According to the Toronto Star, the Raps have traded "Hot Cocoa" Roko Ukic and the rights to restricted free agent Carlos Delfino to the Milwaukee Bucks for forward Amir Johnson and guard Sonny Weems. Both come off the books after this season, though Weems has a team option for 2010-11.
Johnson, a very athletic 6-10, put up 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in just 15 minutes last season in Detroit. He figures to add to our big-man depth, backing up Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu. He'll compete for time with Reggie Evans and Rasho Nesterovic and may pass Patrick O'Bryant on the depth chart.
Weems, 6-6, spent the majority of last season in the D-League playing for the Colorado 14ers. He'll likely ride the pine most of the season. Hopefully he can make friends with Marcus Banks.
Grade for Raptors: B
It's a solid deal that brings a big man with upside to Toronto while reducing the number of contracts for next summer in an attempt to keep CB4 in town. Weems is essentially a non-factor in this deal, and Delfino's skills were redundant with DeMar DeRozan, Antoine Wright, Marco Belinelli and Turk in town. The only downside to this deal (besides losing 2 nations from the UN of the NBA) is giving away Roko. While he likely would have gotten very little playing time behind Jose Calderon and newly acquired Jarrett Jack, he's still a big, young guard with plenty of upside. It's entirely possible he could develop into a solid NBA player, but for the immediate future of this franchise, it didn't make any sense to keep him. Solid deal by Bryan Colangelo to try to make something from pretty much nothing.
Showing posts with label Roko Ukic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roko Ukic. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Raptors Extend Offer to Jack; More Rumours
According to the front page of Raptors.com, as well as a report from RealGM, the Raptors will (or already have) extended an offer sheet to restricted free agent guard Jarrett Jack of the Indiana Pacers. This means that while the Pacers can match any offer (in this case, it appears to be around 4 years, $20 million), RealGM reports that they are unlikely to do so as it will put them close to the salary cap.
Jack (see his player file) is a 6-3 combo guard out of Georgia Tech who was teammates with Chris Bosh on the Yellow Jackets. He enjoyed a solid season in 08-09, posting 13.1 PPG, 4.1 APG and 3.4 RPG with a decent assist to turnover ratio of nearly 2:1 (2.24 TOPG). As well as being an efficient scorer (45 FG%, 35 3P%, 85 FT%), he's a good defender and gathered 1.1 steals per game last year. He figures to assume the backup point guard role, relegating Roko Ukic to third-string duties, but he may also play off-guard at the same time as either Roko or Jose Calderon if the Raps choose to go small (in that case, DeMar DeRozan or Antoine Wright could play the 3). The contract is not an overly bloated one, as he's shown solid consistency since his rookie season and has played an average of 80.5 games over his four NBA seasons. Jack should be able to earn his contract, especially since he will get spot starts if another Raptor gets injured. Additionally, it ensures that the Raptors will have a backup 1 locked up long-term (no more merry-go-round of Will Solomon, Darrick Martin, or Milt Palacio).
Of course, Bryan Colangelo is not done yet. He has shown interest, as noted before on this blog, in Carlos Delfino as well as Denver Nugget RFA Linas Kleiza. However, rumours are swirling that BC has interest in acquiring another former Raptor, Rasho Nesterovic.
Rasho would provide a veteran presence in the middle as well as in the locker room. However, with the acquisitions of Devean George and Reggie Evans, the Raps have a logjam at the bigman positions, and it's possible Rasho would be the odd man out.
Kleiza, on the other hand, seems to be a very sensible signing - he backed-up Carmelo Anthony effectively, as he would be doing for Hedo Turkoglu, putting up around 10 PPG and 4 RPG each of the last two seasons. He's a big (6-8, 245) bruiser at the 3-spot, and would provide a great change of scenery from Hedo's finesse and offensive leadership.
Delfino's return seemed to be a sure thing a couple weeks ago. However, after the blockbuster trade that brought in Turk, George and Wright, as well as the imminent arrival of Jack, the Raptors have sorted out their lack of depth at the guard positions, and Delfino's services may not be needed. That said, he was quite effective in the Raptors' swingman-by-committee of two seasons ago, posting 9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.8 APG. If BC elects to bring back his versatility, he will likely see minutes at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.
What are your thoughts on the (supposed) signing of Jack, and who would you like to see the Raptors acquire to help bolster their bench? Let us know in the comments.
