7/10/09
by: Scott
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While it's not official yet, Anthony Parker's agent told Michael Grange today that Parker is going to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. ESPN reporter Ric Bucher tweeted that Parker would likely sign a two-year deal for under $6 million. Many of us would have liked Parker to stick around and split minutes with DeMar DeRozan at shooting guard next season, but it simply didn't make sense for the Raptors to outbid the Cavs for a 34-year-old who declined noticably last season.
However, I come not to bury Anthony Parker — but to praise him. Parker had been out of the NBA for six years in 2006 when Bryan Colangelo signed him for three years at around $4 million per season. It seemed like an exorbitant amount to pay a guy who most Raptors fans had never heard of before that moment. Sure, he was a star player for Maccabi Tel Aviv who had just won back-to-back Euroleague MVP Awards, but Raptors fans had fallen for this story once before — remember Nate Huffman? — so we were understandably skeptical that this was a smart signing.
We quickly discovered that Parker was the real deal and he definitely gave the Raptors their money's worth in his first two seasons. In 2006-07, he played a key role in helping the Raptors improve by 20 wins and win their first Atlantic Division title. In 2007-08, he started all 82 games and led the team in minutes played while the Raptors made the playoffs again. Over those two seasons, he averaged 12.4 points per game while shooting .477 from the field and a deadly .439 from three-point range. He developed a reputation as a solid defender and a dead-eye shooter that you did not want to leave open.
While Parker's numbers dropped precipitously and he clearly lost a step on defence last season, I still expect him to be a valuable contributor in Cleveland. If they want to surround LeBron James with great shooters, they could do a lot worse than a guy who is ninth all time in three-point shooting percentage His new team-mate, Daniel Gibson, happens to be 11th all-time in that category.
Not that this needs to be pointed out to anybody who followed the Raptors regularly over the past three seasons, but Parker is also a consummate team-mate and an all-around great guy. Now that he's a Cav, I'm rooting for Cleveland to win it all in 2010 so that A.P. can get a ring. If I get to see him grinning while he's soaked in champagne next June, my grin will match his. At the very least, I hope he receives a standing ovation when he makes his return to the Air Canada Centre next season. 
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