maternal85 wrote:I don't believe this. This doesn't move the needle for new york. Why do this ? Also Fred is not going anywhere. A 50 win team, being out in the 2nd round, is more profitable than a lottery team with no hope. MLSE doesn't plan to go back to the lottery days.
But if that contract hinders you from signing someone down the road or making moves that help you become an actual contender (and you know, get out of the 2nd round) then it is an issue. I understand trying to retain an asset. But that doesn't always work out and there is no guarantee that we can move him. It is much harder to move large, newly-signed contracts without moving assets along with them (even for decent players). Which then seems like a waste.
There are desperate teams out there that want to make a splash (i.e. Knicks) and are willing to pay a lot to make it happen. That is why it isn't crazy that the Knicks would sign Fred for above his market value. Fred is also benefitting from a very poor FA class, being one of the biggest names out there, and being unrestricted. Fred's cap hold is around 17mil, I think that is a fair value for what he brings and the clear weaknesses he has. That's why I think the 17-20mil range is more than fair from the Raptors. Anything above... you're basically paying a premium for your own player.
Also, we went down the whole "a good team but not a contender route" with the Demar lead teams. A championship run or perennial contender is better than a first or second-round exit if you're looking at just a fiscal situation. So why would MLSE/Raptors FO settle for just that? It isn't like we are completely stuck if Fred leaves either. Lowry is here next year, Davis has shown flashes, 2021 FA has a ton of PGs, and there is always a trade route if worse comes to worst.
For me, it comes down to a simple question. Are Pascal and Van Vleet good enough to lead a contending team (post-Lowry) and eating up over 60mil of your cap? And I don't see it. I think Pascal will be fine and probably get better but he's probably better as a number two guy.