Jack (see his player file) is a 6-3 combo guard out of Georgia Tech who was teammates with Chris Bosh on the Yellow Jackets. He enjoyed a solid season in 08-09, posting 13.1 PPG, 4.1 APG and 3.4 RPG with a decent assist to turnover ratio of nearly 2:1 (2.24 TOPG). As well as being an efficient scorer (45 FG%, 35 3P%, 85 FT%), he's a good defender and gathered 1.1 steals per game last year. He figures to assume the backup point guard role, relegating Roko Ukic to third-string duties, but he may also play off-guard at the same time as either Roko or Jose Calderon if the Raps choose to go small (in that case, DeMar DeRozan or Antoine Wright could play the 3). The contract is not an overly bloated one, as he's shown solid consistency since his rookie season and has played an average of 80.5 games over his four NBA seasons. Jack should be able to earn his contract, especially since he will get spot starts if another Raptor gets injured. Additionally, it ensures that the Raptors will have a backup 1 locked up long-term (no more merry-go-round of Will Solomon, Darrick Martin, or Milt Palacio).
Of course, Bryan Colangelo is not done yet. He has shown interest, as noted before on this blog, in Carlos Delfino as well as Denver Nugget RFA Linas Kleiza. However, rumours are swirling that BC has interest in acquiring another former Raptor, Rasho Nesterovic.
Rasho would provide a veteran presence in the middle as well as in the locker room. However, with the acquisitions of Devean George and Reggie Evans, the Raps have a logjam at the bigman positions, and it's possible Rasho would be the odd man out.
Kleiza, on the other hand, seems to be a very sensible signing - he backed-up Carmelo Anthony effectively, as he would be doing for Hedo Turkoglu, putting up around 10 PPG and 4 RPG each of the last two seasons. He's a big (6-8, 245) bruiser at the 3-spot, and would provide a great change of scenery from Hedo's finesse and offensive leadership.
Delfino's return seemed to be a sure thing a couple weeks ago. However, after the blockbuster trade that brought in Turk, George and Wright, as well as the imminent arrival of Jack, the Raptors have sorted out their lack of depth at the guard positions, and Delfino's services may not be needed. That said, he was quite effective in the Raptors' swingman-by-committee of two seasons ago, posting 9 PPG, 4.4 RPG and 1.8 APG. If BC elects to bring back his versatility, he will likely see minutes at both the shooting guard and small forward positions.
What are your thoughts on the (supposed) signing of Jack, and who would you like to see the Raptors acquire to help bolster their bench? Let us know in the comments.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
(Everyone's Favourite Time) Summer League!
The Raptors start their summer league play in Vegas on Friday. Here is the Raps schedule:
July 10: 8 pm Eastern, vs. LA Lakers
July 11: 4 pm Eastern, vs. Detroit Pistons
July 13: 8 pm Eastern, vs. Portland Trailblazers
July 15: 8 pm Eastern, vs. Phoenix Suns
July 16: 4 pm Eastern, vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Raptors roster includes players under contract: DeMar DeRozan, Quincy Douby, Nathan Jawai, Patrick O'Bryant, and Roko Ukic, and invited players such as Paul Davis and Smush Parker.
July 10: 8 pm Eastern, vs. LA Lakers
July 11: 4 pm Eastern, vs. Detroit Pistons
July 13: 8 pm Eastern, vs. Portland Trailblazers
July 15: 8 pm Eastern, vs. Phoenix Suns
July 16: 4 pm Eastern, vs. Milwaukee Bucks
The Raptors roster includes players under contract: DeMar DeRozan, Quincy Douby, Nathan Jawai, Patrick O'Bryant, and Roko Ukic, and invited players such as Paul Davis and Smush Parker.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"Boogie" Williams to Discuss Coaching Position
Former Raptor Alvin "Boogie" Williams has reportedly begun to discuss a possible coaching position with the Raptors, as reported on RealGM.com. Williams, 34, will meet with head coach Jay Triano in coming days to work out an agreement. Alvin was an important factor for the Raps, playing point guard for parts of 8 seasons from 1997-2006. While in Toronto, he always seemed very much like a player-coach, helping out younger players and showing great leadership. He would definitely be a nice addition to the Raptors' coaching staff, and would be a good influence on young Raps like Roko Ukic.
Williams averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 assists in his NBA career.
Williams averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 assists in his NBA career.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Is Ukic the Next Calderon?
