As I see it there are two worst case scenarios that Toronto needs to avoid: the tank worst-case scenario is gutting the roster trying to get the tank going, having a roster of spare parts that overachieves and ends up with a late lottery pick rather than a top-5 pick; the non-tank worst case scenario is riding Lowry to a good playoff spot and then losing him in the offseason for nothing, and taking a big step backwards next year. Both of those outcomes would set the team back.
As to the east-west imbalance, I think that for whatever reason, the west teams have better management. The west has a great mix of teams with huge budgets and okay management (LA, Dallas, Portland, Houston), and teams with small budgets but outstanding management (San Antonio, Utah, OKC, Denver (historically)). The east has a mix of teams with lots of money and awful management (New York, Brooklyn, Toronto (historically)), and teams with small budgets and just okay management (Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta). Combine it with the fact that one of the few big-budget, good management teams in the east (Boston) has decided to rebuild this year, and it's a perfect storm for the imbalance being its worst ever.
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