The Toronto Raptors signed Canadian point guard Cory Joseph today to a four-year, $30 million contract. Bringing a Canadian onto the Raptors has been the subject of rumors for years now, from Andrew Wiggins to Tristan Thompson to Joseph himself. Let’s not delude ourselves. This is an overpay, and it’s not a great basketball decision. Joseph’s 18 minutes per game in 2014/15 are the most he’s ever played; he’s a backup through and through. Not that this is a bad thing, mind you. You need a backup point guard, and Joseph has worked admirably to turn himself into just that. You just don’t pay that player over $7 million per year, even with the salary cap projected to jump up next summer.

Now-former Raptor Lou Williams signing with the Los Angeles Lakers really puts the Joseph acquisition into perspective. Williams (three years, $21 million) got essentially the same contract as Joseph, for one fewer year. Whatever you may think about his playing style, Lou Will is a far superior player to Joseph, and I imagine this won’t be changing soon. He deservedly won Sixth Man of the Year, scoring in volume and with efficiency.

Joseph is, admittedly, a better defender, and it’s very evident that improving the Raps’ defense has been GM Masai Ujiri‘s prime directive. He’s also younger than Williams, so some improvement over the course of his contract is certainly within the realm of possibility.

But Joseph is going from one of the best situations possible – playing garbage time for the San Antonio Spurs – and onto this hectic Raptors team. He’s likely staring at 20-25 minutes per game; will his stats hold up? I doubt it.

It seems this move was made first and foremost to appease the Raptor fanbase, a passionate but confused group after this year’s undignified playoff performance. And judging by social media reactions to the acquisition, Ujiri has succeeded with flying colors. Oh Canada!

Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham