3 free agents Raptors fans should be glad they passed on
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors have managed to ping-pong their way to a 14-15 start to the season after some bad injury luck. Toronto has been able to stay on track due to what is starting to look like a solid free agency period from Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster last summer.
In addition to Gary Trent Jr. signing a three-year contract, Khem Birch was retained for an economical price. While Ujiri was able to bring back some key contributors without paying an arm and leg to accomplish that goal, he should be applauded for showing some restraint.
Patience can be a warrior’s greatest weapon, and Ujiri exercised that virtue by choosing to sit back and allow the free agent frenzy to encourage desperate teams to give out insane contracts to role players that have not necessarily played at an elite level. Ujiri looks wiser for not splurging outside of the Trent contract.
These three free agents may have looked like solid fits for the Raptors roster given their skillsets, but they have been performing poorly this season. Toronto needs bench help, but these three would not have improved them by much.
3 free agents the Toronto Raptors were right to pass on.
3. Reggie Bullock, Dallas Mavericks.
Bullock signed a three-year, $30 million deal with Dallas after a promising season with the Knicks. Dallas’ season has not gone according to plan so far, and one of the main reasons is the fact that a key role player in Bullock has been one of the worst offensive players on the team.
Bullock is averaging just 5.8 points per game, his lowest average since the 2016-17 season. While he was billed as a microwave offensive player, Bullock is making just 35% of his shots and 27% of his 3-pointers. Those numbers are down from 44% from the field and 41% from 3-point range in New York last season.
Reggie Bullock would be a below-average player for the Toronto Raptors.
Let’s compare Bullock with Yuta Watanabe, who is taking on a similar role with Toronto this year. Watanabe is making 36% of his 3-pointers and is averaging 6.7 points per game on a contract that wasn’t even fully guaranteed until the start of the season. That’s called getting bang for your buck.
Bullock is a shooter, and while shooters can go into hot and cold spells, Bullock’s slump has now gone on for a full third of the season. With so much money committed to him in the near future, Dallas might be looking for a way to get out from under the Bullock albatross.