Toronto Raptors: What John Lucas III Brings to the Raptors

Earlier this morning, ESPN reported that the Toronto Raptors have signed free agent John Lucas III from the Chicago Bulls. Contract terms have not yet been released.

Last season, Lucas made a leap in terms of games played and in almost all the major statistical categories. At times, Lucas was even able to change the pace of a game, scoring 20+ points on some nights.

With the signing of Lucas, the Raptors increase the number of point guards they have to three: Kyle Lowry, Jose Calderon and John Lucas III. This makes Jose Calderon expendable and open to be traded.

The idea of trading Calderon has been expressed for a while now, and the rumors gained some heat after the Raptors acquired their future point guard in Kyle Lowry.

The reason why Calderon is such a great trading piece is his contract.

Jose has a ten-million dollar contract that ends next season, so any team that is looking forward to opening up cap space for upcoming free agency can look into acquiring the services of Calderon. Not only is his contract a reason why he can be traded, but he is a very serviceable point guard, mainly on the offensive end.

The Raptors are not the most popular team in the NBA, fans who watched the Spain vs. USA game earlier on this week would have noticed that Calderon had five assists in the first few minutes of the game.

On defense, he is a liability, as many quick point guards can easily get through him. Luckily for Calderon, his passing and shooting ability somewhat makes up for that.

So in the end, the Raptors brought a 5'11" point guard into their rotation and made their backcourt a little bit smaller than it should be. On the bright side, Lucas can play and will be an energy player coming off the bench.

This was a good move by Bryan Colangelo, during a very busy offseason for this young Toronto squad.

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