As the Raps slowly climb their way up the standings, I find myself wondering more and more if the Raps should trade out of this draft.
They currently have the 11th best record in the league, meaning the 19th overall pick. However, with the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the league, that's likely to fall into the 20s. This is reportedly a very deep draft, but I think there are a lot of advantages to trading this year's pick given the Raptors' financial and talent level situations.
First off, the chances that the Raps are going to find the franchise talent that puts them over the top with such a pick are obviously slim. So although they may miss out on a solid contributor, they probably won't be passing on an all-star.
Secondly, first round picks seem to be extremely valuable this year. With so many teams looking to stockpile assets, there's a very good chance that trading for an equivalent pick or one projected to go just outside the lottery next year would return an extra asset such as a young prospect who hasn't panned out, a second round pick, etc.. And that's significant, because I think that having two first round picks next year might represent the best way for the Raps to make a major trade for the kind of established star necessary to take the next step.
If the Raps do end up paying Lowry then the team faces a serious financial issue going forward with new contracts for Amir, JV and Ross all looming over the next 2 years or so. And that's before you mention Patterson, who is currently playing his way into a solid contract offer that the Raps may not want to match. If you paid all of those players then you'd have a very good team that's unlikely to be a contender but would be pushed up against the cap anyway once you factor in a reasonably priced bench. Not a great situation to be in as it essentially rules out signing a star player in free agency.
That being said, if the Raps go into next year with a resigned Lowry and two 2015 first round picks, the option to deal a 2017 pick and a team full of reasonable contracts and rookie deals, then they would make an ideal trade partner for any team looking to deal a disgruntled star. As the 'what position needs to be upgraded' thread suggests, at some point the Raps are going to have to convert their stable of good-but-not-quite-good-enough players on decent contracts into a superstar or two if they really want to become a contender. And I think that trading out of this year's draft in order to stockpile assets for a future trade might just be the best way to facilitate that.
Thoughts?
They currently have the 11th best record in the league, meaning the 19th overall pick. However, with the easiest remaining schedule of any team in the league, that's likely to fall into the 20s. This is reportedly a very deep draft, but I think there are a lot of advantages to trading this year's pick given the Raptors' financial and talent level situations.
First off, the chances that the Raps are going to find the franchise talent that puts them over the top with such a pick are obviously slim. So although they may miss out on a solid contributor, they probably won't be passing on an all-star.
Secondly, first round picks seem to be extremely valuable this year. With so many teams looking to stockpile assets, there's a very good chance that trading for an equivalent pick or one projected to go just outside the lottery next year would return an extra asset such as a young prospect who hasn't panned out, a second round pick, etc.. And that's significant, because I think that having two first round picks next year might represent the best way for the Raps to make a major trade for the kind of established star necessary to take the next step.
If the Raps do end up paying Lowry then the team faces a serious financial issue going forward with new contracts for Amir, JV and Ross all looming over the next 2 years or so. And that's before you mention Patterson, who is currently playing his way into a solid contract offer that the Raps may not want to match. If you paid all of those players then you'd have a very good team that's unlikely to be a contender but would be pushed up against the cap anyway once you factor in a reasonably priced bench. Not a great situation to be in as it essentially rules out signing a star player in free agency.
That being said, if the Raps go into next year with a resigned Lowry and two 2015 first round picks, the option to deal a 2017 pick and a team full of reasonable contracts and rookie deals, then they would make an ideal trade partner for any team looking to deal a disgruntled star. As the 'what position needs to be upgraded' thread suggests, at some point the Raps are going to have to convert their stable of good-but-not-quite-good-enough players on decent contracts into a superstar or two if they really want to become a contender. And I think that trading out of this year's draft in order to stockpile assets for a future trade might just be the best way to facilitate that.
Thoughts?
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