Report: Raptors trade Austin Daye to Spurs for Nando De Colo
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According to a report from Yahoo Sports, the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors beat the trade deadline buzzer with a very minor trade on Thursday.
The Raptors will send little-used forward Austin Daye to the Spurs for guard Nando De Colo.
Daye earns $947,907 this season and has $250,000 guaranteed for next season, but even that moderate price is probably an overpay. An outside player through and through, the 6-foot-11 Daye rarely ventured inside the 3-point line for the Raptors. While that can work in the Spurs system, he'll need to hit a three - something he didn't do in 33 minutes for the Raptors this season (0-for-8) - to find a role.
In 245 career games, the Gonzaga product has averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds, shooting 34.9 percent from long range. If anyone can find a way to turn him into a productive player, it's the Spurs, but five years into his career that would be considered a minor miracle.
De Colo makes more than Daye, with a $1.5 million salary for this season, but he has no money guaranteed to him for next season. He also upgrades the Raptors wing depth, though you'd hardly know it from his limited role in San Antonio. De Colo is capable of running the point or playing off the ball at the two or three, so he brings valuable versatility to a relatively thin reserve corps.
In two seasons with the Spurs, the Frenchman has averaged four points and 1.7 assists in 12.5 minutes, shooting 36.3 percent on triples. All the Raptors will ask him to do to start is spot up and defend capably, at least the former of which he appears capable.
This is a low-risk play for each side, somewhat of a roster-balancing, "show-me" trade. It could be a win-win, though neither player is likely to factor in enough to make said wins meaningful.
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