The Toronto Raptors appeared to have taken themselves totally out of the buyout market when they agreed to sign Joe Wieskamp to a multi-year contract. If Masai Ujiri was going to make another addition, one of the players on the current roster would need to be axed.
Juancho Hernangomez officially saw his Raptors tenure cut short as a result. While the league’s resident thespian had his moment in the sun after starring as “Bo Cruz” in the Adam Sandler film Hustle, it is clear now that all the footage of him making baskets was edited in during post-production.
In order to replace Juancho, the Raptors needed to add a veteran guard who could shoot well from 3-point range. It just so happens that Ujiri was able to not only identify one of those players, but beat out other contenders to sign him in one of the most shocking moves made in the last few weeks.
The Raptors agreed to terms with veteran shooting guard Will Barton, a longtime Denver Nuggets contributor that spent this past season with the Washington Wizards. After spurning the rival Celtics, Barton has joined Toronto in order to give their bench a nice pop of scoring.
ESPN Sources: Free agent G Will Barton is signing with the Toronto Raptors. After completing buyout with Wizards, Barton will join Toronto and be eligible for a playoff roster. He’s played in 29 career postseason games with Nuggets and Blazers.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 28, 2023
Will Barton signs with Toronto Raptors, Juancho Hernangomez waived.
Barton was averaging just 7.7 points per game with Washington in his age-32 season. On the flip side, Barton did average 14.2 points per game while making 37% of his 3-point attempts in the past five seasons with Denver. That scoring will be much appreciated.
With one of Gary Trent Jr. or OG Anunoby figuring to move to a more permanent bench role, the demoted player in question will join Barton, Precious Achiuwa, Chris Boucher, and standout two-way guard Jeff Dowtin Jr. in what has quickly become a very robust second unit.
What makes Barton a very tantalizing fit for this team is the fact that he can be a productive offensive player without demanding a ton of touches or dominating the ball. Being a catch-and-shoot threat will be Barton’s best asset as he tries to carve out a long-term role.
The Raptors are signing Will Barton and will be eligible for their Playoff roster.
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 28, 2023
The team also WAIVED Juancho Hernangomez who averaged 2.9 PTS, 2.9 REB & 0.6 AST this season.
(via @ShamsCharania) pic.twitter.com/sJC1oISGJp
Toronto will take on Barton’s former team in Washington in the coming days as part of a very important stretch of games that will determine how good the raptors really are. At the very least, they added a knockdown shooter and made their bench much more respectable as the postseason approaches.