Needy Raptors hit crossroads
George’s flight plan adds interesting twist while Lowry might not land here or Philly
Two days after Toronto’s season ended, Raptors president Masai Ujiri sat down and said, “To me I feel like talking now is b.s. basically. It’s absolute b.s. why we need to do this today. You might as well talk to me in like a month. Why do I need to do this today? Because I’m not going to say, I can’t tell you I’ve made a decision on anything. I wish I could.”
One month and 10 days later, you can see his point. In the last 36 hours the NBA started its annual summer heaves and eruptions early. Sunday night, a semiopen secret spilled out: Paul George, one of the better two-way players in basketball, told the Indiana Pacers he will leave at the end of next season. All things being equal, he wants to sign with the Lakers as a free agent next summer. Home is a powerful thing, even if, unlike George, you weren’t born in California and have been living in Indianapolis.
The Cleveland Cavaliers then apparently started negotiating a trade for George as LeBron’s Scottie Pippen, and then engaged in trade talks for Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, another two-way all-star wing, which sources indicate would involve sending power forward Kevin Love to Phoenix, with picks and players moving around. It was the framework of a complex deal with significant hurdles — becoming a second option and moving to Cleveland isn’t for everybody — which would require deft handling and nuance, which made it even funnier when it was announced in the early evening that Cleveland general manager David Griffin, who directed the Cavaliers as they rode LeBron to three finals appearances and one title, was leaving the organization due to philosophical issues with the owner. Kaboom.
This, all this, is what the Toronto Raptors are trying to navigate as they approach a franchise crossroads. While we’re at it, on Monday the Philadelphia 76ers officially traded the No. 3 pick and future picks for the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s draft, and fellow Raptors division rival Boston dropped to No. 3, and still has first-round picks to burn. Oh, and USA Today’s Sam Amick reported that the L.A. Clippers had signed legendary player and executive Jerry West to not just keep Clipper stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, but maybe trade for Carmelo Anthony — who like Paul, is a friend of LeBron — in the hopes of luring LeBron to L.A. after this season.
That’s where he already owns a home, and a burgeoning entertainment company.
Oh, and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo reported the next head of Cleveland’s basketball operations could be former point guard Chauncey Billups, who retired three years ago and has been doing TV ever since. He would have to chart a path quickly, hiring a GM, while owner Dan Gilbert runs the franchise through this critical stage. Good luck with all that, everybody!
Meanwhile, the Raptors remain at their franchise crossroads, still deciding which path to take. The prospect of trying to trade for George as a one-year rental — with his contractual Bird rights, which means you can outspend others to keep the player in free agency — seemed remote Monday night, though not impossible. Any Raptors deal would likely look something like this: centre Jonas Valanciunas, one of Norm Powell or at least Delon Wright, maybe a pick or two, and whatever else you can cobble together. Last year’s Raptors plus Paul George would be . . . jeez, really good, for a year. But it wouldn’t make much sense, long-term.
Still, things can change. That’s what Ujiri is facing. Even if the organization did manage to make a deal for a big-time player, Kyle Lowry is a free agent, and multiple league sources say the all-star point guard has been grumbling about dissatisfaction with the Raptors for months. As of mid-May other teams were being told Lowry had “zero interest” in returning to Toronto, even if the Raptors offered a maximum five-year deal. Which since the club had no intention of offering a five-year deal probably made Lowry’s declaration easier to make.
But again: things change. West in L.A. may increase the likelihood Paul re-signs with the Clippers rather than goes to San Antonio, but San Antonio is said not to be interested in Lowry. Philadelphia’s draft move means they can draft dynamic guard Markelle Fultz, which closes a door on the 76ers pursuing Lowry. Which, for the record, was always considered a bit of a fan dance by plugged-in NBA sources.
Which means Lowry’s possible destinations are dwindling, if he wants to win and get paid. Lowry is prone to dramatic outbursts anyway, and the organization is used to it by now. Last week he gave an interview to TSN 1050 in which he said, “I love this city, everything about this city . . . I think everything about Toronto has been as positive or better than other NBA cities.” The team would prefer Lowry be less of a pain in the ass. But the prospect that LeBron could leave Cleveland?
Well, accommodations can be made to paper over Lowry’s grumbling, once again, if need be.
In other words, everyone’s leaving their options open. The NBA is heaving, and the Raptors don’t have a surplus of obviously optimal paths. But if there’s one thing Ujiri is good at, it’s waiting. Things can change.