I dun know about the GOAT, because to me Lebron is already on the cusp of being GOAT.....and I adore Jordan. But the versatility and the ability to get better at the age of 34.....that is something else. Barring major injuries surely.
He broke up the Heat team to win with the Cavs. He left Bosh and Wade (who were like Scottie) to win with a new formed team. Mike never went to another team and won it......Shaq did it in recent history. It's not that easy.
Man, crazy how the Raptors keep getting owned by the Cavs/LeBron every year when they're clearly the better team during the regular season. Don't remember seeing anything like this since I've been watching NBA. Also, two really unexpected sweeps, this one and New Orleans.
http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...ba-offseason-preview-draft-trades-free-agency Spoiler Back to square one. A franchise-record 59 wins has now been met with the disappointment of another early exit in the playoffs for the Toronto Raptors. Do they need to make big changes to their core, and what would that look like? Let's look ahead to the free-agency, draft and trade decisions facing Toronto this offseason. At a crossroads with the roster once again There were two directions the Raptors could have gone last offseason after being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. The rebuilding plan: Let Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka leave as free agents, put DeMar DeRozan on the trade block and build the roster with their former first-round picks. Essentially, this season's bench mob would have been the face of Toronto for years to come. Instead, they chose to sign Lowry and Ibaka to three-year contracts, keep the roster mostly intact, revamp their style of play on the offensive end and continue to develop their young bench players. The result was an eight-win improvement, the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed and Toronto finding its small forward of the future in first-round pick OG Anunoby. Despite the continuity of the roster and big money committed to Lowry and Ibaka, Toronto is faced with the same results in the postseason -- swept by Cleveland in the second round. After bypassing the opening to tear down the roster last July, the Raptors are now met with $100 million committed to Lowry, Ibaka, DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas through 2019-20. President Masai Ujiri and the front office are now left with four complicated options. Bring back the same crew Was the Cleveland series more about the superhuman performance of LeBron James -- including two games decided by a total of three points -- or a Toronto team that is built for the regular season but not postseason? That is the first question the front office needs to evaluate. If James alone is the primary obstacle, Toronto should bring back the roster that includes 11 guaranteed contracts, sign restricted free agent Fred VanVleet and use the bitter taste of the second-round loss as a learning tool (sound familiar?). Despite the past postseason failures, the window for this team is still open, with depth at each position under contract for the foreseeable future. However, there's a cost to continuity. Already at $126.5 million in guaranteed contracts ($3.5 million over the tax), Toronto will be a luxury tax team for only the third time (2002-03 and 03-04) in franchise history once VanVleet is signed, barring a trade. After getting the green light from ownership a year ago to keep the core together, can Ujiri do it again but at a higher cost? There is no guarantee that this $170 million roster won't end up in the same place. Shed salary to offset VanVleet If there is an odd man out on the roster it would be Norman Powell. Signed to a four-year, $42 million extension last September, Powell has been a bystander during the playoffs after going through an inconsistent third season despite appearing in 70 regular-season games. With Anunoby entrenched at small forward, C.J. Miles coming off the bench and the combination of Delon Wright and VanVleet in the backcourt, Powell has turned into an expensive end-of-the bench player -- an unlikely scenario after the former second-round pick started half of the Raptors' playoff games in 2016-17. If there is mandate to slash salary to offset a new VanVleet deal Toronto will have to identify teams with cap space that would have targeted Powell had he been a free agent this summer. Finding a new home for Powell without taking back salary would save the Raptors $20 million in taxes this season and give the team future flexibility when Delon Wright is a restricted free agent in 2019. Start over at head coach With high expectations also comes the reality that head coach Dwane Casey will likely be evaluated during the offseason. Despite a franchise-record 59 victories, including three straight 50-win seasons, Casey has not been able to lead the Raptors to the NBA Finals and that will be at the crux of the decision regarding his future. The olive branch extended last year for Casey to modernize the offense likely will not be there this offseason. Unfair as it sounds for a coach with 166 wins since 2015-16 to have his job in jeopardy, the reality is that the NBA is a win-oriented business -- especially in the postseason. The questions for management now: Does the team need a new voice, and is there's an upgrade internally or externally? If so, the No. 1 seed in the East could be looking for a new coach. Breaking up the core four Toronto will be faced with challenges if it starts entertaining offers for Lowry, DeRozan, Valanciunas and Ibaka. Despite back-to-back All-Star appearances, the 32-year-old Lowry is owed $60 million over the next two seasons and his contract would be too rich alone for a team to take back in a salary dump. Besides, Toronto would likely have to attach one of its bench players as an enticement. A team such as Charlotte that risks losing Kemba Walker in 2019 would be hesitant to take back Lowry's bloated salary, even with the additional security of another season under contract. Ibaka has $40 million left on his deal and is now trending toward the category held by the Rockets' Ryan Anderson -- under a salary that seemed manageable at the time because of past production but now looks untradable. Despite being only 25 years old and a consistent presence at center, Valanciunas still has $34 million left on his contract. The market for a center with annual cap hits of $16.5 million and $17.6 million is remote, and Valanciunas would also require a sweetener in any deal. That leads us to DeRozan. There are always teams in the offseason that either think they are one player away from competing for a championship or are faced with pressure to end a playoff drought (think Phoenix and Sacramento). DeRozan could make sense for such a deal. However, despite a lackluster second round, DeRozan should be off the table for Toronto unless a trade involves a good young player or lottery pick. [...continued...]
