The Toronto Raptors are entering a new era with general manager Masai Ujiri and after trading for Rudy Gay earlier in the season, the team has done a solid job of adding talent this summer and they have brought on more depth to the roster with point guard Dwight Buycks and even though it is very unlikely, Ujiri could listen to deals for Gay as well.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the team was offered Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva for Gay earlier in the offseason from the Pistons, but decided against the deal. According to ESPN.com, the Raptors signed Buycks to a multi-year contract after he spent time working out with teams during the summer league, hoping he can be a backup point guard to Kyle Lowry. The report says that the Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat all had been after Buycks as a possible bench player, but now he will go north of the border where he will play alongside Lowry and the newly signed Tyler Hansbrough.
Buycks is 24-years-old and has potential after averaging 15 points and 2.6 assists in the NBA D-League last year and this summer he played with the Thunder's summer league while also planning to play with the Heat in Las Vegas before signing. Buycks also played in Europe before and his pro experience will help him get acclimated to the Raptors right away.
The Raptors have made some major moves this offseason, including with the trade of Andrea Bargnani and the signing of Hansbrough. When Ujiri arrived everyone felt the biggest issue with the Raptors was trading away the contract of the former number one overall pick and just like he pulled off the Carmelo Anthony deal to the Knicks, he sent another star to New York in Bargnani. The former top pick never got into a groove in Toronto and now the franchise can move on as they keep or flip the assets of that trade in Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, a 2016 first-round pick and second-rounders in 2014 and 2017.
Last season Bargnani averaged just 12.7 points on 40 percent shooting and missed 47 games and now he says he is healthy and the Knicks will offer him a fresh start. Hansbrough offers some depth on the roster as well after he starred with the Pacers, averaging 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 246 games. Hansbrough signed a multi-year deal with the Raptors and the team also is ready to deal Camby, who said he doesn't want to play there, to a contender like the Clippers, Lakers, Thunder, Rockets or Warriors.
