Everything Off Season

[inthepaint]

What about Nando? Is he still the big man on campus is Europe? Why do the Raps keep renewing his FA rights?

He can play backup PG & SG, for sure.

Alright, now it's officially the offseason, we got the mandatory yearly "what about Nando?" post out of the way.

[LJ2]

So let’s talk keeping Lowry for a minute. If Lowry is still playing well and says he’d re-sign for say $20mill per year for another 1-2 years.....and we have OG’s cap hold.....there is definitely not room for FVV and a max slot in that scenario right? Like it’s Lowry or van vleet at that point? I agree with others Lowry probably ain’t taking 10 mill a year unless there is a drastic drop off

I lack event basic knowledge of how the cap works, but if the intent was to resign Lowry after extending him through next season then did they make a mistake buy not making it a multi year deal? What was the thought process behind the one year extension?

[S.R.]

Alright, now it's officially the offseason, we got the mandatory yearly "what about Nando?" post out of the way.

Nando de Colo is my favourite 33 year old prospect. So mysterious. Where is he? What's he doing? Does he actually exist or is he just a rumour? A dream? Does anyone even know anyone who's actually SEEN Nando de Colo?

[golden]

Nando de Colo is my favourite 33 year old prospect. So mysterious. Where is he? What's he doing? Does he actually exist or is he just a rumour? A dream? Does anyone even know anyone who's actually SEEN Nando de Colo?

[S.R.]

There's no way you can prove to me that person in make up is actually Nando de Colo. Think about it - the three other people in that photo are clearly identifiable, but only Nando is in full makeup? Coincidence? NOT LIKELY

[KeonClark]

There's no way you can prove to me that person in make up is actually Nando de Colo. Think about it - the three other people in that photo are clearly identifiable, but only Nando is in full makeup? Coincidence? NOT LIKELY

That's definitely Goran Dragic in drag.

Kawhi looks like when every other kid picks his own cool costume but his mom chose his and homemade it

[DanH]

Lol. Just want to set the record straight here. I really do love and appreciate everything that Freddy has brought to the Raptors. The last half of the Bucks series and the Warriors series are forever etched in Raptors lore. But, he's about to be overpaid, which becomes a key factor in roster building, so the expectations for his play will be raised significantly. He's not going to be the plucky underdog anymore. Same with Pascal, when his max kicks in next year.

I want FVV to get every damn penny that he can possibly get while he's at his peak value...... just like Casey got.... somewhere else. And if that max contract is a sign & trade to Dallas (to play with Luka) or to the Bulls (to go home), then that's a win-win for the Raps and for Fred.

And hey... put some respek' on All-Star Mo Williams name. Dude was putting up very FVV-like numbers (17/6/5) with the Bucks, before he joined Lebron. Not a bad a comp, actually.

With the Bulls hiring Donovan, they do look like they want to win now.

If Masai manages to pull WCJ outta there in a Fred SnT...

[DanH]

I lack event basic knowledge of how the cap works, but if the intent was to resign Lowry after extending him through next season then did they make a mistake buy not making it a multi year deal? What was the thought process behind the one year extension?

Well, I’m sure they want to see how much Lowry has in the tank at that point. Extending him for years that far out would have been a huge risk, for all we knew at the time he was about to fall off in effectiveness. And who knows, maybe he preferred a single year 30M deal to say a longer term 20M AAV deal, thinking he could get that 20M deal the following year after making his 30M.

[DanH]

What about Nando? Is he still the big man on campus is Europe? Why do the Raps keep renewing his FA rights?

He can play backup PG & SG, for sure.

Here’s a question: why do the Raptors still have Jason Thompson’s rights?

Same reason they have Nando’s - literally zero cost and no reason not to keep them.

[DanH]

So let’s talk keeping Lowry for a minute. If Lowry is still playing well and says he’d re-sign for say $20mill per year for another 1-2 years.....and we have OG’s cap hold.....there is definitely not room for FVV and a max slot in that scenario right? Like it’s Lowry or van vleet at that point? I agree with others Lowry probably ain’t taking 10 mill a year unless there is a drastic drop off

Even if Lowry would take 10M per year at that point, unless the cap rebounds quickly enough to rise again by then (would be surprising), they still wouldn’t be able to fit him and Fred. If Fred takes 20M, that’s all there is beside the max slot. So Lowry gets the minimum or walks.

Every dollar above the minimum we can pay Lowry comes straight out of FVV’s pockets, assuming those are the only two pieces in the equation. So yes, if Lowry is going to make 20M, then no Fred (or no Pascal, or no max slot, one of those three).

[Rudy Bargnani]

Even if Lowry would take 10M per year at that point, unless the cap rebounds quickly enough to rise again by then (would be surprising), they still wouldn’t be able to fit him and Fred. If Fred takes 20M, that’s all there is beside the max slot. So Lowry gets the minimum or walks.

