Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
So to me there is three possibilities here making Ibaka work for a long term deal:
1. Trade JV and Carroll in the offseason
2. Don't re-sign Lowry
3. Go into the luxury tax
Now it seems like number three is the least likely scenario, but I'm starting to think maybe not. The Leafs are loaded with young guys on cheap deals, so they don't have to be anywhere close to a cap team. So maybe MLSE looks at it like for two or three seasons they can go into the tax for the Raps, before the Leafs have to start spending close to the cap. But it sounds like Ibaka signing long term is a good bet right now.
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Good call on how this works with the Leafs. I think the tax is the most likely outcome. The tax is engineered in such a way that the way to maximize your payroll is to go hard into the tax for short amounts of time when you think you have a window to compete. This is that window for the Raptors. Get in now, take your best shot for the next two or three years before the repeater tax rate kicks in, and then get back down under the tax and retool. I think resigning Lowry and Ibaka and keeping JV is a given. Letting Patterson walk is a strong possibility. As is trading Carroll, but finding a trading partner that lets you shed salary is tough; most teams will need to give matching salary back. You can't just trade for expiring contracts to shed salary the way you once could. SF is still a point of weakness for this team and trading Carroll gives you a tough hole to fill.