with a victory, but the club was held in check by a stout Mo

TORONTO - With just over an hour until the start of Thursdays free agent signing frenzy, Masai Ujiri delivered on a promise he made following last seasons playoff run. Greivis Vasquez, the final piece of that puzzle, joined teammates Kyle Lowry and Patrick Patterson in recommitting to the Raptors, agreeing to a two-year, $13 million deal late Wednesday evening. Vasquez, a restricted free agent, became the latest Raptor to re-up with the team he helped lead to a franchise-best 48-win season and division title last year. Bringing him back, along with the rest of the personnel responsible for the clubs resurgence, has been an offseason priority for Ujiri. "As far as Im concerned, keeping our core group going forward... those guys are priorities for us," the Raptors GM had said after extending head coach Dwane Casey in May. "And if you want to build, I think a team where we have young players, we have to build continuity. When free agency comes, we have to attack our guys first." That he did, taking care of the heavy lifting before the July moratorium period was lifted at 12:01 AM Thursday. With the leagues salary cap set for next season, teams can make their signings official at this time and the Raptors are expected to do so at a media conference in the morning. Vasquez, like Patterson, came to the Raptors in Decembers seven-player swap with Sacramento. The 27-year-old came into his own late into the season as he got closer to 100 percent following an offseason ankle surgery. The fiery Venezuelan sparked his new team with passion and hot shooting, anchoring the second unit and backing up Lowry, also playing alongside him in the backcourt on occasion. "Id use the word passionate for Greivis," Casey said back in May. "He has stones. Hes probably, truth be told, probably the most confident player on the team. He feels like he can score on LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan in his prime, which is great and you need that." "If you tell him, Greivis, run through that window right there, hes going to do it. Now he may look at you a little bit, but hell do it." The versatile fourth-year guard averaged 9.5 points and 3.7 assists in 61 games with Toronto, shooting 39 percent from three-point range, after struggling to fit in as a member of the Kings to begin the season. Often expressing his admiration for the city of Toronto and his desire to return this summer, Vasquez has credited the move from Sacramento as a turning point in his young career. "It would be heartbreaking if I dont come back," Vasquez said in his memorable exit interview the day after Torontos postseason elimination. "Im an emotional guy, so I really embrace, Im really committed to the team, to the city, to this franchise." Although a $6.5 million annual salary is on the high end for a backup point guard, the Raptors value Vasquez as more than that and the reasonable two-year term allows them to maintain their flexibility leading up to the summer of 2016. Vasquez has proven himself a capable starter in the league, averaging career-highs of 13.9 points and 9.0 assists while finishing second in Most Improved Player voting with New Orleans in 2012-13. Not only can he co-exist with both newcomer Lou Williams and Lowry in the backcourt, but he serves as insurance if the latter were to miss time with an injury. With the NBA salary cap set at just over $63 million for next season, the tax level at $76.8 million, the Raptors figure to have most of their mid-level exception - roughly $5 million - to spend with three open roster spots after completing deals with Vasquez, Lowry, Patterson and rookie Bruno Caboclo, who was signed to his rookie scale contract Wednesday afternoon. Edrice Adebayo Heat Jersey . This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more. Tyler Johnson Heat Jersey .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Shaquille-Oneal-City-Edition-Jersey/ . I suppose Sternberg has earned the right to speak out since his Rays, despite one of the lowest payrolls in the Majors at $58 million, are entering the final weekend of the regular season holding down the first Wild Card spot in the American League, one game ahead of Cleveland and two up on Texas. Kelly Olynyk Heat Jersey . And like the near entirety of last season, Jonathan Bernier and Torontos goaltending tandem is up to the task. Bam Adebayo Heat Jersey . An offseason trade acquisition from Kansas City, Greinkes National League debut was delayed by a non-baseball injury in the spring, and he was 0-1 after dropping an 8-0 decision at Atlanta in his initial appearance with the Brewers on May 4.Fontvieille, Monaco (SportsNetwork.com) - Lyon wasted an opportunity to put some distance between themselves and those below them in the table on Sunday after the club was held to a scoreless draw against Monaco at the Stade Louis II. With second and third place Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, both notching three points this weekend, Lyon had the opportunity to extend their lead over Marseille to four points with a victory, but the club was held in check by a stout Monaco defense. Lyon entered the day looking for a second straight win following a 2-0 result over Metz last time out, but the finishing was off for the duration of the 90 minutes. Lyon had the better of possession, keeping 57 percent of the ball and firing three atttempts on target, but they could only take one point away from the match to move to 49 points from 23 matches, two clear of Marseille.dddddddddddd Monaco, meanwhile, managed just one attempt on frame and moves to 40 points with the result but they remain seven points behind PSG for the coveted final Champions League place in Ligue 1. Also in Frances top flight on Sunday, Caen moved out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win over Saint Etienne thanks to a 41st-minute strike from Julien Feret. Claudio Beauvue netted his 11th goal of the season in the 28th minute to give Guingamp an early 1-0 lead over Bordeaux, but the visitors failed to hold the lead as Maxime Poundje found the equalizer in the 56th minute, forcing the clubs to share the spoils. ' ' '