In Part 1 of this examination of the Toronto Raptors’ salary cap status, we lay out the myriad problems which face President Masai Ujiri and General Manager Bobby Webster. Now let’s examine how we can fix them.
VanVleet is the linchpin
Fred VanVleet is the most important player among the Raptors’ four Unrestricted Free Agents [UFA], and getting him to rejoin will be the trickiest. He would have to be signed to a deal with a huge back-end. Let’s say in Year 1 he gets the same money as he’s been making ($9.3 M), then $25 M in each of the contract’s next four years. That way, Kyle gets his last big paycheque, after which the Raptors are Fred’s team to run as the point guard. I haven’t the slightest idea whether Fred will find this offer enticing, and I’m not optimistic.
Centers of attention
Serge Ibaka made over $ 23 M last year, and enjoyed something of a career renaissance. He proved particularly effective as a 3-point shooter in the playoffs, with 23 makes in 45 tries. That remarkable efficiency pushed his eFG% to .677. I ran filters for the playoffs, limited to those who played more than 10 games and averaged more than 20 minutes. Ibaka’s eFG% was the best.
You know where I’m going with this – I want Serge back, and he has said he wants to return. I can’t say the same for Marc Gasol, and not simply because he was dreadful in the bubble, finishing third-worst among my eFG% ‘qualifiers’ (who was on the bottom? Pascal Siakam) Gasol has already celebrated his 35th birthday, whereas Serge just turned 31.
Would Marc agree to a sign-&-trade to New York? I’m not doing Trade Proposals here, but a deal like that would be a win for all concerned, even the hapless Knicks. Anyway, let’s say thanks to Marc, and move on. [There’s also chatter about Marc signing in Europe. As of this writing, that’s not confirmed. No one would be surprised if he returned to Spain, the country of his birth.]
Serge could be induced to return with a deal similar to Fred’s, i.e., a three-year contract with a heavy backload in the final year(s).
A solid bench?
Our last UFA is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, whose hustle and rebounding savvy almost make up for serious shortcomings in his skill set. Unless he’s a problem in the locker room (and I haven’t heard anything to indicate so), I’d like him back. Let’s give him a raise to an even $ 3 M.
Stanley Johnson will be entering his player-option season priced at $3.8 million. He’d be nuts to decline; assuming he doesn’t, watch for Masai to ‘trade’ him to a team with cap space. Our return will be the signing rights to Timmy Airball (who when last seen by an NBA scout was on the bench of a Division-2 team in Luxemburg), and a case of Gatorade. In short, a salary dump.
Malcolm Miller is supposed to be swingman insurance, although what few minutes he was getting evaporated in the bubble. He has a qualifying offer at just under $ 2 M which he’d be a fool to turn down. He didn’t advance his cause at all last year, and I’d be just as happy to see someone else get a chance.
Patrick McCaw’s last season at $4 M is upon us. He’s been sidelined with what appears to be a serious knee issue. The chances of him being healthy by training camp aren’t great. He wouldn’t be making my depth chart, and a buyout may be necessary. That would create the only example of ‘dead money’ [the colloquial term for money paid to players who have been waived] on our roster.
I’m encouraged by the number of useful players Masai was able to uncover for free. By ‘free’ I mean no assets, such as draft picks or players, were expended to add Terrence Davis and Matt Thomas; before them, Chris Boucher. [To be clear: I don’t consider money an ‘asset’ in this context. For you and me, of course it is, but money is way down the priority schema for NBA General Managers. They have access to lots of it. In short supply are cap space, draft picks, and players on the roster of sufficient quality to be moved for a meaningful return, should the need arise.]
The biggest no-cost asset was the ‘discovery’ of FVV, an undrafted free agent. Whether any of Davis, Thomas, or Boucher will ever approach Fred’s value is impossible to say. I suspect we’ll be finding out in 2020-21, since all three will expect more playing time.
When we’re done…
Here’s where all this movement leaves us:
GOING
1.Fred VanVleet (I’m not optimistic about the numbers working)
2. Marc Gasol
3. Stanley Johnson
4. Malcolm Miller
5. Patrick McCaw
STAYING
1. Serge Ibaka
2. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
What next, Masai?
We don’t have a roster anymore. The Raptors are down to a handful of proven players (Ibaka, Lowry, Anunoby, Siakam, Powell, Hollis-Jefferson), a trio (Davis, Thomas, Boucher) we can be cautiously optimistic about, and a pair (Dewan Hernandez, Paul Watson) who are on the bubble.
While there are much scarier thoughts than that of starting the season with Kyle and Norman starting in the backcourt, Masai won’t be content. Without any new blood, the group I’ve listed wouldn’t make the playoffs. There isn’t sufficient outside shooting, rebounding, interior defense, or depth.
Don’t surrender your tickets quite yet, Raptors fans. We’ll discuss how to fill the gaps next time.
- Tags: Masai Ujiri, Toronto Raptors
