Power Forwards to help us compete this year
Hello savvy Raptors minds,
Here are a couple of trades that bring value to the Drakes this year and next, and sneakily trim excess to help resign Lowry in the process:
Toronto gets Trevor Booker, and the right to swap 1st picks with Nets in 2019 (top 10 protected then top 8, then top 5.
Brooklyn gets Patterson, Siakam, Raptors 2018 late 1st round pick,
Nets currently have no 2018 1st. Booker is having a career year on the glass now that he is starting again. He immediately helps there, and is signed next year, for only 9.2m, whereas PPatt is unsigned and will command far more than 9.2 next year. No way the Raps have $12-15m per for him while resigning Kyle.
Toronto gets Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis
Chicago gets Sullinger, Delon Wright, Bruno Caboclo, LA Clippers 2017 late 1st round pick (via Raps) and Raptors 2017 late 2nd round pick.
Bobby Portis is a year farther along than Siakam, could help this year in the Playoffs, and his development could get very interesting the next few years. Taj Gibson gives us a much better chance to win than Sullinger, both on expiring deals. We would have less draft picks to spend money on, still draft around 23-25 in 2017, and 2nd round in 2018, but without any glaring holes to fill.
The Toronto Raptors need an upgrade at PF. Clearly, though he has started some lately, P.Patt is not a STARTING 4 that Dwane Casey is very comfortable with. He is almost good enough, but never quite been big enough, or enough of a presence inside on D. No question he could been a great backup to Sully this year, but it was not meant to be. That said, I believe Sully and Patterson, on expiring deals, are very tradeable.
Ditto Bruno Caboclo, who will unfortunately still be on our books for 2m next year, and Delon Wright, who is due to make 1.6m then 2.5m. Cory is signed for next year, and the Raps need the room for Lowry's $$$$.
Also, Pascal Siakam is not the answer at PF anytime soon, but can provide value as a backup for at least the next two 2 years. If you are interested in winning now, I'm sure you also consider him tradeable.
I hope all of you use ESPN NBA trade machine to check trades and a hoopshype type site for contract lengths? Both are very helpful when imagining trades that would put your team in better position to win, and keep winning...
Superteam: Lowry, Joseph, Van Vleet; DeRozan, Powell; Carroll, Ross; Booker, Gibson, Portis; Valanciunas, Noguiera, Poetl.
Stacked enough, with defined enough roles, to go up against a deep Cavs team this year, with only Gibson gone and Lowry unsigned for next year. I admit it may be necessary to dump salary of Demarre or T Ross in the summer to resign Kyle, but why not get that done too?