The Raptors have signed F/C Jamal Sampson. The 25-year old Sampson did not play last season in the NBA. He has played in 72 games (5 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 8.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Sampson will provide depth along the front line for the Raptors but don’t expect a lot of of him even if the Raptors’ suffer some injuries along the front line.

The Raptors have given G/F Hassan Adams a 2-year contract. Adams is only 24 years old and he’s 6′4″, 220 pounds but he’s best suited for playing shooting guard. Adams didn’t play last season but his rookie season in 2006-07 showed some promise. Adams played in 61 games (8 starts) for the Nets in 2006-07 and he averaged 8.1 minutes, 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. The one thing that jumped off the stat sheet with Adams is that he shot 55.6% from the floor in his rookie season. Adams might be able to give the Raptors some decent minutes off the bench the next couple of seasons.

The Toronto Raptors made a bold move which will likely make them a title contender in 2008-09. The Raptors have acquired F/C Jermaine O’Neal and rookie C/F Nathan Jawai out of Australia from the Pacers for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and 1st round pick Roy Hibbert. The price was pretty high but the Raptors can replace everyone that they got rid of. O’Neal will likely start at center and that should take a lot of pressure off of Chris Bosh who had to try to do too much quite often last season. The 29-year old O’Neal played in only 42 games (34 starts) last season for the Pacers and he averaged 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 blocked shots per game. O’Neal has now played in 724 games (515 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Rookie F/C Nathan Jawai is a big guy at 6′10″, 280 pounds and he played professionally in Australia in 2007. Jawai played in 30 games last season and he averaged 17.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Jawai is a project and the Raptors will take it slow with him. If O’Neal can stay healthy this is a good trade for the Raptors.

The Raptors have bought out the last year of forward Jorge Garbajosa’s contract valued at $4.25 million dollars. Garbajosa was injured most of last season for the Raptors. He only played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Raptors last season and he averaged 10.6 minutes, 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Garbajosa played in 74 games (60 starts) in his two seasons in Toronto and he averaged 26.8 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Raptors won’t likely miss him much but he should make some good money back home in Spain as long as he is healthy.

The Raptors have acquired center Primoz Brezec from the Pistons for guard Juan Dixon. Brezec has played in 37 games (18 starts) this season for the Pistons and Bobcats. In those games, Brezec has averaged 9.9 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Brezec has now played in 308 games (214 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 19.4 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Brezec will back up Andrea Bargnani and that should be a good teaming at center.

Juan Dixon played in 36 games (0 starts) this season for the Raptors and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.