2018-19 NBA and Raptors thread

[GGG]

Bosh was on the Bill Simmons Podcast a few months ago and said the little things really make a difference.

His big one was having to go through Customs for road trips. It was an extra hour on every flight in and out of Canada that he didn't have to deal with.

Being the only team in Canada certainly is a disadvantage.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

How on Earth does it take an hour for professional athletes to get through customs? It doesn't take me anywhere near that, and no one knows who I am.

[SuperMatt18]

Yeah they would have a Nexus card for sure so doubt it'd be that much of an issue for them to get through Customs/security

[Jiggy]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

How on Earth does it take an hour for professional athletes to get through customs? It doesn't take me anywhere near that, and no one knows who I am.

He's being a baby. Teams don't have to go through the same customs line as the rest of us. They go through an Express line.

[transplant99]

Free agent Kawhi Leonard is expected to allow the Toronto Raptors to make the final presentation among the teams meeting with him in Los Angeles next week, league sources tell ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ke-final-pitch

[jayswin]

That's great news. Free agency starts Sunday night/Monday morning correct? I figured he'd be ready by then. The best NHL UFA's seem to go within the first few hours of free agency. Is the NBA a little different?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by jayswin

That's great news. Free agency starts Sunday night/Monday morning correct? I figured he'd be ready by then. The best NHL UFA's seem to go within the first few hours of free agency. Is the NBA a little different?

Yeah, teams can start communicating with players on Sunday at 6pm (used to be midnight, but is changed for this year), they can make verbal agreements but nothing can be signed until the 6th. For big free agents that know where they want to be, it'll happen quickly, while ones that require other things falling into place (like, a couple guys wanting to team up in a particular location, or a team needing to make other moves to clear space), it'll happen closer to the 6th.

From the sounds of it, Irving to the Nets sounds like practically a done deal, so I think that'll be the first one, in part because they want to sign a second big UFA, and the sooner they get Irving committed, the faster they can pitch a second guy (especially Durant). The LA teams will of course be waiting on Kawhi, and then a lot of other decisions hinge on that.

The only one that Kawhi might be waiting on is if he's willing to go to the Clippers if they can get Butler as well (rumour came out about this today), which they don't have the cap-space for and need to make moves on. As well, Houston is apparently trying hard to swing a sign-and-trade with Houston, which Philly may be open to. It might make more sense, if you're Philly, to try and make Butler to Clippers happen through sign-and-trade, because not only could you get some good assets back, but if it needs to fall into place for the Clippers to sign Kawhi, then you're also weakening your biggest division rival. As a Raptors fan that's a scenario I'm a little nervous about. But it's a lot of things that need to fall into place for that to happen.

[jayswin]

Is Butler to the Raptors with Kawhi at all possible?

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Is Butler to the Raptors with Kawhi at all possible?

I dunno how it works as far as being able to add when you're already over the cap in the NBA but this article gives a good breakdown of the Raptors situation:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/...y-cap-outlook/

If Kawhi stays they'd be 35 mil over the NBA's soft salary cap and 8 mil over the luxury tax threshold. Seems that to take a run at Butler as well they would need to move a couple big tickets out like Ibaka and Powell, creating a hole in the front court.

I think if he stays with Lowry, Gasol and Ibaka's deals all up next summer opening up about 85 million they're more likely to try again with the current roster and add next summer.

I've been wondering about Jamal Murray and if they might see if he wants to come home and chase him eventually. His rookie scale contract is up after this coming season and if he wants to leave the Nuggets will probably have to trade him as he'll be able to walk the following summer.

[Beninho]

If Kawhi does end up leaving the raptors I wouldn’t be convinced Masai has any plans for a rebuild. I would expect the raptors would go all in for Jimmy Butler partially because I’m guessing Masai would like to be able to entice Giannis to play for the raptors in 2 years which could be entirely possible if the raptors roster is convincing given Masai has a long history with Giannis. I think Butler could very well be Masai’s plan B.

