Four Lessons Toronto Raptors Fans Learned this Offseason
Sep 29, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri during a media scrum at Raptors Media Day at The Real Sports Bar Toronto. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Four Lessons Toronto Raptors Fans Learned this Offseason
What an offseason it was for the Toronto Raptors.
From the announcement of a new D-League team in Mississauga, to the signings of DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo and a completely brand new coaching staff, Raptors’ fans have every reason to be excited for the season ahead.
While the optimism is great, the rapidly changing NBA salary cap showed just how much of an impact it has on free agency, as we saw a number of players cash in this summer. Going forward, fans should expect to see more big money contracts, as the cap is projected to once again explode over the next two summers.
With the expanding salary cap in mind, here are four lessons Toronto Raptors’ fans learned this offseason:
1. There is no such thing as an “overpay”
With the salary cap likely growing by nearly $20 million each of the next two summers, there is basically no such thing as a bad contract anymore. The rapid financial growth gives teams a ton of flexibility.
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A prime example of how useful this upcoming cap space can be is Cory Joseph. Some feel that the Raptors overpaid Joseph a bit, but when you look at his contract from a broad perspective, you’ll notice that it’s actually quite the opposite.
At roughly $7.5 million per season, Joseph’s contract will represent a minuscule 7.5 percent of the Raptors salary cap in two years time when the cap is projected to jump up close to $100 million. By then, who knows what Joseph will develop into, but if it’s anything close to what many expect, his contract will be viewed as an absolute steal.
So anytime you evaluate a free agent contract, keep in mind that the new NBA salary growth requires you to look at things from a broad perspective, where overpaying somebody will be extremely difficult.
But, hey, you could be the Sacramento Kings and, umm, well, make “interesting” decisions with this financial growth.
Sacramento is clearing the space for a pursuit in free agency, league sources tell Yahoo. Stauskas had been pursued by several teams.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2015
Kings have cleared more than $16 million in cap space.
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) July 2, 2015
Either the Kings are “ahead of the curve”, or they have not a clue what they’re doing. I’ll choose the latter.
Next: There is Tons of Value in the Second Round