Milwaukee’s front office was intrigued by the potential of Johnson, 22, who was drafted by Detroit out of high school in 2005. Immediately after dealing Richard Jefferson to San Antonio for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto in June, the Bucks sent Oberto to Detroit for Johnson.
Johnson became more expendable when the Bucks signed Hakim Warrick, a move that came after Memphis rescinded its qualifying offer to the restricted free agent.
The financial aspect of the deal will be felt at the end of next season.
Johnson has just one year and $3,666,667 (all figures U.S.) left on his contract while Ukic had an option for $1,450,000 in the 2010-11 season. Weems will make the league minimum of $736,420 next season with no guarantee beyond that.
And with the expectation that the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds will drop next season, any long-term savings will help to keep some kind of financial flexibility for Colangelo, team president and general manager.
But giving up on Ukic is a gamble, even for a Toronto team with a surfeit of point guards.
The deal cannot officially be completed until next week at the earliest because of contractual details and the never-simple machinations of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Since the deal brings two new players to Toronto while sending out just one – Delfino, who played in Russia last year but was not on the Raptors’ roster since the sides could not come to an agreement on a contract – the Raptors are now up to 15 players, the maximum allowed on an NBA roster.
And if Colangelo remains quiet until training camp kicks off in late September in Ottawa, he will have certainly deserved the break. His level of activity makes this off-season one of the most eventful in team history.
From a basketball standpoint, this deal would make a lot of sense for the Raptors. They have already brought in Antoine Wright, DeMar DeRozan, Marco Belinelli and Heod Turkoglu to be in the mix at the SG/ SF spot. Johnson would bring some needed depth up-front. The Raptors have already brought in bunch of new talent this off-season. Up-front, they have added Reggie Evans and Rasho Nesterovic to play with Bosh and Bargnani. Johnson could be the first forward off the bench there.
Some behind the scenes Flip Cam footage of Raptors Rookie DeMar DeRozan at the 2009 NBA Draft
The 6-foot-6-inch Delfino is the key man in the trade for the Bucks, a player who can provide depth at small forward, still a major concern after the departure of veteran Richard Jefferson in a June 23 trade. That was the same deal that netted Johnson from the Detroit Pistons.
But the 6-9 Johnson became more expendable in the Bucks’ thinking after they signed free agent Hakim Warrick to a one-year, $3 million deal earlier this month. Warrick will have a chance to gain a starting spot at power forward.
The Bucks also are encouraged by the development of young power forward Ersan Ilyasova, who signed a three-year deal earlier this summer, and they have veteran Kurt Thomas to provide depth at power forward and center.
I honestly don’t know how Delfino will shake up the 2/3 rotation, as it’s very possible Delfino ends up getting burn at the 2 (more his natural position) and forces Bell or Meeks (sadly) out of the lineup. And while I’d throw Thomas in as the backup center for now, that’s mostly because I’m hoping to see a lot less of Elson and Gadzuric. Where does Joe Alexander fit in all of this? Who knows. He’ll still be fighting for minutes at the 3/4 spots, and with the lack of proven players at those positions he’ll certainly get a chance to play–it’s just a question of whether he can take advantage of it.
It’s not that Milwaukee made a bad deal, here. It’s just that Toronto made a very good one. Johnson and newly-acquired Reggie Evans will provide carom insurance that is badly needed on a team full of long rebound-creators, and as promising as Ukic looked at times, his bottom line just wasn’t worth Toronto’s time.
The deal doesn’t exactly guarantee 45 wins for either club, but it’s always nice to see sound moves created during the dog days of the offseason.
But even with the hockey-centric fans and the struggles they have had outside of the GTA, Calderon is staying upbeat, maintaining that he feels the support of the country.
“I see Raptors jerseys all over the world,” he said. “I think the other teams are just playing for a city but we play for a country. I feel a lot of support in Toronto. It’s true that hockey is the first sport in Canada, but we are working on that.”
Jay Triano – The Raptors Coach chats on the Morning Show with Don Landry and Paul Hendrick about the changes to the roster for this upcoming season.
21 Raps
Jesus crist hes done it again
re Fan590 interview – I’m liking Jay Triano more and more. I’m feeling optimistic about him being the guy who can rally these players into a team.
Reading the list of players on the Raptors today makes me think a lot of teams won’t look forward to meeting with these guys. Some serious depth. The list today certainly makes last year seem a long long time ago.
Nice to see the vids of Amir in Raps Fan’s post. I think Bryan chooses his players (a little bit) with a view towards ‘how this guy will fit in, all ’round’, more than some others might. Anyway, I’m glad we got Amir Johnson. I’d say the talent quotient (or maybe it’s potential quotient … dunno) is higher today than it was yesterday.
