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The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have acquired guard Greivis Vasquez (GRAY-vis VASS-kezs), guard-forward John Salmons (SAL-mons), and forwards Chuck Hayes and Patrick Patterson from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for forwards Rudy Gay and Quincy Acy and centre Aaron Gray.
“We thank Rudy, Aaron and Quincy for their time here. They were great professionals and strong community ambassadors of the Raptors,” said Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri. “The trade gives us good flexibility and more certainty as we plan for our future.”
Vasquez, 6-foot-6, 211 pounds, has averaged 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 25.8 minutes in 18 games with the Kings this season. He registered a season-high 20 points at the Los Angeles Lakers on November 24 as well as a double-double November 13 versus Brooklyn with 17 points and a season-best 12 assists.
Vasquez played with Memphis and New Orleans prior to joining the Kings. He was selected in the first round (28th overall) by Memphis in 2010. In 232 career games (123 starts), he has averaged 9.0 points, 5.6 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 24.6 minutes.
The native of Caracas, Venezuela set career highs during the 2012-13 season averaging 13.9 points, 9.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 78 games with New Orleans. He shot a career-best .433 from the field, .342 from three-point range and was runner-up in the NBA’s Most Improved Award last season. He also led the NBA in total assists (704) and ranked third in assists per game (9.0).
Vasquez set a personal high with 16 assists while playing 43 minutes December 14, 2012 versus Minnesota. He followed-up with a career-best 27-point performance December 27, 2012 at Orlando and recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in a road win at Atlanta on February 9, 2013.
Vasquez is the first Venezuelan-born player drafted into the NBA and only the third Venezuelan citizen to ever player in the NBA.
Salmons, 6-foot-6, 207 pounds, has averaged 5.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 24.7 minutes in 18 appearances (eight starts) this season. He has scored in double figures four times with a season-high 14 points versus the Los Angeles Clippers on November 29.
Salmons is a 12-year NBA veteran with career averages of 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 27.2 minutes. He has shot .365 percentage from three-point range in 814 career games (429 starts). He was originally drafted 26th overall by San Antonio in the 2002 NBA Draft and has spent time with Philadelphia, Chicago, Milwaukee and two stints with Sacramento.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Salmons’ best statistical season was in 2008-09 when he averaged career highs of 18.3 points and 37.4 minutes in 79 games with Chicago and Sacramento. He posted his lone career triple-double December 22, 2006 at Denver with 21 points, 11 rebound and 10 assists. Salmons has recorded a career-high 38 points twice, most recently March 17, 2009 versus Boston.
Hayes, 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, has appeared in 16 games with the Kings this season where he has averaged 2.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 11.2 minutes. Hayes is in his ninth NBA campaign and owns career averages of 4.0 points, 5.3 points and 1.3 assists in 568 games (244 starts) with Houston and Sacramento. He has a .502 (982-for-1958) career field goal shooting percentage and has shot better than.500 in four different seasons.
Hayes, a native of San Leandro California, posted a career-best 7.9 points and 8.1 rebounds during the 2010-11 season with Houston. He signed with the Rockets as an undrafted free agent in 2005 following a stand-out career at the University of Kentucky where he tied a school record with 110 consecutive starts and helped the Wildcats earn two SEC Championship, three Sweet 16’s and two Elite Eight appearances.
Patterson, 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, is averaging 6.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 24.4 minutes in 17 outings (six starts) with the Kings this season. Selected in the first round (14th overall) by Houston in 2010, Patterson has career averages of 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 22.3 minutes in 204 games (54 starts). He averaged a career-best 11.6 points in a career-high 71 games during the 2012-13 season, which was split between Houston and Sacramento. Patterson posted career bests of 27 points November 28, 2012 at Oklahoma City and had 13 rebounds January 25, 2013 at New Orleans.
Gay was acquired from Memphis on January 30, 2013 as part of a three-team deal with Detroit. He posted averages of 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 35.0 minutes in 51 contests (50 starts) with Toronto. Gay scored 20 or more points 27 times for the Raptors, with four games of 30 or more points.
Gay ranked second on the Raptors in scoring (19.5) and rebounds (7.4) this season.
Acy was drafted by Toronto in the second round (37th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 36 games with the Raptors, averaging 3.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 11.2 minutes. Acy shot .539 (48-89) from the field.
Gray averaged 3.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 14.2 minutes in 95 games (56 starts) in Toronto. He scored a career-high 22 points with the Raptors on January 28, 2013 versus Golden State.
Toronto will play host to the San Antonio Spurs at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
