanciunas). Rucker shared some interesting observations on those players and how they ended up in Toronto. Here are a few of his comments:

On why the team targeted Lowry in trade talks:

"He’s a guy that’s been on our radar for three years as a guy that is underappreciated…. The value that he has is not captured well by the box score, so some people don’t quite get it. A lot of the things he does in terms of his style of play have a lot of value and he does a lot of things really well to help teams win ball games. I think [Rockets GM] Daryl [Morey] referenced that a couple of times in interviews about how a lot of their big wins were attributable to what Kyle did and maybe if you look at the box score, it wasn’t obvious, but he is a winning player."

On adding Lowry and John Lucas III to a point guard mix that already included Jose Calderon:

"When teams are playing us, they’re never going to get a 'backup point guard.' You’re going to get 48 minutes of quality point guard play. So when they bring in their backups and maybe have a drop off in quality, we should be in a position to take advantage of that because we will always have a good point guard on the floor."

On how Fields showed up on the team's free agent radar:

"We identified the wing as a position we wanted to upgrade. We felt like when you come off a season like we did, rebuilding, you look at every position and ask, how we can get better? With the wing spot, we looked across the whole spectrum of free agent and trade target wings and Landry was a guy that kept coming up in conversations. The coaches liked him, management liked him and the analytics liked him. He was a guy that was on the radar months ago as one of the top wing candidates that could help us upgrade at the wing spots.

On the perception that the Raptors overpaid Fields, who signed a three-year, $18.5MM deal:

"If the only year he played in pro basketball was this past season, then I would agree with every bit of criticism that’s out there about the deal. However, there’s this rather large sample of games, minutes, possessions that occurred as a rookie and a lot of that season was a slightly dissimilar situation than the one they currently have in New York…. So what kind of a situation are we looking to have? What kind of offence are we going to run? What kind of personnel are we going to have? How might he fit within that? I’m not thinking he’s going to immediately revert back to his rookie year, if he does, great. But I think the truth is somewhere in the middle and I’m going to be very happy if it’s something in the middle."

On the expectations for Valanciunas:

"Not necessarily from day one but over the long term, I think Jonas will be a guy that is a really good rebounder at both ends and can protect the rim defensively as an on-ball and help post defender. His dedication to improving his free throw percentage speaks to an overall offensive potential that he’s just growing into. So the work ethic and the passion he clearly has for the game, those intangibles combined with what he’s done on the court are real strong indicators that this is a guy, over the long run, that could be this building block at center we have for 10-15 years here in Toronto."

Raptors Re-Sign Aaron Gray

July 27th, 2012 at 3:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

JULY 27TH: The Raptors have officially re-signed Gray, according to a team release.

JULY 7TH: Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported that Aaron Gray has agreed to a two-year deal with the Raptors. The six-year veteran started in 40 games for Toronto last season, averaging 3.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 16.6 MPG in a total of 49 games. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweeted that he expects Gray to receive the team's "room exception", which should be about $2.5MM annually.

With former lottery pick Jonas Valanciunas expected to join the team next season, retaining Gray appears to set Dwane Casey's rotation at the center spot. The former center out of Pittsburgh grabbed at least 7 rebounds in 21 games during limited minutes, and could readily take some pressure off of Valanciunas as he gets acclimated with the NBA game.

Gray's most notable games last year include an 11-point, 11-rebound effort in 23 minutes against Dwight Howard in a loss to the Magic and a 12-point, 12-rebound performance in 30 minutes during a win against the Pistons.

Raptors Sign Jonas Valanciunas

July 18th, 2012 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially signed last year's fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas, the team announced today in a press release. Valanciunas appears to have finalized his buyout with Lithuanian team Lietuvos Rytas and inked a rookie scale contract to join the Raptors.

"We are very pleased to welcome Jonas to the organization," said Raptors president and GM Bryan Colangelo in a statement. "We are certain that Raptors fans will soon realize that the year-long process was worth the wait."

Because he signed just a year after he was drafted, Valanciunas will likely receive a first-year salary worth 120% of this year's rookie scale amount for the fifth overall pick. Such an agreement would pay him $3,374,640 in his rookie season.

Atlantic Notes: Lin, Valanciunas, Raptors, Nets

July 16th, 2012 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

"Though he sure didn't act like it," writes Marc Berman of the New York Post, "Jeremy Lin still wants to be a Knick." Berman cites a source close to Lin who says that the young point guard is hoping the Knicks match Houston's offer sheet. Berman's apparent critique of Lin's handling of free agency is somewhat bizarre, considering the Post scribe reported two weeks ago that the Knicks intended to sit back and wait while Lin went out and let the market set his price tag.

As we wait to see whether the Knicks will truly let Lin walk, here are a few more items out of the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks still want to make some minor adjustments and figure to make a couple more small moves, says Gery Woefel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
Expect the Raptors to sign 2011 fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas in the "next couple days," tweets Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
With Jose Calderon's future in Toronto uncertain, the Raptors would like to upgrade their bench at point guard, says Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Odds & Ends: Allen, Evans, Davis

June 26th, 2012 at 11:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, the general consensus around the league is that Ray Allen will join the Heat next year (Twitter link). Since the team will be about $2MM above the tax apron, the most that Miami would be able to offer would be the mini-mid level exception of $3MM. Here's more of tonight's miscellaneous links, including Tyreke Evans, Baron Davis, and the Bulls…

Raptors Shopping First Round Pick

June 6th, 2012 at 9:21pm CST by Michael Pina

9:21pm: According to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, the asking price reported by ESPN is a little steep in comparison to what his sources have told him. Wolstat writes that the Raptors are willing to deal the No. 8 pick, but that they aren't willing to package a young talent like Ed Davis in it.