[...continued...] Spoiler The restricted free agent: Fred VanVleet The undrafted guard, one of the leading candidates for most improved and a staple of the Toronto bench, is now eligible for a new deal after signing a two-year, $2.1 million non-guaranteed contract in 2016. The Raptors were not permitted to sign VanVleet for more than two seasons because they used the non-tax midlevel to sign Jared Sullinger. Because VanVleet has early Bird rights, Toronto can offer a contract up to $8.7 million (105 percent of the average player salary). Things could get interesting if a team with cap space tries to backload a contract in years three and four. Though the Raptors have the ability to match such a deal, it would come at a significant financial cost. Back-loaded VanVleet offer sheet Year Salary 2018-19 $8.6 million (nontax midlevel) 2019-20 $8.9 million 2020-21 $11.2 million 2021-22 $11.3 million Total $40 million Average $10 million (cap space available) They would not be permitted to average out VanVleet's contract to $10 million because they are over the salary cap. But by letting VanVleet go the Raptors would have only the minimum available to replace him. One thing that VanVleet will need to avoid is signing a two-year contract in Toronto with a player option in 2019-20. The guard would be a restricted free agent once again in 2019 if he declined his option and the Raptors would have the ability to match another deal. 2018-19 salary breakdown Player 2018-19 1. Kyle Lowry $31,200,000 2. DeMar DeRozan $27,739,975 3. Serge Ibaka $21,666,667 4. Jonas Valanciunas $16,539,326 5. Norman Powell $9,367,200 6. C.J. Miles $8,333,333 7. Jakob Poeltl $2,947,320 8. Delon Wright $2,536,898 9. OG Anunoby $2,034,120 10. Malachi Richardson $1,569,360 11. Pascal Siakam $1,544,951 12. Alfonzo McKinnie (non-guaranteed) $1,378,242 13. Lucas Nogueira 1 (free-agent hold) $8,841,915 14. Fred VanVleet 2 (free-agent hold) $1,699,698 15. Lorenzo Brown 3 (free-agent hold) $1,499,698 Justin Hamilton (waiver) $1,000,000 Total $138.4 million Salary cap $101.0 million (projected) 1. Restricted Bird rights 2. Restricted early Bird rights 3. Non-Bird rights Assuming that VanVleet comes back at a salary of $8.6 million and the remaining roster spots are filled with minimum contracts, Toronto will have a luxury tax bill of $30 million. Though the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception is available, using the full amount would cost an additional $16 million in tax penalties. Dates to watch VanVleet will receive a $1.7 million qualifying offer by June 30 that will put the restricted tag on the guard. Toronto has until July 20 to guarantee the $1.4 million contract of Alfonzo McKinnie. Waiving McKinnie would not save the Raptors from the tax since his spot would need to be replaced. The forward spent most of the season in the G League and guaranteeing his contract would leave Toronto with three spots available. Extension eligible candidates One player impacted by the Raptors' strong player development has been former first-round pick Delon Wright. The point guard has evolved from an emergency option to part of the rotation this season. Now entering the last year of his rookie contract, Wright is extension eligible up until Oct. 15. While the 26-year-old merits extension talks, don't be surprised if Toronto holds off until 2019 when he becomes a restricted free agent. Waiting another year would allow Toronto to get its finances in order. The Raptors' payroll in 2019-20 projects to be $131 million, right at the luxury tax without factoring in VanVleet. Center Jonas Valanciunas is also eligible. The draft assets The cost of falling under the luxury tax last offseason now has Toronto heading into the draft without a first-rounder. Trading the 29th pick to Brooklyn saved the Raptors a projected $55 million by shedding the annual $14.8 million and $15.4 million salary of DeMarre Carroll. In addition, the Raptors' 2018 second was traded to Phoenix as part of the PJ Tucker 2017 trade deadline acquisition. Toronto owns all of its future first-round picks and is eligible to trade its 2019 first-rounder the night of the draft.