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[savemedrzaius]

Originally Posted by Beninho

If Kawhi does end up leaving the raptors I wouldn’t be convinced Masai has any plans for a rebuild. I would expect the raptors would go all in for Jimmy Butler partially because I’m guessing Masai would like to be able to entice Giannis to play for the raptors in 2 years which could be entirely possible if the raptors roster is convincing given Masai has a long history with Giannis. I think Butler could very well be Masai’s plan B.

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Imagine Giannis and Spicy P on the court together. That would be fun to watch.

[Senator Clay Davis]

If Kawhi walks Masai has multiple guys on expiring deals that can be traded at the deadline to help accelerate a rebuild. Could end up with four or five first round picks to leverage a trade or to simply stock up on guys. I also think if they wanna actually go for Giannis in a few years they need to be out of the luxury tax before that happens, so while Butler is good he is not good enough to stay in the tax for. Kawhi is a full level above him, if not two levels.

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by Beninho

If Kawhi does end up leaving the raptors I wouldn’t be convinced Masai has any plans for a rebuild. I would expect the raptors would go all in for Jimmy Butler partially because I’m guessing Masai would like to be able to entice Giannis to play for the raptors in 2 years which could be entirely possible if the raptors roster is convincing given Masai has a long history with Giannis. I think Butler could very well be Masai’s plan B.

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Even if Kawhi leaves, the Raptors will still be over the cap which means they cant sign anyone for more than the $9M exception. That could get them a decent player, but nowhere near enough for any of the big names like Butler.

If Kawhi leaves the smart play is to just play out the season with what they have and see what happens at the deadline. If they're out of it they can move all the vets for draft picks, but either way they need to keep the cap space clean and get ready to take a run at Giannis the following season.

[transplant99]

Adrian Wojnarowski
✔
@wojespn

Reporting w/ @RamonaShelburne: Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have been discussing free agent scenarios that could include a future with them playing together. For now, there are two clear possibilities for them to sign into the same franchise: Clippers and Knicks. Story soon.

[The Big Chill]

Come on, KD to the Raps!

[Senator Clay Davis]

They'll both go to the Lakers for the veteran minimum, then conveniently be paid $30 million for each appearance in the upcoming four Space Jam sequels.

[The Big Chill]

Do the Clippers have that kind of cap space? It's gross to think that the Knicks could be the team to make this happen.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Clippers definitely have the space. So do the Nets, but they seem to be all in for Kyrie.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Clippers definitely have the space. So do the Nets, but they seem to be all in for Kyrie.

Clippers don't right now. If they max Durant, they're down to just under $20 million in cap space. They'd need to move either Gallinari or Williams+Harrell to free up enough cap space to also max Leonard. And then they've got no cap space for anything other than minimums, so it's something like Leonard/Williams/Harrell/Shamet/SGA plus filler, which is honestly a questionable playoff team in the west right now.

Or, Clippers max Durant, get some filler and treat this as a tank year, and then give Leonard a max next year if he signs a 1+1 with Toronto. That seems like a better scenario for everyone.

Knicks actually do have enough cap room to sign both this year, but they've got an even worse roster. Can't see Kawhi choosing that over another year with Toronto, especially when any weather/hometown advantage is wiped out.

I'm skeptical about this rumour though... Most of the teams linked to Durant are in the New York area, close to his hometown. Most teams linked to Kawhi are close to his hometown in southern california. One of those guys would need to compromise a lot on location for them to end up together. Makes sense for them to talk, but I doubt it's much more than that right now.

[transplant99]

Free-agent stars Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have been discussing scenarios that could include a future with them playing together, league sources told ESPN.

For now, there are two clear possibilities for the All-NBA forwards to sign into the same franchise -- the LA Clippers and New York Knicks.

Durant and Leonard are planning to talk with each of those teams once free agency opens Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, league sources said.

Leonard and Durant are each planning discussions and meetings with several teams, but only the Clippers and Knicks are in alignment with salary-cap space and common interest to sign both players. Brooklyn could conceivably house both, but a more likely scenario would be Durant and point guard Kyrie Irving signing as free agents with the Nets. Brooklyn is firmly Irving's focus in free agency, league sources said.

Leonard is expected to meet with the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Knicks and Toronto Raptors upon the opening of free agency. Durant is planning conversations with the Clippers, Knicks, Nets and Warriors, league sources told ESPN.