David Price signs with Boston, Raptors lose key Kevin Durant leverage

Not really.

by

Note: None of this is meant to be serious, at all. The Price news broke and I wanted to keep my hands idle while I process it.

David Price has signed a seven-year, $217-million contract with the Boston Red Sox, according to a report from The Boston Globe.

This is a Toronto Raptors site, so forgive the interruption of regularly scheduled coverage with baseball news, but Price’s departure from The Toronto Blue Jays has Raptors-related ramifications on two fronts.

More important than those, first, it hurts. I was at Price’s debut with the Blue Jays, saw two other regular season starts, and was at Game 1 of the ALDS (I saw 20 games this season because I am an insane person). The last three months of the baseball season were three of the most fun I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan, so much so that they forced me to bring my walls down when it pertained to the Raptors’ hot start. It is cliched, I suppose, but I’ll never forget this summer, and the Blue jays will remain woven through every fabric of those memories.

So to Price, I say thank you for contributing to one of the coolest, most unifying stretches of sports fandom I’ll ever enjoy. Now get ready to get lit by this still-ridiculous lineup and lose your ace-off to Marcus Stroman.

Now, for the Raptors implications.

One: This is a big hit to the Kevin Durant free agent chase. While the odds of Durant leaving Oklahoma City in 2016 seem slim, some fans have continued to cling to hope that the presence of Drake, a phenomenal city with tons of momentum, Durant’s own rooting interests as a child, and the strong connection general manager Masai Ujiri can make with players would put the Raptors in the mix if he does (and if not, then in 2017). It’s a bit far-fetched and complicated by the Raptors’ less-than-ideal salary cap situation, but fans are free to dream.

The loss of Price puts the city out one marquee free agent and recruiter, and it kills the dream of a Price-Durant-Steven Stamkos haul in one sports calendar year. Durant, after all, appears to fancy himself a Price fan, and something tells me J.A. Happ doesn’t move the needle as a crossover personality.

Two: It’s an interesting emotional experiment ahead of DeMar DeRozan’s unrestricted free agency next summer. As a reminder, DeRozan holds a player option for next year that he’ll decline barring catastrophic injury, and he’ll be one of the top names in a thin free agent market following the cap explosion, when there will be far more money than talent. The collective bargaining agreement is incredibly restricting for veteran contract extensions, and DeRozan would be foolish to sign an extension under the conditions allowed. The most the Raptors could offer DeRozan right now is roughly $34.8 million over three additional seasons, a laughable amount given DeRozan’s likely market this summer. So he’s hitting free agency.

DeRozan is clear he wants to remain with the Raptors for life, but rumors suggested Price likes Toronto, too. The Raptors, like the Jays, may face a tough decision: Pay DeRozan as much as $25 million annually – less than Price’s deal, but roughly the maximum based on current cap estimates – or watch him walk. My reaction to the Price deal is that it’s justifiable not to match, tough though that may be emotionally, given the cost and risk inherent in the deal and the Jays’ own budgetary limitations. The presence of a salary cap in the NBA makes navigating the decision even tougher, as the opportunity cost of a DeRozan max or near-max deal is very tangible.

The DeRozan discussion is one best saved for the offseason, and these aren’t perfect comparables. DeRozan has a long history with the franchise, Price was a rental. Injury concerns for pitchers are far greater than shooting guards. The NBA has a salary cap. This is a Raptors site, shut the hell up about the Jays, Blake. And so on.

But if you’re a fan of both teams, your reaction to Price, an ace getting paid like one has never been paid before, leaving will probably be the same as your reaction if DeRozan, a very good non-star player about to get paid like a superstar, is allowed to walk.

Note: None of this is meant to be serious, at all. The Price news broke and I wanted to keep my hands idle while I process it.

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