Cory Joseph – how does he help Raptors?

I’ve stayed away from a lot of chatter about the Toronto Raptors’ acquisition of Cory Joseph. Naturally I was pleased one of the NBA’s up and coming Canadian players signed on as a free agent, but I didn’t know enough about his skills to render an intelligent opinion about whether his presence would be helpful or irrelevant. I’ve now done enough review to take a position.

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Apr 1, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Cory Joseph (5) drives to the basket as Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) defends during the second half at Amway Center. San Antonio Spurs defeated the Orlando Magic 103-91. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Just the facts, ma’am: Cory Joseph is 6’3″ tall, and weighs a well-proportioned 190 lbs. He recently turned 24 years old, and was born and raised in Pickering, ON (that’s a bedroom community of 86,ooo about 40 minutes east of Toronto, for all you non-locals). He played one season at Texas, then declared for the draft. Cory was selected with the 29th pick of the 2011 draft by the masters of the late choices, the San Antonio Spurs. While the Spurs wanted Cory back, their successful pursuit of LaMarcus Aldridge compelled them to withdraw their qualifying offer to him; put another way, they ran out of cap space. GM Masai Ujiri swooped in and signed Cory to a 4-year, $30M contract.

I like Cory’s scoring ability. He can put the ball on the floor and attack the rim, or if that’s blocked off, he’ll put up a floater. He’s also quite happy to dish to a big man (when that big man is Tim Duncan, such a move is strongly recommended), or pull up for a graceful jumper. Cory changes speeds effectively, and is adept at finishing with either hand.

I’m struggling to get a true sense of Cory’s defensive capabilities. His numbers (steals, blocks) don’t jump off the page. However, San Antonio is a miserable place to play if you can’t defend, so I have to assume coach Gregg Popovich was happy. His minutes per game improved every season, culminating in last year’s 18.3. Assuming Kyle Lowry’s play doesn’t fall off a cliff, our starting point guard will command 33+ MPG, so something’s got to give. Delon Wright, the Raptors’ first-round draft selection, is another point guard who’s going to need his playing time. Cory’s minutes will suffer, or he’ll move over to the 2-guard spot on occasion. That may prove a challenge.

Cory’s PER last season was 15.6, which is as close to an average player (15.0) as makes no difference.

Toronto doesn’t need Cory Joseph to turn into Steph Curry, which is good, because he won’t. Cory is a seasoned professional who stays healthy and doesn’t make waves. He’s admirably suited to his role as a two-way rotation guard. Once Masai let Lou Williams walk, we needed someone to step in as #2 on the depth chart behind Kyle. Cory is at worst as solid a choice as anyone else, and for reasonable money. I’m glad he’s on board.

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