Every dollar above the minimum we can pay Lowry comes straight out of FVV’s pockets, assuming those are the only two pieces in the equation. So yes, if Lowry is going to make 20M, then no Fred (or no Pascal, or no max slot, one of those three).

yikes. that is worse than I realized. I've been in the camp that thinks Lowry will still demand a good 15-20 per year in 2021 AND that we shouldn't let FVV walk for nothing while also maintaining max cap room. Doesn't sound possible. I think Lowry is still better than FVV in 2021-2022. Also possible that both Powell and Terrence Davis will want big raises after next season as free agents.

Welp, in Masai we trust. That said, if Giannis re-signs and pledges his love for Milwaukee I think it's tough to let FVV and Serge/Gasol all walk in order to keep cap space for Lowry and the potential for a Plan B max player like Oladipo.

[LJ2]

yikes. that is worse than I realized. I've been in the camp that thinks Lowry will still demand a good 15-20 per year in 2021 AND that we shouldn't let FVV walk for nothing while also maintaining max cap room. Doesn't sound possible. I think Lowry is still better than FVV in 2021-2022. Also possible that both Powell and Terrence Davis will want big raises after next season as free agents.

Welp, in Masai we trust. That said, if Giannis re-signs and pledges his love for Milwaukee I think it's tough to let FVV and Serge/Gasol all walk in order to keep cap space for Lowry and the potential for a Plan B max player like Oladipo.

TD can really help the Raptors cause if he can develop into our starting SG. That would make one of FVV or Lowry a bit more expendable.

[inthepaint]

TD can really help the Raptors cause if he can develop into our starting SG. That would make one of FVV or Lowry a bit more expendable.

I agree. I wouldn't say Lowry would be expendable (unless he start to physically decline or we decide to tank, which is not Masai's thing), but TD could definitely develop into a starting SG. For that he needs to chance for minutes and the confidence he'll be able to play through some of his mistakes (that's what it takes to develop), without getting a quick hook. Maybe this year will change, but past experience says that's unlikely. There's McCaw & Fred ahead of him for the unlimited leash he doesn't have.

We've got one guard too many. They'll probably ask Norm to play minutes at SF again. Norm is the handy-man, "hey do a solid for us here". Through his career he floated between backup, starter, out of rotation, backcourt and frontcourt, limited minutes and big minutes, bailing us out in big games, and getting quick hooks.

We'll probably lose a guard in the next year or so, and I don't think it'll be Fred. Nurse likes him too much. I wouldn't want that but I can see one of Norm TD or Thomas going to a team where they have a massive breakout, kinda like Alfonzo McKinnie when he went to the Warriors (except 10x more), or Christian Wood when he went to Detroit.

[DanH]

yikes. that is worse than I realized. I've been in the camp that thinks Lowry will still demand a good 15-20 per year in 2021 AND that we shouldn't let FVV walk for nothing while also maintaining max cap room. Doesn't sound possible. I think Lowry is still better than FVV in 2021-2022. Also possible that both Powell and Terrence Davis will want big raises after next season as free agents.

Welp, in Masai we trust. That said, if Giannis re-signs and pledges his love for Milwaukee I think it's tough to let FVV and Serge/Gasol all walk in order to keep cap space for Lowry and the potential for a Plan B max player like Oladipo.

TD needing a raise in 2021 is fine, because his cap hold is really low so we can give him that raise after we sign Giannis.

Powell will likely opt out, meaning he'll have a cap hold of about 16M. So if we want to keep him (and go after a max FA) he takes up about the same room as Fred or Lowry, that is he's not compatible with keeping either of the other two.

But if they strike out in 2021 FA, being able to re-sign Powell and Lowry and keep FVV is still on the table. Just not if they get the FA big fish. Unfortunately, as you note, the decision on FVV needs to come a year ahead of time.

It's always possible they sign FVV and then trade him later if they land that max FA, but putting yourself in that situation is asking for trouble.

[golden]

TD needing a raise in 2021 is fine, because his cap hold is really low so we can give him that raise after we sign Giannis.

Powell will likely opt out, meaning he'll have a cap hold of about 16M. So if we want to keep him (and go after a max FA) he takes up about the same room as Fred or Lowry, that is he's not compatible with keeping either of the other two.

But if they strike out in 2021 FA, being able to re-sign Powell and Lowry and keep FVV is still on the table. Just not if they get the FA big fish. Unfortunately, as you note, the decision on FVV needs to come a year ahead of time.

It's always possible they sign FVV and then trade him later if they land that max FA, but putting yourself in that situation is asking for trouble.

Q:> If we sign FVV, is he eligible to be traded at the 2021 trade deadline? I recall Masai signing Nene and/or JaVale McGee and then quickly trading them in the same season. Didn't that also happen to Blake Griffin?

We might see a bunch of deals going down at the deadline, with some teams hungry or desperate to load up for a big playoff run (e.g. Clippers, Bucks, Sixers, Lakers, Mavs, ...), or simply get in (e.g. Pistons, Hawks, Bulls,...) and other teams positioning for 2021 cap space. FVV could be a valuable trade chip for the teams with playoff aspirations.