Early on Sunday morning, the San Antonio Spurs withdrew their qualifying offer to Cory Joseph. It was a salary cap move — they need the space for LaMarcus Aldridge — but it made Joseph an unrestricted free agent. Still, it was possible the Spurs would re-sign the Gregg Popovich favorite.
By Sunday afternoon, Joseph had reached a deal with Toronto.
Joseph himself announced it on Twitter.
#WeTheNorth here I come!!!!!
— Cory Joseph (@Cory_Joe) July 6, 2015
Chris Broussard of ESPN broke the deal and had the financial details.
Sources: Cory Joseph and the Toronto Raptors have agreed to a 4-year year deal worth $30 million
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 6, 2015
This is a good pickup for the Raptors. Joseph is a slasher whose game is to get to the rim — almost 40 percent of his shot attempts last season were within three feet of the rim, and he finished an impressive 60.2 percent of them. He can shoot the three, but he chooses not to very often.
Joseph will back up Kyle Lowry in Toronto, with rookie Delon Wright behind them.