Aldridge domino brings Joseph home
Becomes second Canadian to play for Raptors
The entire basketball world, from the point free agency opened last Wednesday, was waiting to find out where LaMarcus Aldridge would find employment. As the best player with any shot of leaving his incumbent team in free agency, Aldridge was holding up the rest of the market, at least to a degree.
On Saturday, Aldridge chose to sign with San Antonio, always his most likely destination. It appears he picked up a second job, too: public relations consultant for the Toronto Raptors.
Aldridge has done the Raptors two solids in July. First, he took a courtesy meeting with the team, giving the Raptors some leaguewide credibility. The second move paid more immediate dividends: by signing in San Antonio, Aldridge forced the Spurs to cut ties with Cory Joseph, turning the Canadian point guard from a restricted to an unrestricted free agent. Just like that, the Raptors were able to acquire their long-coveted homegrown player, without having to worry that the Spurs might match their rich offer. When the deal becomes official later this week, Joseph will become the second Canadian to ever play for the Raptors, following Jamaal Magloire’s career victory lap in 2011-12. The Pickering native becomes the first Canadian to ever play for the Raptors in the prime of his career.
And yes, Joseph is getting paid well to come home: ESPN reported that his deal is worth US$30 million over four years. Additionally, he can opt out of the contract after the third season. Even if Joseph is essentially replacing the roles of both Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez, this is a lot of money.
It is tempting to suggest that the Raptors inflated the offer to justify their stated goal of acquiring a Canadian, although ultimately foolish.
“I even considered last year hiring somebody to concentrate on just Canadian players,” Raptors president and general manager Masai Ujiri said in March. “I think I’m going to go through with it. The growth of the game here is so big. It’s the fit. We’re at a time where we feel we can maybe take our time and study (acquiring a Canadian player) a little bit so it’s the right fit, and not do it just to do it. It’s going to come. There’s no doubt in my mind. It’s an obligation that I think we have to fulfil.”
Taking Ujiri at his word, this is not merely a problematic case of tokenism. Joseph fits in with the Raptors — specifically, he fits in with what the Raptors have been trying to do this off-season. Each of Ujiri’s four acquisitions since the season ended — DeMarre Carroll, Bismack Biyombo, Joseph and first-round pick Delon Wright — are defence-oriented players. That has to be comforting to head coach Dwane Casey, who is being given the type of roster that he needs to coach in the manner he prefers.
While it is initially troubling that the Raptors are spending so heavily on a position that they just used a draft pick on, Joseph can serve both as a primary point guard and play next to Kyle Lowry in smaller lineups.
In addition, Joseph is only eight months older than Wright, with four years of training in the vaunted Spurs system. There is a reasonable chance that Joseph is a better player than he got to show in San Antonio. The hope is that with more playing time, Joseph will resemble the player who started 14 times for the Spurs last year, averaging 13.2 points per game, while shooting better than 56 per cent from the floor.
Having used virtually all of their room under the salary cap, the Raptors are still left with some questions up front. As of now, Patrick Patterson slots in as the team’s starting power forward. As solid as Patterson is, he has traditionally struggled on the glass. The Raptors could look to the trade market, armed with all of their first-round picks and two extras, to address that need. The Joseph signing means they cannot splurge on one in free agency, not that there was a wonderful candidate remaining out there.
Nonetheless, Joseph addresses multiple needs for the Raptors. When Masai Ujiri spoke of fit back in March, he might not have been thinking of Joseph in particular, but the guard certainly meets the criteria.