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TORONTO — They dined on Italian, negotiated in English and eventually talked turkey.
Not long after midnight Tuesday, Jose Calderon finally and officially came out on top in one of the longer and tougher job interviews he'll ever have.
The Spaniard came to the Toronto Raptors for the 2004-05 season as a little-known and undrafted prospect signed by former general manager Rob Babcock. Tuesday, he became the Raptors' point guard of the future, beating out T.J. Ford, the man Calderon was projected to back up.
The deal was struck after Raptors president-GM Bryan Colangelo and Calderon's agent, Alvaro Tor, reached an agreement during a late dinner in Toronto after Tor had flown in from Spain.
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- Indiana Pacers
- New Jersey Nets
- Toronto Raptors
- Hassan Adams
- Jose Calderon
- Carlos Delfino
- T.J. Ford
- Nathan Jawai
- David Lee
- Jamario Moon
- Jamario Moon
- Roko Ukic
“Jose is pleased,” Tor said. “This was his first choice, and he wants to stay in Toronto and do big things here.”
Terms have not been released, and because of NBA rules, the Raptors can't even acknowledge a deal has been reached until July 9, but Calderon broke the news on his website Tuesday.
“Early this morning, through my agents, I reached a preliminary agreement with the Toronto Raptors. I want to thank Bryan Colangelo, Maurizio Gherardini, Sam Mitchell and all of the Raptors family for the confidence that they have placed in me. I am sure that together we are going to achieve big things in the future,” Calderon wrote.
The pending trade of Ford to the Indiana Pacers and the deal with Calderon bring clarity to the point guard position after two seasons of oft-heated debate about who was more fit to start.
Calderon averaged 11.2 points and 8.3 assists in 82 games last season. He has averaged 8.7 points, 6.1 assists and 25 minutes in 223 regular-season games with the Raptors.
He did most of his work as a backup to Ford but was remarkably good as a starter over long stretches of the season when Ford was out with various injuries.
For the months of January, February and March, over 41 games, Calderon averaged an impressive 13.8 points, 9.3 assists and just 1.8 turnovers on 55.6-per-cent shooting.
It was his ability to thrive as a starter that revealed it was time to move the injury-prone Ford, who was signed as the Raptors' starter prior to the 2006-07 season. Ford has three years and $24-million (U.S.) left on his deal that will now be paid by Indiana when the Ford-for-Jermaine O'Neal deal is made official.
The guess is that Calderon will be an even more expensive option for the Raptors, with a contract likely worth $9-million a year over four or five seasons.
Tor said he had “introduced himself” to a few other teams in order to be in position to begin negotiations if the Raptors' offer wasn't up to Calderon's expectations, but it never came to that.
One thing is for sure, the point guard debate is over.
“I salute the Raptors for making a tough decision,” Calderon wrote on his website. “They had two point guards who could really play, and no way to get the most out of both of them. So they swallowed hard, made their pick, and set a new course.”
While Calderon was by far the most important negotiation Colangelo took part in Tuesday, it wasn't his only move.
According to league sources, the Raptors also reached an agreement with Roko Ukic, a 24-year-old Croatian who has played in Europe since he was chosen in the second round of the 2005 draft. He will be given the backup job behind Calderon.
“They want him to come over and play,” one source said. “It will give him a chance to cut his teeth the way Calderon did in his rookie year.”
The Raptors also reportedly signed Hassan Adams to be a backup at the wing position. A noted defender and spectacular dunker, Adams was cut by the New Jersey Nets because they were up against the luxury tax threshold after the 2006-07 season. He spent last season playing in Europe.
He wowed the Raptors at a recent free-agent camp and earned himself a one-year, league-minimum contract with a team option for a second year, much like Jamario Moon did last season.
“It's a great fit for Hassan,” said Adams's agent, David Lee. “He can lock down ones, twos and threes and will bring the Raptors the kind of toughness they haven't seen in a while.”
Signing Adams almost certainly means Carlos Delfino, a restricted free agent, won't be back with Toronto. It's expected he'll return to Europe.
The flurry of signings nearly finishes the Raptors' off-season business.
It's expected that Australian big man Nathan Jawai – another element of the Ford-O'Neal deal – will be signed after July 9, leaving Toronto to scour the NBA's summer leagues for a third-string point guard.
