Kawhi needs to play well enough to make sure he gets his max. So the Raptors will at least get 1 year of a superstar, to try to get past the Celtics and Philly.
Long term, this works out in 3 possible ways:
1. Kawhi likes Toronto and signs long term
2. Kawhi leaves Toronto and the vacant max slot is used on another free agent (Butler, Thompson, etc.)
3. Kawhi leaves and this ushers in a rebuild, as most veteran contracts expire in 2 years. Bottom out then aim to rise as Boston drops off, see what happens in Philly, etc.
Players don't sign in Toronto as free agents, so this is the one way to get a true superstar and try to change what was not working in the playoffs. Also, if this helps the Raptors get to the NBA finals, then maybe free agents will consider Toronto?
It would have been good to see if new coach + no LeBron meant the old core could make it this time, but the risk is not getting a chance at this level of player again and losing value of assets for future trades.
This is a swing for the fences, and to be honest, if the Raptors still cannot win in this conference, a rebuild is needed. In the NBA, mediocrity is a trap that is hard to escape from
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