In Masai we trust.
Today, the Toronto Raptors have traded John Salmons to the Atlanta Hawks for guard Lou Williams and big man prospect Lucas Nogueira. What?
The Toronto Raptors have acquired Lou Williams and Lucas Nogueira for John Salmons! #InMasaiWeTrust
In my opinion, this trade is very good and rational for both teams. For Toronto, we have acquired a capable, proven scoring guard in Lou Williams, and a big man to help out down low. The most important part of bringing in Lucas “Bebe” Nogueira, is that he is Brazilian. He will be able to go through the same journey alongside Bruno Caboclo, and will be able to form a dynamic duo (well, not really..but on the bench, and practice for sure!). With Williams, you get a scoring guard who can also facilitate and create for others. His defense is somewhat questionable, but put him into Dwane Casey’s system, and, like DeMar, hide or help enhance his defensive deficiencies somewhat.
John Salmons was going to be worked with either way, and I’m glad we did not just let him go. Masai did the right thing and found teams that were interested in him (for salary purposes), and were able to pull it off before the deadline of dealing with expired contracts. He was not going to be staying with Toronto another year. The Hawks are able to buy him out and only guarantee him $1 million out of his 7M.
Lou Williams only has 1 year left in his contract, and we do not know what Lucas has to offer. He has a scouting video on DraftExpress, and he is able to provide security down low and may develop into a very good big man.
Masai played it safe with this pick. He is able to acquire guards and a big man in case any of his restricted free agents (and Lowry) leave for other teams (Patterson, Vasquez). We don’t know what Lou Williams can bring post-injury, as we have not seen a full season from him since, but I will definitely have him play for us than have John Salmons. Lou Williams is a straight scorer, something Toronto lacked when DeMar and Kyle weren’t able to create for their team.
Overall, I am very happy with this pick, and you should too! Free agency hasn’t even started, and it’s already crazy! Masai is crazy! But, then again…in Masai we trust.
Raptor Land 