The Toronto Raptors have rolled the dice to improve their chances to take down LeBron James and the Cavs this season, but the implications run deeper.
The stakes are much higher and while few can fault team president Masai Ujiri for making the bold move, his work is far from done. There are crucial issues to address in the summer and taking the next step, which is winning the Eastern Conference crown.
It is never premature to prepare for all possible scenarios if you work in an NBA front office. Teams like the San Antonio Spurs or Boston Celtics have planned their moves years in advance, along with anticipating player retirements.
In a Sporting News feature, Danny Leroux paints the picture of what Ujiri has on his plate. Aside from the free agency of Serge Ibaka, there is also Kyle Lowry, his All-Star starting point guard.
The Raptors trade for Ibaka includes his Bird Rights and that helps them out. "The Raptors will have the ability to sign Ibaka for any salary up to his maximum. Since he is on a multi-year contract, those rights carry with him through the trade, and that gives him substantially more value for Toronto."
However, it could get complicated because of Kyle Lowry, who is also a free agent and nearing the twilight of his career.
"Toronto's All-Star point guard has a $12 million player option he is certain to decline since he can reasonably expect to have an offer starting at his individual maximum salary of $35.7 million using the current cap estimate of $102 million."
Will the Raptors ownership pay that price? "A deal at or near that price coupled with the aforementioned salaries owed to DeRozan, Valanciunas, Carroll and more puts the Raptors well into the luxury tax - assuming they retain all of those players and likely even if they were able to unload any single one of them for a less expensive alternative."
There are teams who will definitely pursue Lowry, as reported last December, the up and coming Sixers are will pounce on the opportunity. This was reported by Tip of the Tower, a Toronto Sports blog.
They were optimistic about the Raptors' chances to keep him because the Sixers were still not playing well and the Raptors were chasing the top spot in the East. The situations are turned and Lowry has mentioned that he is quite worried.
It seems imperative that the Raptors cement their status as contenders to show that they are still the best destination for Lowry and Ibaka for that matter.