Raptors Sign Cory Joseph

JULY 9TH, 11:22am: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.

“We have watched Cory grow as a player and see him as a great fit in our system,” GM Masai Ujiri said in the team’s statement. “He is another player with a defensive skill-set that will be an asset to our team.”  

10:16pm: It’s a four-year year deal worth $30MM, ESPN.com’s Chris Broussard tweets. It includes a player option after the third year, Broussard tweets.

JULY 5TH, 9:21pm: Newly-minted unrestricted free agent Cory Joseph is nearing a deal with the Raptors, reports ESPN.com’s Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Earlier on Sunday, the Spurs pulled their qualifying offer to Joseph, making the point guard an unrestricted free agent. The Spurs originally extended a qualifying offer to Joseph on June 30, then making him a restricted free agent, but, that, of course, was before the team reached an agreement to sign LaMarcus Aldridge. The client of Rich Paul filled in nicely this past season as a starter when both Tony Parker and Patty Mills were injured in December. Joseph would be expected to become Toronto’s backup point guard and provide the backcourt with some defensive prowess.

The Raptors’ interest in Joseph precedes the summer.Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun tweets that the Raptors attempted twice to trade for Joseph, but were turned down. Joseph is from Canada, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has pledged to pursue Canadian players.