From Philadelphia to Toronto, a bruiser has been traded for a shooter.
The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have acquired forward Reggie Evans from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for guard-forward Jason Kapono.
“Reggie Evans will certainly add an element of toughness to our team,” said Bryan Colangelo, Raptors President and General Manager. “He has very good rebounding and defensive instincts, addressing two areas where we have underperformed.”
The seven-year veteran has averaged better than 6.5 rebounds in five of his NBA campaigns, with a career best of 9.3 per game (12th in the NBA) in 2004-05 with Seattle. He also averaged 7.9 rebounds during a four-year span from 2004-08.
Evans has ranked in the top-10 in the NBA in Rebounds Per 48 Minutes in each of the past six seasons, leading the league in 2006-07 at 19.7. He finished seventh in the NBA last season with an average of 15.3.
Evans has grabbed 20+ rebounds on three occasions, with a career-best 21 versus Charlotte on February 5, 2005. He collected a career-high 19 defensive rebounds against the Raptors on March 10, 2006.
The 6-foot-8, 245-pounder has appeared in 514 career regular season games with 270 starts. He owns career averages of 4.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 19.6 minutes. He has seen action in the postseason four times, averaging 4.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 17.1 minutes in 27 games.
Evans signed as a free agent with Seattle in 2002. He has played with Seattle (2002-06), Denver (2006-07) and Philadelphia (2007-09).
The native of Pensacola, Florida played two seasons at the University of Iowa where he averaged 15.3 points and 11.5 rebounds in 69 games. He was named Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in both his junior and senior seasons.
Kapono signed with Toronto as a free agent July 11, 2007. He averaged 7.7 points and 1.6 rebounds in two seasons with the Raptors.
Evans is a short but rugged forward who adds rebounding to the Raptors frontcourt. Toronto up front has Chris Bosh, but Andrea Bargnani is not particularly strong, and Shawn Marion is undersized and not a lock to return to the team.
Kapono gives the 76ers a very badly-needed three-point shooter. With Andre Miller’s limited range, Kapono will help. He’ll be their best threat from deep range since Kyle Korver. He’d be a good first guard off the bench for them.
This trade helps both teams a bit.
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