BOOM!
#WeTheNorth here I come!!!!!
— Cory Joseph (@Cory_Joe) July 6, 2015
And for contract terms, see below. The fourth year will be a player option, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Sources: Cory Joseph and the Toronto Raptors have agreed to a 4-year year deal worth $30 million
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 6, 2015
The power forward spot may be the Raptors’ most pressing need, but that’s not stopping Masai Ujiri from strengthening the point guard position, which is now surely shored up with the addition of Canadian Cory Joseph. This also means that Luke Ridnour’s two percent chance of staying with the team is gone, and he will surely be either released, or traded, by July 11th, which is when his contract becomes guaranteed.
In giving Joseph this deal, the Raptors have pretty much ate into most, if not all, of their remaining cap room. Raptors cap guru Dan Hackett (DanH in the forums) says that the Raptors will have $4 million left in cap room if Joseph and Carroll’s deals are both backloaded. So, it looks like the Raptors will need to go bargain hunting to snag a third power forward. A trade is more likely.
The number looks high now, but the deal will become miniscule in Years 2 and 3. It works out to 8.3 percent of the cap in 2016-17 and 7.4 percent in 2017-18. That’s when Joseph should be hitting his prime, which could make this contract a bargain.
Joseph, the four-year veteran, was drafted by the Spurs with the 29th pick in the 2011 draft, and averaged a career-high 6.8 points and 2.4 assists in 18 minutes last season, making the backup point guard his own in the Spurs’ socialist system.
Joseph would be expected to battle Delon Wright for backup duties here in Toronto, and both offer a little something different. He had a strong shooting season last year when he hit 36 percent of his threes. Joseph can also slash into the defense and use his quickness to get to the basket and a good finisher around the hoop for a 6-foot-3 guard. Again, much like DeMarre Carroll and Atlanta, the Raptors are importing players from very good systems, and it’s tempting to project their numbers forward, but keep in mind that these moves that the constraint to the Raptors success now becomes Dwane Casey and his ability to manage players who have proven to be productive while remaining efficient in previous stops. Similar to Carroll, 94 percent of Joseph’s threes were assisted last season. Compared that with Kyle Lowry at 58 percent.
The Canadian angle can’t be understated here. The organization tried to acquire Tyler Ennis on draft day last year, and have now finally succeeded getting another Canadian into the regular rotation. This will mark the first time the Raptors will have a Canadian-born player on the active roster in the regular season, and there’s plenty of marketing opportunities to play. Knowing how MLSE and the TV broadcasts work, expect the point of Joseph’s nationality to be mentioned ad nauseum.
That being said, cultivating a connection with Canadian basketball is something Ujiri has stressed in the past. He has now made good on a promise he made four months past.
“There’s no doubt in my mind, during my time, even if my time [with the Raptors] is short, there will be a Canadian player on the Toronto Raptors,” Ujiri said.
Without all that, Joseph brings more than his passport. He made good strides last season and showed a very good ability to drive the ball after finding seams – 39 percent of his shot-attempts last season were at the rim. The Spurs were also +6.6 points per 100 possessions with Joseph on the court, owning mostly to his defensive advantage over a hobbled Tony Parker.
It goes without saying that Joseph will have a bigger role here in Toronto. Assuming that he continues to develop his jumpshot, Joseph should time playing in two point guard units with Kyle Lowry — a favorite of Casey’s. Joseph upped his averages to 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34.6 minutes across 14 games as a starter.
Contributions to this post were made by Zarar Siddiqi and William Lou.
