Toronto Raptors: Is Danny Green affordable next season?

The Toronto Raptors traded for two players from San Antonio and inserted both of them into the starting five. Let’s consider the salary situation of Danny Green, the less-heralded Spur.

The Toronto Raptors and their fans are enjoying themselves immensely thus far in the 2018-19 NBA season. The “risky” trade for Kawhi Leonard has proven a success, and our man isn’t fully healthy yet, nor acclimated with his mates.

Masai Ujiri, our top decision-maker, has pushed his chips in; he’s not waiting for next season to play for a championship. However ’18-19 plays out, there will be another season, and Masai knows he has to plan his spending.

Given the extraordinary number of moving parts within the Raptors’ roster, I’m going to discuss one player’s future about every month, starting with shooting guard Danny Green.

Green is the other guy who arrived from San Antonio and stepped into the vacated position in the starting backcourt. He’s been almost exactly what we expected, a prototypical 3-&-D specialist who doesn’t demand the ball on offense.

Danny’s contract is done after Game 82, at which point he becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent [UFA]. The Raptors retain his Bird Rights, though that’s not so important for a veteran of 9 seasons who will be 32 in June. He’s not getting any max-deal offers.

Let’s consider Danny within the context of his peer group, i.e., other UFA 2-men. Hoops Hype’s ranking seems quite sensible; Danny is #4, behind the 76ers’ J.J. Redick and ahead of the Pacers’ Tyreke Evans. His salary is less than those two. The top shooting guards are Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson, who occupy a different plane.

This thing is getting expensive

OK, do we want Danny back? He’s cracked the starting five of the league’s best team, so you move on from him at your peril. And a look at who’s behind him on the depth chart doesn’t provide comfort: C.J. Miles, then Malachi Richardson and Jordan Loyd (ESPN lists Norman Powell as a small forward).

So there’s a gaping hole at the position, and a returning Danny is our best option. But at what price? The salary cap next season is set at $109 Million, and the Luxury Tax at $132 M, both of which the Raptors have blown through. Kawhi has a player option at $21+ M which he is certain to decline. Should he choose to return to Toronto, he’ll command close to twice that amount. Add that to Kyle Lowry’s stipend, and the team will be paying $70 M for two players.

If Kawhi walks, then there will be lots more money for everybody – or perhaps not. Masai could decide to go young, meaning there may not be an attractive offer (or any at all) for Danny.

That’s too drastic for me. I can see a getting-the-conversation-started offer of $18 M for a two-year deal, with the second season a team option. If Danny can get significantly more than that elsewhere (Knicks or Mavs, perhaps), he should seize it, and we’ll remember him fondly.

A lot depends on Norm Powell – if he returns from injury as the exciting, athletic sharpshooter of his early time in Toronto, then Danny’s departure won’t sting much.

We can’t draw any firm conclusions yet about Danny’s return to the team, other than he’s on the bubble for financial, not performance, reasons. We don’t know how ownership feels about paying the luxury tax. This topic is far from closed.