The Hamilton Spectator

Raptors trade Carroll, Joseph; get Hamilton, Miles in return

- JON KRAWCZYNSK­I LAS VEGAS —

Looking down the barrel of some significan­t luxury tax penalties, Toronto Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is moving swiftly to get below the tax line while keeping his National Basketball Associatio­n team competitiv­e in the wide-open Eastern Conference.

Ujiri pulled off two trades in about 12 hours, sending veteran forward DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn in a salary dump and landing C.J. Miles in a sign-and-trade with Indiana for Cory Joseph, three people with knowledge of the dealings told The Associated Press.

The Raptors and Nets agreed to the Carroll deal late Saturday night, with Toronto sending a future firstand second-round pick to Brooklyn with Carroll and getting Justin Hamilton in return.

The deal allowed Toronto to offload Carroll’s remaining two years and $30 million from its books, which helped the Raptors dip below the punitive luxury tax line in a summer when they re-signed point guard Kyle Lowry to a three-year, $100-million deal.

Carroll was coming off a disappoint­ing season in which he averaged 8.9 points on 34 per cent shooting in 72 games. Still, his abilities as a defender and his veteran presence were important for a Raptors team that is trying to close the gap on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept Toronto out of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

So Ujiri moved quickly to plug the hole, agreeing to terms with Miles on a three-year, $25 million contract and sending backup point guard Cory Joseph to the Pacers to complete the trade.

Dealing Joseph opens up more time at point guard behind Lowry for emerging talent Delon Wright while giving the rebuilding Pacers an experience­d ballhandle­r after losing Jeff Teague in free agency.

 ?? TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO ?? Canadian NBA player Cory Joseph has been traded to Indiana by the Toronto Raptors.
TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Canadian NBA player Cory Joseph has been traded to Indiana by the Toronto Raptors.

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