Sure, the NBA Finals aren't even halfway over (or are they? Orlando can win at least one game, right?), but the rest of the league is officially looking toward the future. The Raptors and 76ers have completed the first trade of the summer, sending sharpshooter Jason Kapono south to Philadelphia in exchange for bruising forward Reggie Evans.
Raptors prez and GM Bryan Colangelo announced the move this afternoon. From Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: "We're changing the dynamic of our club with this move," Colangelo said. "This obviously addresses a few areas of need. ... [The Sixers] probably had too many bigs and we probably had too many finesse players."
It's worth noting the move will help Toronto save a few bucks (Kapono has two years and $12.6 million left on his contract; Evans, two years and $9.6 million), but like Colanglo says, this deal helps both teams balance their roster.
Evans averaged 4.6 rebounds in just 14.4 minutes a game last year -- his average per 36 was 11.4, which would have ranked second on the Raptors last year behind last-season acquisition Pops Mensah-Bonsu (14.1 per 36 in 19 games). Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh are extremely talented but undeniably finesse players. Evans, on the other hand, is the very definition of a gritty banger, outworking and out-muscling opposing big men in the paint despite frequently giving up several inches.
As for the 76ers, they've been desperate to add a legitimate three-point threat for sometime now -- they finished the 2008-09 season ranked dead last in the NBA by shooting 31.8% from beyond the arc as a team. Kapono, meanwhile, has shot 45.4% for his career. Both teams should improve from this trade.
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2009/06/09/raptors-76ers-swap-kapono-and-evans/