Valanciunas Close To Signing With Raptors

May 29th, 2012 at 6:05pm CST by Michael Pina

Jonas Valanciunas, the fifth overall pick in last year's draft, has begun negotiating a release agreement with his current team in Lithuania, according to NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper. The agreement will ultimately consist of a $2.4MM buyout that Valanciunas will have to pay his team, Lietuvos Rytas. By league rules, the Raptors are allowed to contribute as much as $550K of the total buyout.

At the time he was drafted, Valanciunas was a seven-foot, 19-year-old prospect at center, with major questions regarding when he'd be allowed to come overseas and play in the NBA. It forced most teams to balk at the notion of drafting him, but Raptor GM Bryan Colangelo didn't hesitate.

“I have no doubt that is the right pick or was the right pick for us…despite the pressure of picking a so-called sexy pick or someone that might be a more-popular pick, we made the pick that we felt was the best decision, long term and short term, for the franchise because it fit right into this building process that we’re going through right now.”

The Raptors have a 3.5% chance at receiving the number one overall pick in tomorrow night's lottery, and a 12.3% chance at selecting in the top three. Should they get lucky, the team's roster will be filled with youth, and manageable cap space.

Atlantic Notes: Valanciunas, Calipari, Knicks, Nets

April 5th, 2012 at 2:51pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few Thursday afternoon updates out of the Atlantic….

Raptors vice president and assistant GM Maurizio Gherardini tells Aris Barkas of Europhoops.net that Toronto still intends to bring Jonas Valanciunas to North America for next season. Between last year's fifth overall pick and potentially another top-five pick in this year's draft, the Raptors appear poised to add a ton of tantalizing young talent to their roster.
John Calipari said yesterday that he has no interest in an NBA coaching job, but Frank Isola of the New York Daily News argues that Calipari couldn't possibly say anything else at this point. Isola hears that the Knicks are still targeting the Kentucky coach for next season.
The Knicks' current coach, Mike Woodson, would "absolutely" like to continue coaching the team next season, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes.
Last night's game may have been a preview of the Nets' future if Deron Williams doesn't re-sign, says Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger.
As Tim Bontemps of the New York Post writes, it's no lock that the Nets will lose their lottery pick in May.

Atlantic Notes: Turner, Valanciunas, Lin

February 13th, 2012 at 8:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers, who once looked as though they might run away with the Atlantic Division title, shouldn't look behind them now. The Celtics have gone 10-3 since starting 5-9, and entered the night three and a half games back. The Knicks, infused with Jeremy Lin's mojo, have won five straight and are six games back. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is just 3-3 in its last six games. Here's what's going on as the race tightens:

Behind the smiles surrounding the Sixers' fast start is the worry about getting worthwhile returns from the second overall pick in the 2010 draft. Evan Turner's minutes have been in decline. Coach Doug Collins says it's a result of other wing players performing well, and not a slump on Turner's part, reports Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Turner believes he's on the wrong end of supply and demand, saying, "There's a recession, baby. We're like the stock market with playing time."
Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun details how Raptors coach Dwane Casey almost signed Lin for the Mavericks a couple of years ago when Casey, a former Dallas assistant, was running a summer league team.
The fifth pick in the 2011 draft, Raptors pick Jonas Valanciunas, just scored some new hardware, notes Wolstat in the same report. He's FIBA Europe's Young Player of the Year, joining Ricky Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Jan Vesely, all of whom won the award in the past. Valanciunas recently met with Raptors GM Brian Colangelo for the first time since last summer as the two move closer to a deal to bring the 6-foot-11 center to Toronto next year.

Atlantic Notes: Bogans, Pietrus, Raptors, D’Antoni

February 2nd, 2012 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

Let's round up a few Thursday morning items out of the Atlantic division….

Keith Bogans is at a loss trying to explain why he was out of work so long, says Fred Kerber of the New York Post. The newest Net told Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger that he's been "sitting at home for a month and a half, going crazy." Bogans, who signed with New Jersey yesterday, will received a guaranteed pro-rated portion of the veteran's minimum.
Mickael Pietrus talked last night about his decision to sign with the Celtics, and Ben Rohrbach has the quotes at WEEI.com: "To be honest with you, the reason I came to the Celtics is because of coach Rivers and KG…. [Kevin Garnett] makes everybody play hard. I was like, that’s going to be a good fit for me to play with the man."
Raptors GM Brian Colangelo put in some face time with top draft pick Jonas Valanciunas for the first time since last summer, as Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun writes. Following the visit, Colangelo said everyone "is certainly on the same page."
There are strong indications that Mike D'Antoni will keep his job past Super Bowl Sunday, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. There's some hope that a healthier and rejuvenated Knicks squad can still turn things around.