Duffman100 wrote:Sixerscan wrote:Rapcity_11 wrote:
They got a freaking title out of it. But I guess they should have traded Kawhi/Green during 2019 to ensure they wouldn't walk for nothing?
You misunderstood my last sentence. Obviously they had no control over Kawhi and so on, which makes getting something for Lowry even more important. Once he walks there are no tradeable assets on your roster that aren't already part of your core going forward, which is what teams generally use to jump start rebuilds. The Grizzlies for example are in a better spot right now because they chose to get something for Gasol and Conley, obviously the Celtics are an extreme example with Pierce and Garnett, we could go on...
But the question is what was the offer for Lowry? Any of the offers that were rumoured were all garbage players that did nothing and would have done nothing for the squad.
KCP and Schroeder?
Olynyk and Dennis Robinson (FA)?
Green and Mike Scott?
I agree that Thybulle, Maxey and 2 1sts was too large of an ask.
But there is also an organizational reputation that has to be considered here. You show that you're willing to buckle and deal Lowry for nothing, then that marks you as a team that will eventually cave. Raptors aren't just going to give away a top 30ish player for nothing...
In the end we won't ever know what was truly on the table, but the most realistic destination could've been Miami. It's too bad they let that James Johnson $7.5M TPE expire. Miami supposedly wanted both Lowry and Oladipo. It would've been a major pain in the butt as Houston ultimately derailed the Raps plans but IMO the Raptors could've gone a 5 team route with Miami, Houston, NOLA and Detroit:
Miami: Kyle Lowry, Victor Oladipo(post buyout)
Detroit: Victor Oladipo(bought out)
Houston: Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington, James Johson
NOLA: Cory Joseph, Duncan Robinson, Kelly Olynyk, Danuel House Jr., Ben McLemore(bought out)
Toronto: Eric Bledsoe, Precious Achiuwa, 2 1sts from NOLA(via LAL and a pro. 1st). Maybe some 2nds?
-Miami gets 2 players they have coveted and get to see whether or not they'd fit there.
-Detroit adds a little salary to this year's cap sheet, but they save $2.4M from next year's cap with Joseph being gone.
-Houston saves $2.6M while shedding House Jr.'s contract saving money for a broke owner
-New Orleans gets out of Bledsoe's salary while being able to fill out their roster with some much needed scoring for the 2nd unit and save $12M from Bledsoe's deal which they could use to resign Lonzo Ball. This also allows them to provide spacing on the floor for Zion.
-Raptors eat a bad deal in Bledsoe although his last year is only partially guaranteed for $3.9M. They also get draft capital for the future and get a young prospect in Achiuwa to grow with the team.
If Achuiwa was in this deal, I'd go for it. Dunno how other teams would feel about it although Miami would be near the hard cap. If they hadn't traded for Bjelica perhaps the Raptors could've absorbed him from Sacramento and bought him out and he goes to MIA with Vic ensuring the Heat stay under the tax or are slightly over it as they were taxpayers last year. In this case, they'd still be able to fill out their roster as they see fit. The other teams in this scenario stay under the tax.
The Raptors if Houston wants more could offer a deal where they could've sent out McCaw to Houston to eat Augustin's salary as his deal expires at the same time as Bled but is only guaranteed for 333,333k. I dunno just throwing some thoughts and deals out there.