Can anyone explain how they can make this deal already since the Finals are still going on? What am I missing? http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/647956
Both of their seasons are over, and neither player has an ETO, player or team option on their contract.
Also kills my Rudy/Outlaw/Sergio for Young/Evans trade idea. Oh well, back to the ol' drawing board...
I knew Philly would regret just handing over Korver to Utah.. and now they just basically got the same player back.
Toronto media and fans crack me up. They always TREMENDOUSLY over value their own players (see: Swirsky, Chuck) and then turn on them as soon as they are traded. Yes, I know fans in general tend to over value their own players, but the Raptors fans take it to an extreme. Prior to the start of last season, after loosing both TJ Ford and Carlos Delfino, there were Raptors fans insisting they had the best bench in the NBA. The fact was, they had one of the worst (to go along with no starting caliber wings before the Marion trade). In any case, this line from the article cracked me up: "Kapono, one of the top three-point shooters in the NBA, never really found a niche with the Raptors, who signed him as a free agent before the 2007-08 season. The 6-8 Kapono averaged just 8.2 points per game and shot only 42 per cent from three-point range last season." He actually shot 0.428 from 3-point range, which was still the best 3FG% on a team loaded with 3-point shooters, and after leading the entire league in 3FG% the previous two seasons. The writer makes it sound like Kopono couldn't fit in because he lost his shot. Most teams would love to have a guy coming off the bench that shoots 0.428 from 3-point range. In any case, they definitely needed some rebounding. Bosh is a decent rebounder, but Bargnani is still horrible on the boards. Ultimately, I think this move was about dumping salary, the rebounding is just a nice bonus. BNM
Toronto fans really are nuts. Maybe even crazier than Blazer fans. Canadian sports fans in general are also pretty passionate, especially for hockey. Crazy folks up north.
Jason Kapono is terrible whether he shoots 40 or 60% from three. Awful, awful basketball player. Also, his shooting %'s are deceiving because he is a low volume shooter.
Sometimes there are Canadian sports fans, and Canadian hockey fans. I remember going to a bar and had to watch a pre-season hockey game over a very good NCAA football game that included USC. I love hockey but some fans are just dumb about it.
Yes, Kopono is a one-dimensional shooter. No one would dispute that. Just like no one would dispute that Reggie Evans is also a very limited player. He can rebound, but he couldn't score in double digits if you locked him in a gym by himself for an hour. Kopono attempted over 600 shots this season - that's not many shots for a starter (although it's almost as many as Steve Blake), but it's actually quite a lot for a bench player. He was also the only Raptor that really showed up (he averged 15.6 PPG) during their play-off series against the Magic last year. I'm not claiming he's great (or even good, or even average), but I just thought it was funny that the aurthor of the article bashed him for "only" shooting 0.428 from 3-point range when that's really the only thing he does well. BNM
Actually, this is a good trade for both teams - on a small scale. Philly needs an outside shooter to replace Korver and open things up inside. Toronto desparately needs rebounding, muscle and toughness. Reggie "Turn Your Head and Cough" Evans fills than need. BNM
For the Toronto fans, I know you might not like Kapono, but what do you think of Evans? How is he going to fit in with the Raptors? What style are they going to play next season?
The article misplaces the criticism. Kapono's 3pt. accuracy was never a problem. What annoyed Raptors fans was that he didn't take that shot nearly enough. Too often he'd end up catching-and-shooting from 2 feet within the 3 pt. line or dribbling and throwing up a ridiculous runner. Aside from that playoff series against Orlando and one regular season game against Indiana (when he scored like 17 4th quarter points), the dude shied away from his bread-and-butter. Some of the blame should probably be directed at Sam Mitchell, but then again Jay Triano came in and attempted to use him more sensibly, and he still didn't consistently shoot enough 3's. And that just magnified his other deficiencies. I think he'll fight with Kris Humphries (assuming he's not traded) for the first big off the bench, and he'll probably win the spot. We have a huge question marks at the 2 and 3 right now, so it's tough to predict what type of team we'll be. But I suspect our starting lineup will be a faster-paced squad that still relies a lot on the pick-and-roll. Evans fits in well, because he compliments Bosh and Bargnani equally well. Both of those guys can handle the offensive load and let him do what he does best.
I don't remember any Raptors fans thinking that. In fact, the biggest question on our minds was whether our lack of depth after the JO-TJ trade would be our achilles heel (it was). The team had one of the best benches in '06 and their disappointing '07 season led our GM/coach to publicly state that they were gonna try to shorten the rotation, and try to win with a stronger starting lineup but weaker bench.
The real issue is for the opposition now, not for the Raptors. All the other teams will now take extra care protecting their balls.
