Die Macht » down a three, but hes no longer quick enough to get to

TORONTO - It wasnt until practice let out that Raptors players learned about the news sending shockwaves around the NBA early Sunday afternoon. Kevin Durant, the leagues reigning MVP, could be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a right foot fracture that may require surgery. The Raptors were already in the gym as word of the injury spread over social media. Its very tough, man, its very tough, said Raptors guard Greivis Vasquez, a good friend and high school teammate of Durant, as he processed the information. I didnt know about KD, I just found out and Im going to pray for him and hopefully he comes back even stronger. Durant is just the latest star player to sustain a significant injury before the start of the upcoming regular season. Wizards talented third-year guard Bradley Beal broke his wrist in an exhibition contest last week, an injury that required surgery and will keep him out of action for roughly two months. Celtics all-star point guard Rajon Rondo broke his hand in a freak accident at home. And then theres Paul George, whose gruesome leg injury in a Team USA scrimmage over the summer will cost him his entire season. Its just hard, Vasquez added. Our sport is very physical and injuries are part of the sport, unfortunately. The NBA is going to continue. Like many others around the Association, Raptors head coach Dwane Casey has taken notice and plans to exercise caution before the stakes rise at the end of the month. Were going to be smart with it, Casey said Sunday, promising to monitor the minutes of his prized backcourt - DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry - closely for the duration of the pre-season. The list of recently fallen star players serves as further proof that injury prevention is not a simple proposition. High performance athletes, like anyone else really, can get hurt anywhere, at any time, whether its the result of overexertion or simply bad luck. You can slip down the stairs and hurt yourself, DeRozan noted. The Raptors were fortunate with good health a year ago, losing just 52 games to injury or illness, fewest in the NBA. While Torontos training and medical staff, one of the leagues finest, deserve credit there are far too many variables - some of them luck dependent - to count on that good fortune repeating itself in 2014-15. For a team with their sights set on April and May, the risk of setting an impact player back before games begin to matter is just not worth it. You can work hard but weve got to be smart in making sure we are efficient with [their] minutes on the floor, said Casey. That way [they] maintain that rhythm offensively and also establishes our defensive identity but we dont want to wear out everything in exhibition, especially with the guys who are going to have high minutes in regular season play. Both of Torontos starting guards logged career-highs in minutes played last season. Only two players, Durant and the Mavericks Monta Ellis, saw more court time than DeRozan. By late March, Casey and his staff were forced to cut back on Lowrys minutes as the aches and pains of a long season began to catch up with him. Meanwhile, DeRozan - coming off a busy summer, playing for USA in the FIBA World Cup - hasnt had much time for rest since the Raptors were eliminated in seven games during the first round of the playoffs. Looking to be in mid-season form, theyve each hit the ground running in exhibition but, through three games, Lowry is playing just over 26 minutes per night and DeRozan has logged an average of 22. The Raptors will be halfway through their eight-game pre-season slate following Mondays contest in New York. Casey intends to utilize the next couple weeks to experiment with different lineups, take a look at some of the teams younger players and, hopefully, manufacture some much-needed rest for his two workhorses. 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Cheap Air Max 97 From China .5 million, two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, a deal that covers his final two arbitration seasons.The Toronto Raptors got a couple of pieces from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for a veteran with a contract that will be bought out. Numbers Game looks at the deal that brings Lou Williams to the Raptors. The Raptors Get: SG Lou Williams and C Lucas Nogueira. Williams, 27, has been a productive scoring guard off the bench for much of his career, but he struggled last season, posting his worst Player Efficiency Rating (PER of 14.24) since his rookie season of 2005-2006. Williams shot 40.0% from the field, including 342% on threes, his worst in both categories since 2008-2009, so hes not exactly at peak value. Three times in his career, including in 2012-2013, Williams has averaged better than 14 points per game, yet hes come off the bench in 500 of his 554 career games. Hes a perimeter player who is taking fewer two-point shots. Last season, Williams took 4.3 twos per game, compared to 3.9 threes and his 3.0 free-throw attempts per game was his lowest since 2006-2007; these are signs of a player who isnt getting to the rim. Defensively, Williams is below average; a shooting guard in a point guards body, he doesnt have the physique to handle stronger guards, nor the height to deal with bigger guards. Williams does have quickness and can use that to his advantage but hes consistently rated as a subpar defender. Despite those limitations, Williams can be a useful second-team gunner and theres room for that in the Raptors rotation. Williams is going into the final year of a contract that pays him $5.45-million in 2014-2015. Taken with the 16th pick in last summers draft, Lucas Nogueira is a skinny 7-footer who, as might be expected, has potential as a shot blocker, but the Brazilian they call "Bebe" is considered raw, not unlike the Raptors first-round pick in this summers draft, Bruno Caboclo, who also happens to be Brazilian. Playing in Spain for Estudiantes last season, Nogueira put up 6.dddddddddddd points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game in 16.0 minutes per game. He turns 22 this summer and could still use time to develop, but is a nice upside play for the Raptors. Nogueira has a contract with Estudiantes that runs through next season, so that will give him additional time to round out his game before worrying about how he might fit into the Raptors plans. The Hawks Get: SF John Salmons. Salmons is a 34-year-old swingman whose best days are well behind him. He hasnt shot 40% from the field in the past two seasons, and shot a career-low 36.3% from the field last season on his way to scoring 5.2 points per game, his fewest since 2004-2005. Hes showing the wear and tear of playing 874 career games. Salmons can still knock down a three, but hes no longer quick enough to get to the basket, nor is he quick enough to defend wings effectively. This could very well be the end of the line for Salmons. The value to the Hawks is that Salmons has a $7-million contract that only requires a $1-million buyout, leaving the Hawks with lots of room to maneuver as the NBA free agent market gets into full swing. Carmelo Anthony, Luol Deng and Lance Stephenson could be among the more appealing wings that the Hawks may try to lure with more than %15-million in salary cap space. This is a case where the Hawks got what they were after, increased cap space, and the Raptors got a few assets in return for providing it. Williams offers some immediate help, and is a trade chip with an expiring contract if the season goes awry, while Nogueira presents some upside for the long run. As it stands today, the Raptors are a better team for having made this trade. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '