Toronto Raptors small forward Terrence Ross. (Photo : Getty Images)
Most of the biggest names in free agency have stayed with their teams so far-Nic Batum, Hassan Whiteside, Mike Conley and DeMar DeRozan.
The Toronto Raptors scored a victory in keeping DeRozan. Despite the criticism for the 5 year, $140 million contract, losing your best player (arguably) to free agency is far worse a fate for the franchise.
However, there is another free agent that the Raptors have to address and he is likely to become a hot commodity: center Bismack Biyombo. The Raptors are now capped out and they need to make moves to keep him, and Biyombo did himself a big favor with his playoff performance.
According to the Toronto Star, Biyombo has his suitors but he has not yet reached a deal.
Biyombo and his representatives are undoubtedly thrilled to see the value of contracts being thrown at big men on the first day of spending. And with Atlanta's Al Horford also in line for maximum value deal, Biyombo is unquestionably going to hit the financial motherlode if he wants.
The fact that Biyombo has not yet been discussed in free agency updates, there is still hope for Toronto as they seek solutions to try and keep their breakout backup center.
There were various trade rumors that emerged involving Terrence Ross to the Sixers in exchange for Nerlens Noel. That seems like a reasonable deal but the Raptors could be more inclined to keep Bismack Biyombo, as Brian Boake of Raptors Rapture speculated.
Ross is a player drafted by Bryan Colangelo, now the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers. With DeRozan being locked in, Ross is no longer a priority and the proposal is to send him to the Sixers who need backcourt scoring. Stauskas is Canadian and the Raptors can take a chance that he would excel when he's "home."
The return would be Nik Stauskas and a 2017 pick-but the primary purpose of the deal is to free up cap space for Biyombo by sending away the $10 million salary of Ross.
However, this does not guarantee Biyombo's return. While the fact that he hasn't signed on with another team is a positive sign that he may back up his word that he wants to stay, nothing is final. GM Masai Ujiri would be prudent to hold off any cap-clearing procedures until Biyombo commits.
