Hello, Jason Kapono
The Sixers are acquiring shooting forward Jason Kapono from Toronto for Reggie Evans.
Hello, Jason Kapono
The 76ers have acquired shooting forward Jason Kapono from Toronto in return for power forward Reggie Evans.
The deal was announced at 2:30 this afternoon, although it cannot be finalized until both players pass physical examinations with their new teams. That might not happen until sometime next week.
Raptors president/general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a statement: "Reggie Evans will certainly add an element of toughness to our team. He has very good rebounding and defensive instincts, addressing two areas where we have underperformed.''
At the same time, the Sixers addressed a huge need for perimeter scoring. Kapono won the NBA All-Star Weekend three-point contest in 2006 and 2007 and is tied with Steve Kerr for the highest three-point percentage in league history at 45.4.
"We are very excited to add one of the league's most prolific three-point shooters in Jason Kapono,'' Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement.
Kapono averaged 7.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and a career-best 1.3 assists this season, shooting 43.2 percent from the floor, 42.8 from three-point distance and 81.0 from the foul line for the Raptors this season. He joined them July 11, 2007 as a free agent.
Both players have two seasons remaining on their contracts.
Evans is a seven-season veteran who will provide phsyicality. He was caught in an overload at power forward with the Sixers, where Elton Brand and Jason Smith are returning from injuries and both Marreese Speights and Thaddeus Young have already logged minutes.
Evans averaged 3.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 79 games this season. He has ranked in the top 10 in rebounds per 48 minutes played in each of the last six seasons.
great move by stefanski. you dump a player who really wouldn't play this year over the younger players, and you address one of your biggest needs, perimeter shooting by acquiring kapono. he also will space the floor a lot for a team that loves to drive. i see no flaws in this trade. great work ed stefanski!- I like the deal. We had WAY too many forwards on this team (Speights, Smith, Thad, Iggy, Brand). Kapono basically replaces Donyell on the bench as the guy they call when they need 3's. Hopefully this move fits into a master plan, and wasn't just made to plug a leak.— commissioner_gordon
- Evans was a tough good player; he loved to play basketball; hate to see a player like that-leave your team— fdclements
- Anything is better than Reggie Evans. Kapono will hit some threes which we desparately need. Now we have to dump Willie Green and "Sam the Sham" and we rid our team of the dead salary cap. Nice job Eddie!— Shenkman3
- Love this trade, Kapono might be soft as a defender, but he answers the need for a legitimate shooter. I loved Evans, but we had a logjam at the power forward position. Overall, good trade.— yescadog
- The new Donyell Marshall. Funny thing is his salary for the ext two years is Marshall's and Evan's salary combined.— kundithomas
- I don't buy it that Kapono is as effective as Korver. I think Korver's the better player, but we'll just have to see.— jimmy76er
Comment removed.- Boy I Love my fellow Sixer fans!!!!!— raeven97
- re: Reggie Evans... I have never in my life seen a man so tall look so clueless what to do with a basketball in the low post. He was awesome with his raw energy but even a two-foot shot was pretty much gaurunteed to rim out.— david
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- They Need one more shooter, not a three point threat but someone who can nail 20 footers. Nice Job Stefanski. keep it up.— Huge
- it's all about the princeton offense— uvadad
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- Nice move by both teams. I think this is where GM's make their money. It is important to understand not only your teams' needs but those of the other teams as well so that you can propose these types of trades. It's one role player for another here, and both teams added important ingredients to the mix. Toronto was soft and we all no Reggie will bring them toughness (and improved free throw shooting?). And of course, the Sixers need a marksman. But one question remains- will Kapono simply fill the role of Donyell Marshall (who did a splendid job) or will he play regular minutes?— incog69
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
