Raptors dive in to contract hunt
Anthony Parker is in and John Salmons is on the way. Even better for the Toronto Raptors, Chris Bosh is staying.
The second day contracts could be signed was a pretty good one for the Raptors, even as Mike James signed a four-year, $23 million deal with Minnesota after leaving Toronto.
Also Thursday, Ben Wallace signed his $60 million, four-year deal with Chicago, one of the most important deals of the free-agent period. It gives the Bulls the NBA’s top interior defensive player while weakening Central Division rival Detroit.
With the four-time Defensive Player of the Year added to their roster, the Bulls could now emerge as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.
“I think the Bulls right now, we’re right there,” Wallace said. “We can challenge anybody.
“I wasn’t going to leave Detroit to go to a team that wasn’t going to be a contender.”
The Raptors have a long way to go before they become one, but holding onto Bosh was mandatory if they hope to get to that level.
Toronto scheduled a news conference for today to announce that Bosh is signing an extension. General manager Bryan Colangelo suggested Bosh will sign a deal similar to fellow class of 2003 stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who bypassed five-year deals for three years with an option for a fourth – and the chance to become free agents sooner and potentially make even more money.
“It’s probably the right and prudent thing to do on their end,” Colangelo said. “I’m just very thrilled and happy to say that Chris intends to re-sign here.”
Colangelo also beat the Phoenix Suns, his former team, to get Salmons in a sign-and-trade from Philadelphia. Suns coach Mike D’Antoni, who also became the general manager after Colangelo’s departure, confirmed that Salmons would be heading to the Raptors instead of accepting an offer from his team.
The Suns, who watched free agent Tim Thomas leave them to sign a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, will have to be satisfied with signing Eric Piatkowski to a two-year, $2.3 million contract.
The Raptors looked overseas again to sign Parker to a three-year, $12 million deal. The former NBA player was the Euroleague MVP for Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Other NBA signing news included:
The Orlando Magic signed swingman Keith Bogans after giving up on its hopes of re-signing DeShawn Stevenson. … The Utah Jazz re-signed center Jarron Collins. … Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics agreed to a three-year contract extension that the Boston Herald reported was worth almost $60 million. … Guard Greg Bucker returned to the Dallas Mavericks, who also re-signed center DJ Mbenga.