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I've been beating the 2+1 drum for Kawhi basically since he was traded - it makes a pile of sense for both sides.
3 years of guaranteed money means he has locked down 100M if his injury ends up being a long term concern. That's a nice feel good number.
Meanwhile if he has no injury woes going forward, the opt out after two years means he is eligible for the 35% max.
The two years also means the Raptors have a short schedule to impress him to get him to stay long term. They've passed with flying colours as far as I can tell on the one year, but he'd probably like to see what Masai can do longer term as this core is quickly running out of runway.
Speaking of which, the Raptors would also love the 2 years guaranteed, because they get another run with this core, then a chance to try to lure a third star to match Kawhi and Pascal while retaining some of their key supporting talent. Then depending on how that goes they get the big re-sign long term pitch in 2021.
It is often thought that the Raptors need to sign Kawhi long term for their home town Bird Rights to factor into his decision - couldn't any team offer him 2+1, after all, then sign him to the 35% max deal after?
Well, yes and no. Any team can offer him the 2+1 (slightly smaller salary in years 2+3 because of smaller raises). But after he opts out of his PO, the Raptors (if he signed the 2+1 here) would still have his full Bird Rights. So could offer him the 5 years and max raises allowed starting at 35% of the cap.
Any other team signing him to a 2+1 this summer would be able to offer him the 35% max after he opts out, but he would only be an Early Bird free agent for them, meaning they could offer the max raises but only a 4 year deal. And the odds of him recouping that extra year at 40+ M are low at the age of 34/35. Especially for a player who may be cautious on the injury front.
Now if he's especially worried about the injury maybe he signs a longer term deal. Or if he's particularly mistrustful of his time here and wants another trial year he could sign a 1+1, then another one the year after (this would further decrease the 35% max offer he could get anywhere else if he chooses to leave at some point). But to me the 2+1 option makes too much sense not to consider it by far the most likely path to a re-sign.
3 years of guaranteed money means he has locked down 100M if his injury ends up being a long term concern. That's a nice feel good number.
Meanwhile if he has no injury woes going forward, the opt out after two years means he is eligible for the 35% max.
The two years also means the Raptors have a short schedule to impress him to get him to stay long term. They've passed with flying colours as far as I can tell on the one year, but he'd probably like to see what Masai can do longer term as this core is quickly running out of runway.
Speaking of which, the Raptors would also love the 2 years guaranteed, because they get another run with this core, then a chance to try to lure a third star to match Kawhi and Pascal while retaining some of their key supporting talent. Then depending on how that goes they get the big re-sign long term pitch in 2021.
It is often thought that the Raptors need to sign Kawhi long term for their home town Bird Rights to factor into his decision - couldn't any team offer him 2+1, after all, then sign him to the 35% max deal after?
Well, yes and no. Any team can offer him the 2+1 (slightly smaller salary in years 2+3 because of smaller raises). But after he opts out of his PO, the Raptors (if he signed the 2+1 here) would still have his full Bird Rights. So could offer him the 5 years and max raises allowed starting at 35% of the cap.
Any other team signing him to a 2+1 this summer would be able to offer him the 35% max after he opts out, but he would only be an Early Bird free agent for them, meaning they could offer the max raises but only a 4 year deal. And the odds of him recouping that extra year at 40+ M are low at the age of 34/35. Especially for a player who may be cautious on the injury front.
Now if he's especially worried about the injury maybe he signs a longer term deal. Or if he's particularly mistrustful of his time here and wants another trial year he could sign a 1+1, then another one the year after (this would further decrease the 35% max offer he could get anywhere else if he chooses to leave at some point). But to me the 2+1 option makes too much sense not to consider it by far the most likely path to a re-sign.
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