What on earth happened yesterday?
Canada Day allowed for me to have the day off and to spend it largely following all of the free agency madness that took place. Despite all of that I still feel as confused as ever…like it was all a half dream of sorts that I can only remember pieces of.
Could there have been a more enjoyable first day? Absolute insanity, followed by an information hangover.
And what of the Raptors? The rumors were flying at a speed that I have never seen before, and yet it was an out of nowhere announcement from DeMarre Carroll on Twitter and Instagram that rightfully made the biggest news.
Carroll immediately became the highest paid free agent contract in Raptors history, while also providing the Raptors with a high level wing who can contribute on both sides of the ball. Outside of the unrealistic options available in free agency (LeBron, Butler, etc.), DeMarre was the top wing on the market and jumped at the opportunity to come to Toronto, passing up previously scheduled meetings with other teams (New York Knicks being one of them).
This news was immediately preceded by a plethora of Spurs moves (trading Tiago, re-signing Green, and meeting with LaMarcus Aldridge) that sent fear into the heart of Raptor fans who had been hoping for Aldridge to call Toronto home this coming season.
Years of training have caused Raptor fans to expect the worst, and many began to worry that Toronto would fail to sign any impact free agents despite being able to easily access over $22 million in cap space.
And then there was DeMarre.
No one had reported of Toronto’s meeting with DeMarre ahead of time. No one seemed to know that Masai Ujiri and company had made the trip to Atlanta to court, and no one knew that they had secured one of the top free agents the team has ever had.
Carroll gives the Raptors some much needed wing defence, while also having shot 39.5 percent from three last season. His shooting percentage jumps to 44.1 percent when taking the corner three.
While it’s very important to consider how DeMarre fits in Toronto, the more pressing question at the moment is “What’s next?”
In the days ahead Toronto has meetings scheduled with former (?) Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge and Wesley Matthews.
Aldridge is this summer’s most sought after Power Forward and had already had meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers (rumors say that he was less than impressed), the San Antonio Spurs (the current consensus favourite…it’s the Spurs!), the Houston Rockets (he was impressed by their analytics), and the Phoenix Suns (who apparently walked away as the current co-favourite, in part due to their acquisition of Tyson Chandler earlier in the day).
Matthews (who is in the process of recovering from a torn Achilles this past year) meanwhile has met with the Dallas Mavericks (who seem to be pursuing anyone and everyone this summer) but is said to have some interest in joining Toronto.
The finances for both are tricky. Without trading away any current players, Toronto can clear roughly $9.6 million in cap space (waiving all of their cap holds, including waiting Lou Ridnour’s non-guaranteed contract). Not nearly enough room for Matthews (rumored to want $15 million per year) or Aldridge ($18.9 million max contract).
The space could be created for either player if needed though. Trading Patterson without returning salary would create the needed space for Wes, while trading both Patterson and Ross could (as an example) create the room to sign Aldridge to a max contract.
Despite the challenges attached, Ujiri still has plenty of options available to him in terms of how he builds the roster moving forward. One such rumor shows the type of out of the box thinking that Ujiri could be considering:
Re: @JeffZillgitt intel on Wes Matthews/Raptors meeting, I’m told DeMar DeRozan was heavily involved in recruitment of both him and Carroll.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 1, 2015
The $$ obviously doesn’t work & I have no clue how it would, but the pitch was DeMar at the two, Wes at the three and Carroll at the four.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) July 1, 2015
Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Wes Matthews , DeMarre Carroll, and Jonas Valanciunas…an odd but intriguing lineup possibility. It would provide the team with what should be a substantially improved defence, capable shooting, and low post scoring.
The worry here would easily be Carroll’s ability to hold up at power forward over the length of an entire season. The above line-up would be a great unit to run with for stretches of each game, but likely isn’t a full time solution.
The roster isn’t complete yet. Some financial flexibility remains, a few valuable trade assets are currently on the roster, and free agent meetings remain with both Aldridge and Matthews. The Raptors have always been an afterthought to most of the league, and this has been particularly visible in the acts of free agents each summer…yesterday felt different, and the hope is that today continues that trend with another major free agent decision.
Can Masai shock the world and land Aldridge? Could he convince Matthews to take less than his desired $15 million to compete in the Eastern Conference?
We may be just a few hours away from knowing. One thing is for certain though; the Raptors finally have a General Manager who has earned the trust of the fan base, and Masai Ujiri is bringing credibility to Toronto.
In Masai we trust.
