How to Keep Everyone and Maintain 2021 Cap Space

[bootsythornton]

Any thoughts out there on how the raptors maintain most of their current core and maintain flexibility for 2021?

Assuming FVV gets $15m and Pascal is maxed at $35m.. that's $50m. OG, Powell, Thomas, and Hernandez are the only other roster players on the books. Raptors would have roughly $65m on the books for the 2021 off season.

Assuming $120m salary cap... could we dump Powell and then sign 2 max free agents and still retain Lowry and other vets by having their bird rights?

[yt_boi]

All those unsigned guys have cap holes. You would have to rescind them. If we keep fvv, which I think we will, then we have to be extremely cautious with everything else we do if we want to have room for 1 max guy in 2021

[Morse Code]

I don't think 1 more max guy is enough to win it again, if Pascal is our other max. We won't have Lowry, Gasol, Ibaka, Fred on the books if we're creating a max spot, so we might as well do whatever we can to create 2 spots and hope some duo wants to team up. Kawhi on this team without those other guys isn't beating GSW (or whatever team becomes that type of contender). 2 spots or bust imo.

[d00lttle]

I don't think Siakim's max is $35M in 2021. He's eligible for a max starting salary of 25% of the cap is 2020, which at a cap projected to be $116M would put him at $29M. A max 8% raise would give him $31.32M in 2021.

[tor1234567]

This team is not signing one max free agent (let alone two).

We need to gather assets from now until 2021 to make a trade.

We don't need to be fully under the cap to completely absorb the entire contract. Just enough to make it enticing for a trading team to gain a sizeable trade exception by trading with us.

[StopitLeo]

Any thoughts out there on how the raptors maintain most of their current core and maintain flexibility for 2021?

Assuming FVV gets $15m and Pascal is maxed at $35m.. that's $50m. OG, Powell, Thomas, and Hernandez are the only other roster players on the books. Raptors would have roughly $65m on the books for the 2021 off season.

Assuming $120m salary cap... could we dump Powell and then sign 2 max free agents and still retain Lowry and other vets by having their bird rights?

It's pretty easy. Only 1 year deals unless it is insignificant like a minimum or partial guarantee (i.e., Davis and Thomas).

Assuming we max Pascal and give Fred a deal starting at $15M (which seems reasonable) then the only free agents we have to worry about are Ibaka, Gasol, and RHJ. If Serge and/or Marc want to come back then it has to be on a 1 year deal like Lowry. RHJ is on a "prove yourself" deal so he's unlikely to return in my mind.

There aren't 2 max free agents worth signing this offseason IMO so that money can be used to re-sign Serge and Gasol to bigger 1 year deals if that's the direction they want to go. It's all about those contracts coming off the books for Giannis-2021.

[XxIronChainzxX]

Any thoughts out there on how the raptors maintain most of their current core and maintain flexibility for 2021?

Assuming FVV gets $15m and Pascal is maxed at $35m.. that's $50m. OG, Powell, Thomas, and Hernandez are the only other roster players on the books. Raptors would have roughly $65m on the books for the 2021 off season.

Assuming $120m salary cap... could we dump Powell and then sign 2 max free agents and still retain Lowry and other vets by having their bird rights?

It's pretty easy. Only 1 year deals unless it is insignificant like a minimum or partial guarantee (i.e., Davis and Thomas).

Assuming we max Pascal and give Fred a deal starting at $15M (which seems reasonable) then the only free agents we have to worry about are Ibaka, Gasol, and RHJ. If Serge and/or Marc want to come back then it has to be on a 1 year deal like Lowry. RHJ is on a "prove yourself" deal so he's unlikely to return in my mind.

There aren't 2 max free agents worth signing this offseason IMO so that money can be used to re-sign Serge and Gasol to bigger 1 year deals if that's the direction they want to go. It's all about those contracts coming off the books for Giannis-2021.

Fred isn't a starter on a contender. We'd get very limited playmaking out of our SL without Gasol or Lowry. I like FVV but it's about time we part ways IMO.

[StopitLeo]

Any thoughts out there on how the raptors maintain most of their current core and maintain flexibility for 2021?

Assuming FVV gets $15m and Pascal is maxed at $35m.. that's $50m. OG, Powell, Thomas, and Hernandez are the only other roster players on the books. Raptors would have roughly $65m on the books for the 2021 off season.

Assuming $120m salary cap... could we dump Powell and then sign 2 max free agents and still retain Lowry and other vets by having their bird rights?

It's pretty easy. Only 1 year deals unless it is insignificant like a minimum or partial guarantee (i.e., Davis and Thomas).

Assuming we max Pascal and give Fred a deal starting at $15M (which seems reasonable) then the only free agents we have to worry about are Ibaka, Gasol, and RHJ. If Serge and/or Marc want to come back then it has to be on a 1 year deal like Lowry. RHJ is on a "prove yourself" deal so he's unlikely to return in my mind.

There aren't 2 max free agents worth signing this offseason IMO so that money can be used to re-sign Serge and Gasol to bigger 1 year deals if that's the direction they want to go. It's all about those contracts coming off the books for Giannis-2021.

Fred isn't a starter on a contender. We'd get very limited playmaking out of our SL without Gasol or Lowry. I like FVV but it's about time we part ways IMO.

We wouldn't have to sign FVV planning for him be the starting PG of the future. He's a solid player which makes him a valuable trade asset on a reasonable deal. Keeping him also provides continuity, which is an important ingredient for sustained success. Who knows, Fred might not want to return if he's still playing behind Kyle next year and/or if we aren't willing to pay him as much as he thinks he is worth.

Honestly though, this team being a true contender again is predicated on signing Giannis in 2021 (or magically acquiring another MVP-calibre player like we did with Kawhi). Whether Fred continues to fits the roster in two years can be decided then. But right now I think he brings enough value to warrant having him on the team next year (again, on a reasonable deal).