Raptors want to trade their way to championship – it won’t be easy

We know the Raptors are in the market to upgrade the team after perhaps the most painful playoff flop we’ve ever suffered through. We need to move Serge.

The winds of major change have begun to swirl around the Toronto Raptors. The opening move of what will be a fascinating off-season was the firing of long-time head coach Dwane Casey. At this point, President Masai Ujiri has two major assignments. One is to find a coach, the other is to upgrade his roster.

Let’s concentrate on the second option today. Normally the President and all his minions would be frantically reviewing tapes and working out prospects in preparation for the June draft. However, here’s another reason why this won’t be a normal off-season. The Raptors are bereft of picks, having donated their first-rounder to Brooklyn in the DeMarre Carroll salary dump. The second is now in Phoenix, as part payment for the all-too-brief services of P.J. Tucker. [20-second timeout: Last summer, Tucker was offered more money by Masai than Houston came up with, yet the burly forward joined the Rockets. Did Tucker truly have his heart set on playing with his friend Chris Paul, or did he not believe in the Raptors core? He’s in the Western Finals, while our guys are spectators.]

While I’m all in favour of internal development, the Raptors aren’t getting to the next level without some trade action. The logical candidate to be moved first (though not last!) is the disappointing Serge Ibaka. He’s owed closed to $ 45 Million over the next two seasons, and isn’t worth half that.

The Raptors might be eager to send Ibaka elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean there are a lot of teams willing, or financially able, to take him on. I added a further limitation to my search for a trade partner, which is a willingness for the other side to surrender a respectable first-round pick. I had to drop that notion, I’m afraid.

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There’s another factor which doesn’t receive enough thought when we thinking about moving a player. Contending teams in the East aren’t likely to have chats with the premise “Sure, Masai, we’ll help Toronto out.” We need to look West, specifically at bottom-feeders like Sacramento or Memphis.

Something along these lines

The ideal trade partner is probably Phoenix. The Suns have only $ 70 Million in guaranteed salary in 2018-19, the #16 pick, and a roster with more holes than a porcupine’s underwear. Since they are in the lottery with an excellent chance at the #1 pick, they may be amenable to surrendering their second first-rounder. We would likely have to take back a bad contract (Jared Dudley’s last season at $ 9 Million?), but I could live with that.

Here’s a trade which roughly duplicates what Masai did last summer when dumping Cory Joseph because of the same salary-cap pressure he’s under now.

The Kings might want Masai to take another one of their seemingly endless collection of failed young players, like Skal Labissiere.

The deal doesn’t work on the Trade Machine, but that’s moot. The Kings are under the salary cap so can take him on. They could use a veteran big man, both on the floor and in the locker room.

As for Garrett Temple, he’s another swingman to add to the seeming army of those guys the Raptors have recently accumulated. He has a player option at $ 8 Million for next season which he’d be a fool to turn down. If he does, the Raptors can let him walk.

I realize what I’m proposing means Toronto might well end up with nothing tangible, which is unfortunate. Sadly, Serge has played himself out of the team’s plans, and unloading his massive contract is the only recourse available.

Going way off the reservation…

There’s a time-honoured tactic in pro sports knowing as swapping problems. The Grizzlies signed perpetually injured small forward Chandler Parsons to an absurd contract. The Trade Machine says a one-for-one deal works, with the Raptors losing two games and the Grizzlies gaining a pair. The Raptors would also be taking on more than $ 2 Million in additional salary, thus plunging them deeper into the luxury tax.

At this point, Gentle Reader, you are probably not feeling so gentle. In fact, I suspect you are screaming at the screen “Then why are you even pitching such a crazy trade?”. It’s because there’s one thing Parsons can do, and that’s shoot. When he’s not rehabbing his knee, he can burn the strings from anywhere. The Raptors have a bunch of people who can shoot, but not enough who can actually make. The Cleveland series provided ample, indeed excessive, proof.

The trade would be conditional on Parsons being cleared by the Raptors medical staff.

Let’s remember why we’re doing this

There are several more of these deals I could offer for your consideration, but I won’t. The simple message I can’t get past is this: we aren’t getting value for Serge Ibaka. The Raptors can only hope for salary relief, a rotation player, and a draft pick if the wind is blowing in the right direction.

Time to close with another cliche, this one credited to Branch Rickey: “It’s better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late.”