After a day filled with Emoji’s and players changing their minds, Luis Scola decided to enter the fun by tweeting out where he will be going in October. The Toronto Raptors. The Raptors had been shopping for a starting Power Forward and despite this may not being what they exactly wanted Scola might actually be useful for the Raptors.
We the north…
Here I come
:)
— Luis Scola (@LScola4) July 9, 2015
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Raptors are getting him for a steal:
Free agent Luis Scola is finalizing a one-year, nearly $3M deal with the Toronto Raptors, league source tells Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 9, 2015
The Raptors signing Scola just reminds me of the old days where the Raptors made bad decisions with their free agency choices. This year they’ve been off to a pretty good start so far. Bolstering up their defense by signing DeMarre Carroll, Corey Joseph, and Bismack Biyombo. They let go of two defensive liabilities in Lou Williams and Greivis Vasquez, and now have added Luis Scola.
There is no indication as to if Scola will play the starting power forward role or he will play the bench role for Patrick Patterson. Scola is 35 and has played for a championship Spurs team, he knows what he’s doing. The Raptors pick up a veteran presence in the post, maybe a guy who can teach Jonas Valanciunas to get a soft touch around the rim.
Personally, I don’t think the Raptors are done yet this off-season. Hypothetically, what if Scola were to replace Patterson off the bench and package Patterson and Terrence Ross (mentioned in multiple trade rumors) together for a real starting Power Forward. The Raptors have continuously been mentioned in trade rumors regarding Taj Gibson, Terrence Jones, Kenneth Faried and Markieff Morris. No offense to scola, but I would prefer any of those players, just because of fit in the starting lineup. If the Raptors want to run an up and down tempo, Luis Scola is not the best fit, which makes me reconsider which direction this team is going in. They’ve continuously emphasized defense, but it has never converted. Either way, in Masai Ujiri we trust.
