Raptors Deal Salmons for Lou Williams, Lucas Nogueira

The Toronto Raptors have made their first offseason move, and swingman John Salmons is heading to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for combo guard Lou Williams and center prospect Lucas ‘Bebe’ Nogueira.  Salmons would have likely been waived by the Raptors, as he is only guaranteed $1 out of $7 million of his 2014-15 contract. Thus, the Hawks are likely going to dump him and Salmons will enter free agency. Williams, 27, can play either guard position and is pretty much your ideal sixth man. He can score in bunches, and really is a great option off of the bench. He’s got one year left on his contract, worth 5.4 million dollars. Nogueira, 21, was selected 16th in the 2013 draft however has yet to make his NBA debut. The Brazilian will likely get along well with rookie Bruno Caboclo. He’s on a rookie scale deal, and is a nice prospect to have. Ultimately, the Hawks likely want the cap space this season, while the Raptors are more interested in obtaining it next season. Thus, they scooped up a prospect and nice bench scorer in return. A more detailed analysis is coming up.