Bryan Colangelo didn’t take long before he dipped into the free agent pool. The Raptors signed former 3 point champ and Miami Heat forward Jason Kapono. Kapono led the NBA last season in 3 point percentage (51.4) and averaged 10.9 points and 2.7 rebounds while with the Miami Heat.
The 26 year old Kapono will join his fourth NBA team after being drafted in the second round by Cleveland in 2003. Kapono brings a 3 point touch and can play either shooting guard or small forward. His 6′8 frame also makes him a decent rebounder, which was something the Raptors needed to address this off-season.
The addition of Kapono basically ends the chance of long time Raptor Mo Peterson returning as the Raptors are very close to the salary cap.
In other news the New Jersey Nets have re-signed former Raptor Vince Carter to a four-year contract that guarantees more than US$60 million. It was widely speculated that Carter could be headed for his home town Orlando, but decided to stay with the Nets. With the re-signing of Carter and the recent trades that brought all-star Ray Allen to the Celtics and Zack Randolph to the Knicks, it looks like the Raptors will have their work cut out for them if they want to repeat as Atlantic Division champs.
Technorati Tags: Jason Kapono, Morris Peterson, Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Bryan Colangelo
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:43 pm
i’m not sure how i feel about this signing. kapono isn’t the slashing/rebounding/scoring forward the raptors need. 4/$24mill too. he will spread out the floor for bosh down low, but that is about it.
July 2nd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I agree with Raps Fan. Kapono can shoot the rock, but three point shooting isn’t the Raptors problem- Parker, Bargnani and Dixon were doing just fine. And at 6 mil a year? that seems kind of pricey…however Kapono did play on a championship team and he can grap rebounds, so I guess thats pretty good. I would still like to see someone like Gerald Wallace in a raps uniform, but I”m sure BC is not going to stop at Kapono.
July 2nd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
it doesn’t look like bc is done. i hope not anyways.
July 3rd, 2007 at 6:16 pm
i dont mind the kapono signing. i dont mind anything that BC does with the raps. the guy has a game plan and kapono is part of it. i heard that they wanted to sign injury prone Grant Hill, which would be a nice addition if he played at least 75 games. I think the raps will pick up a defensive minded centre via the trade route, i dont think they’ll sign anybody else.
July 4th, 2007 at 12:15 am
The Kapono signing is a lateral move at best. Mo Pete’s a better defender/slasher and Kapono’s a better shooter. We probably lose out in rebounding. I think FA is not going to help us, it has to be a trade for one of our assets (Forderon).
July 4th, 2007 at 11:45 am
if this were any other gm, i would be ripping them, but bc has some sort of plan, and he gets the benefit of the doubt. mitchell still doesn’t get that from me, lol. sadly…
the raptors will never be a big player in the fa market, never have been. it is all about the draft and trades for us.