Quote:
Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis
The Raps also have a big dilemma coming this offseason. VanVleet is a RFA and you know teams will be coming to offer sheet him. Delon has also shown he should be a part of this team going forward. So even if they go all the way to the Finals, they might need to seriously consider trading Lowry so they can keep both VanVleet and Wright.
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If the Raptors get to the finals (and that's still obviously a huge if), I'd like to think that MLSE would finally go into the tax to keep VanVleet (within reason, like a $10 million a year contract). The theory behind the current CBA is that it allows contending teams to go into the tax for limited amounts of time to keep a core together to contend for a championship, and then hits them with really steep penalties if they're still over after 3 years.
So the Raptors could in theory jump into the tax this year (probably working to drop Powell for nothing or a 2nd round pick but keeping everyone else... maybe dropping Bebe if he gets a good offer sheet too), keep the group together for a couple years, and then restructure the team after two more years when Lowry and Ibaka are both UFAs.
It would honestly be a big disappointment if MLSE didn't step up and pay into the tax to keep a championship-contending team together.