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Raptors not lugging around bad contracts, despite salary cap status

By Brian Boake

TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 17: Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri talk before the game against the Detroit Pistons on January 17, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - JANUARY 17: Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri talk before the game against the Detroit Pistons on January 17, 2018 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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With the trade deadline close, attention shifts to the Raptors payroll situation. How does it compare to others, and does our team have a bad deal on its books?

I was intrigued by an article in RealGM about the NBA’s most untradeable contracts. Whether the players listed as such are in fact untradeable (#6, Omer Asik of the Pelicans, has already been moved to Chicago as part payment for Nikola Mirotic) is less important than the idea being espoused.

I’ll get the suspense over quickly. The Toronto Raptors have no “untradeable” contracts.

There are NBA teams who are capped out, but not competitive. The Lakers are the worst example I can find of an “inverted” roster. Three players, Brook Lopez, Luol Deng (#1 on the “most untradeable” list), and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope account for around $ 58 million of their almost $ 102 M payroll. Lopez has recently been benched, Deng has been a spectator all season, and Pope is on a one-year deal, so he’s hardly considered a core player.

Wise spending in Boston

The Boston Celtics are my choice as the most effective example of a value-for-money squad. They have compiled a Eastern Conference-leading record of 37-15 despite losing their most expensive player, Gordon Hayward, to a grievous injury. Boston is over the salary cap, but under the luxury tax, and even has a Disabled Player Exception to use, should they choose.

The Raptors, considered by value-for-money, are not far behind the Celtics. Their four most expensive players (Lowry, DeRozan, Ibaka, Valanciunas, in that order) are starting and playing a bunch.

TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 05: Gordon Hayward while with Utah Jazz
TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 05: Gordon Hayward while with Utah Jazz /

Contrast our team’s situation to that of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They are almost $ 15 million over the luxury tax. LeBron James could walk after this season (hello, LakerLand? – LAL can create the space, particularly if they can somehow dump Deng), which would be great for us Raptors fans. Kevin Love is hurt, Tristan Thompson is being bounced from the rotation to a starter and back again on a game by game basis, J.R. Smith seems to have lost his touch from deep – they are less than a million dollars away from the highest payroll in the league, and have won 7 of their past 19 games.

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Deadline moves?

The trade deadline is less than a week away, and the Cavs are rumoured to be in the market. Yet who wants their players? They are too expensive (Iman Shumpert at over $ 10 million? Check your medication), floundering like Smith, or unobtainable (can you imagine LeBron getting traded? Neither can I).

The highest outlay belongs to (you knew this) the Golden State Warriors. As in so many things, the Dubs are an exception. How can one argue with the value-for-money they are receiving, even considering their gigantic payoll?

I doubt if Masai Ujiri will get many votes for NBA Executive of the Year. But the way he’s managing the payroll puts him in line for a Lifetime Achievement Award from Toronto fans.

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