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The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have acquired veteran point guard Sebastian Telfair from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for centee Hamed Haddadi and a protected second-round draft pick in 2014.
“Acquiring Sebastian Telfair, who has played and started a fair number of NBA games during his career, addresses our depth issue at the point guard position,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.
Telfair, 6-foot, 170 pounds, is in his ninth NBA season and owns career averages of 7.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 21.7 minutes in 535 games (192 starts). He has totaled career highs of 30 points (at Miami, Feb. 18, 2009), 13 assists (at Denver, April 9, 2005) and 48 minutes (vs. Indiana, Dec. 21, 2007).
Telfair, 27, has played for Portland, Boston, Minnesota, Los Angeles (Clippers), Cleveland and Phoenix. He posted career-high averages in points (9.8), assists (5.9) and minutes (32.2) with Minnesota. He appeared in 106 games with Phoenix the past two seasons, averaging 6.1 points, 2.4 assists and 15.9 minutes. He shot .349 (76-218) from three-point range with the Suns.
Telfair was one of the most celebrated high school players in New York City history, leading Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School to three New York PSAL titles and one state championship. He was selected out of high school by the Blazers (first round, 13th overall) in 2004.
A 7-2, 265-pound center, Haddadi became the first Iranian-born player in NBA history when he made his debut with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008-09. Haddadi, who played his first four-plus seasons with the Grizzlies (2008-13), was part of the Jan. 30 trade between Memphis and Toronto that sent Rudy Gay to the Raptors.
Haddadi owns career averages of 2.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 134 career contests, and this season appeared in 13 games for Memphis before the trade. He has not played a game as a member of the Raptors.