Usual off-season over-optimism aside … (ok, maybe not possible especially this year … but anyway) … I’m really liking how this roster has shaped up. Really liking it.
I always liked Sam Mitchell, but he’s night and day when compared to Triano when dealing with the media. The host at the Fan590 must appreciate the change.
To be fair, the media in Toronto also have a higher regard for Jay, and have not gone out of their way to push his buttons (yet).
Calling Sam “Smitch” over and over again, especially when asked politely not to do so, will create a lot of drama. In those situations it sometimes becomes harder to take your coach seriously.
The predominantly white media in Toronto should take partial blame for the coaching drama, I admit Sam was hot blooded, but half of pro coaches are. NFL, MLB, College it does not take long to find accomplished coaches with a short fuse for the media.
At the start of last season, Smitch admitted to the media that the team “was not athletic but the players were basketball-wise” .. which meant they were going to get hammered into the court.
About this roster (can’t call them a ‘team’ yet) Smitch would prolly say: “these jokers are neither athletic nor basketball-wise” … and Triano will have to pull off a miracle to gel them in 90 days or thereabouts …LOL
delfino is better than amir so every1 thinking this is some great steal just chill out. the move is about the expiring contract & getting ukic off the books more so than a possible 4th or 5th big off the bench
That’s a one-dimensional consideration that doesn’t include analysis about the cost of players’ trades, their health, the context and needs of the team, players’ demands, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
It still looks like a great trade to me.
How is Delfino better than Amir? Can you elaborate sean? Remember they play completely different positions.
I think as of right now Delfino is better than AMir, but there is potencial in the young PF. This move is what’s best for the raptors. There is a log-jam at the 2-3 position for the raptors and Delfino wanted about 5 million/year. Bringing in Amir adds more athleticm to the bench along with shot blocking.
great move by Bryco
Better or worse aside, this game isn’t checkers: it’s chess. If we want to pick up some W’s against a top 6 team in either conference, we need some help in the front court. Slowing down, and (if needed) fouling opposing 4-5’s. Looking at Amir’s stat’s (fg% in the high 50’s) he’s no slouch on offence either.
Besides how many more jump shooters do the rap’s need at this point?
jack derozan wright bosh johnson fly with the best of them
calderon belinelli turkoglu bargnani rasho spread that floor with the best of them
any mix in between these two completely different groups, plus reggie evans,is at least much better than starting and finishing with moon.
LETS GO RAP-TORS!
Is it November yet? The wait is killing me
Has anyone played with Trade Machine and Marcus banks?
You can do a straight up trade of Banks for Blake Griffin OR get Al Thornton and some other garbage. LOL
F@!% Delfino, he can keep his ass in Russia. We just got an athletic PF with upside
Delfino is a fine player, but I say here you should all be relieved that Reggie Evans isn’t your second string PF. From what I’ve been reading you’d think this fool was the second coming of Oak.
This is what I heard as well. I will not be suprised if we see, Evans, Johnson and Bosh at the sametime on the floor sometimes.
NBA season is long and Bosh, AB and … will be lossing some games to naging ijuries and ….
This is what I heard as well. I will not be suprised if we see, Evans, Johnson and Bosh at the sametime on the floor sometimes.
NBA season is long and Bosh, AB and … will be lossing some games to naging ijuries and ….
What about voshkul? How will we survive without him ?
We will certainly miss his fouls, missed shots, and turnovers
Now if BC mamanges to get a small forward out of a combination of Banks, Weems and POB, then he is truely a magician.
11. Posted by RML0819 Mon Aug 17 10:51pm EDT
“Hey I am fom Detroit. Air Johnson is a player. Detroit just had a terrible coach. I do a lot of studying on stats and minutes, etc. The Pistons won 60% of their games when Johnson started and only near 40% when he didn’t. He is the best big man in the NBA at running the floor and a way better shooter than given credit for. Given the minutes he would average 15 and 10 with close to 3 blocks a game. He ws probably the Pistons best defender. Why they dumped him other than salary cap. I have no idea. Add in that he is a tremendous team player with humility and a joy to talk to and it surprises me that he is being traded. This sets up Toronto for when they lose Bosh. Remember, this kid is still only 22 and has about 4 years of NBA experience. He got stuck playing behind the Wallaces, McDyess and other established big men in Detroit hat stunted his development. Check it out. In games he started the Pistons were a 60% win team even with the worst coach in the NBA running the ship. This kid could be a savior to the image of the NBA if he develops. It’s rare to find an NBA player with humility and honesty.”
Posted by RML0819 on yahoo