Jordan also took a year and a half off from basketball as well prior to that second three-peat. LeBron at the same age has way more miles on his body, especially after having gone to 7 straight finals. Not trying to discount anything Jordan has done of course, but what LeBron has done with his conditioning and the his level of play has been amazing. Its going to be weird to see Casey potentially win COY and then also get fired. A lot of this series was just poor decisions by him and moves. The Raptors got shook after game 1 and he didnt get his team mentally back on track. He was juggling starting lineups in the playoffs despite no injury issues and putting Lucas Nogeria (not sure how to spell) in late in the 2nd quarter and pulling JV who was playing well was just plain stupid. Cavs went on their run with Lucas in the game. to push out a lead just before half that Toronto never recovered from. I am not sure what it is with Lowry or Demar but they have consistently not play well in the post season. Lowry has played a little better this post season but he went 2-7 with 5 points last night in the biggest game of the season. Demar had 13 on 5-11 shooting. Just lack of aggressive play from both of those guys. They need to combine for around 35 shots a game not 18. Toronto has some serious questions this off season. They may do the easy thing and fire Casey but they need some serious roster changes. Demar is a good guy to have as your #2 star but not as your main star. A Lowry/Demar back court is really good but they have a very fixed and limited ceiling if they are your best two players. Toronto has seen how far they've gotten with them as a tandem and thats the ECF. Toronto has a good player development program so thats something to build on but they may want to blow it up completely and try to build through the draft.
Casey is terrible coach point blank, he views his players thru reputation, not what they actually do right NOW. He would play Ibaka as much as he could because he thinks he is great defender (NOT), can shoot 3's and etc, while the dude has been nothing but garbage nearly every single game, can't defend or rebound to save his life, he would play him over Valanciunas at the 5 every single time and then have no single strong big and lose rebounding battle time after time. The young bucks in OG and Delon Wright have been really good as well, but their good play would NOT reward them in extra minutes. He also sorta instilled motion offense during the season, ball sharing, 3 point shooting, but WHERE was all of that during playoffs you'd ask? The minute Raptors started to make any kind of mistakes he stopped trusting in his own new system and reverted back to Derozan and Lowry playing iso. Look at GSW, Kerr told his guys to trust the process and play thru mistakes, and boy did they made bunch of them until they got the system going. But given that Casey could not understand that proper ball movement and not same ol' Lowry and Derozan chucking that havent got them anywhere will do them good. He always played into opponents matchups, instead creating his own matchups, dude is just a bad coach and also an ass, because he always throws players under the buss instead taking responsibility. He even said they will win once Lebron gets really old.. Talk about excuses.
Firing Casey is the wrong move. Trading Derozan is. His game is a known entity by now - good mid range shooter with above average ball handling. His game does not translate well in the playoffs - he has difficulty creating his own shot, cannot shoot threes, and is not creative enough near the rim. People often accuse him of choking but I dont think that's it - I think he just is what he is. In a mid-season game he can drop 30 or 40 vs. the Kings, but when people like Lebron, Ben Simmons, Oladipo, Jason Tatum, Giannus, etc. are plugged in to guarding him, he does not fare well, and its because he's not as good as them. Demarr still has some trade value and is coming off of a great season. A team who feels they are 'one piece' away, or is looking to accelerate a rebuild might be willing to trade away high picks and mid-tier talent for him. If I'm Toronto, I look to trade him for a player that I think can become a #1 scorer but isnt one today the same way the Pacers did for Oladipo. To me, this is the only path forward.