We often hear parallels and comparisons between Toronto's two international point guards, Jose Calderon, a 4 year vet of the league, and Roko Ukic, a rookie. Today we're going to evaluate Roko Ukic's rookie stats thus far, and compare them to Jose's rookie stats to see if "Hot Cocoa" Roko is a "Jose-in-Training".
Of course, Calderon and Ukic did not receive identical playing time in their first year; so we averaged their stats out in the unit of stat per 20 minutes - solid playing time for a backup guard.
Raw Statistics:
Ukic: 4.7 points per game, 2.1 assists per game, 1.0 rebounds per game, 1.1 turnovers per game, 0.4 steals per game, 40.7 shooting percentage, 13:05 minutes per game
Calderon: 5.5 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.6 turnovers per game, 0.7 steals per game, 42.3 shooting percentage, 23:11 minutes per game.
Points:
Ukic: 0.36 P/min = 7.2 points per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.24 P/min = 4.8 points per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic
Assists:
Ukic: 0.16 ast/min = 3.2 assists per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.2 ast/min = 4.0 assists per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Rebounds:
Ukic: 0.08 reb/min = 1.6 rebounds per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.1 reb/min = 2.0 rebounds per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Turnovers:
Ukic: 0.084 TO/min = 1.68 turnovers per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.069 TO/min = 1.38 turnovers per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Steals:
Ukic: 0.036 stl/min = 0.72 steals per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.0302 stl/min = 0.6 steals per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic
Field Goal Percentage:
Ukic: .406 FG%
Calderon: .423 FG%
Advantage: Calderon
Verdict:
While there are very close numbers being put up in assists, steals, and rebounds, it appears Jose was a more polished player in his rookie year. He shot the ball better than Ukic has while committing fewer turnovers. Ukic, however, does carry a substantial edge in scoring - he may be a little trigger-happy at times, but it's undeniable that he has the ability to score and create. After all, when you are a 6'5" point guard, why not drive and look to score or dish? While Calderon had the advantage in most categories, the margins were quite small.
There are definite similarities when looking at Roko and Jose's numbers. Jose had his breakout year last season, averaging over 11 points and 8 assists. Roko may need more time to develop his game (especially his long-range shot), but Raptor fans may very well be lucky enough to be watching a Jose-in-Training.
Of course, Calderon and Ukic did not receive identical playing time in their first year; so we averaged their stats out in the unit of stat per 20 minutes - solid playing time for a backup guard.
Raw Statistics:
Ukic: 4.7 points per game, 2.1 assists per game, 1.0 rebounds per game, 1.1 turnovers per game, 0.4 steals per game, 40.7 shooting percentage, 13:05 minutes per game
Calderon: 5.5 points per game, 4.5 assists per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.6 turnovers per game, 0.7 steals per game, 42.3 shooting percentage, 23:11 minutes per game.
Points:
Ukic: 0.36 P/min = 7.2 points per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.24 P/min = 4.8 points per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic
Assists:
Ukic: 0.16 ast/min = 3.2 assists per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.2 ast/min = 4.0 assists per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Rebounds:
Ukic: 0.08 reb/min = 1.6 rebounds per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.1 reb/min = 2.0 rebounds per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Turnovers:
Ukic: 0.084 TO/min = 1.68 turnovers per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.069 TO/min = 1.38 turnovers per 20 minutes
Advantage: Calderon
Steals:
Ukic: 0.036 stl/min = 0.72 steals per 20 minutes
Calderon: 0.0302 stl/min = 0.6 steals per 20 minutes
Advantage: Ukic
Field Goal Percentage:
Ukic: .406 FG%
Calderon: .423 FG%
Advantage: Calderon
Verdict:
While there are very close numbers being put up in assists, steals, and rebounds, it appears Jose was a more polished player in his rookie year. He shot the ball better than Ukic has while committing fewer turnovers. Ukic, however, does carry a substantial edge in scoring - he may be a little trigger-happy at times, but it's undeniable that he has the ability to score and create. After all, when you are a 6'5" point guard, why not drive and look to score or dish? While Calderon had the advantage in most categories, the margins were quite small.
There are definite similarities when looking at Roko and Jose's numbers. Jose had his breakout year last season, averaging over 11 points and 8 assists. Roko may need more time to develop his game (especially his long-range shot), but Raptor fans may very well be lucky enough to be watching a Jose-in-Training.
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