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One thing's for sure about Masai Ujiri.
He certainly doesn't telegraph his moves.
The latest out-of-left-field maneuver comes this evening with Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnorowski (who else right?) reporting that the Toronto Raptors have signed free-agent forward Austin Daye to a two-year, $2M dollar deal. Daye was actually involved in the Ed Davis/Jose Calderon trade last year, the same one that brought Rudy Gay to Toronto. Daye and Tayshaun Prince ended up in Memphis from Detroit as part of the three-way deal, but he, unlike Prince, barely saw the court during his time with the Grizz.
My early take on this move?
It's ok.
There's more upside with this signing than the other two arguably, Daye's only 25 and was a former 15th overall pick in the same draft as DeMar DeRozan, and it's another transaction that certainly won't break the bank. According to reports, the second-year of Daye's deal isn't fully guaranteed so again, at worst the Raptors sign Daye, he sits on the bench, and it only costs them a tiny amount of their budget.
However I'm giving this move an "it's ok" because while it's low risk, I don't see much potential reward. I was never a big Daye fan out of Gonzaga, worried that he wasn't physical enough for the next level, and that he didn't excel in any one area that would make him a consistent contributor in the league.
So far his career hasn't exactly made me change my opinion.
He averaged 5.6 points and 2.8 rebounds a game during his tenure with the Detroit Pistons (three and a half seasons) and Memphis Grizzlies (half a season), but has played only 15.4 minutes a match. His per 36 minute averages of 13.1 and 6.5 aren't exactly mind-blowing though for someone of his size (6-11) and skill, and while he was advertised as a potential "stretch" player, his career field-goal and three-point marks of 41 per cent and 36 per cent don't exactly back that up.
But we'll get into all of our usual in-depth analysis in the AM.
Right now, we want to hear from you.
Are you a fan of the Austin Daye signing?