Toronto Raptors: Three potential replacements for Fred VanVleet if he leaves
The Toronto Raptors could take a chance on Isaiah Thomas
It was a couple of years ago where Isaiah Thomas was one of the best point guards in the league, now he is looking for an opportunity to join a team that can use his help.
In the 2016-17 season playing for the Boston Celtics, Thomas’s scoring average was a career-high 28.9 points. In the next three seasons, he only averaged less than 16 a game.
Thomas’s decline was due to a hip injury that he suffered in 2017. His injury did not fully heal, and it affected his career so badly that he was traded, signed, and cut from five different teams in the past three years.
Recently, he posted a video on his Instagram where he said that he is 100 percent healthy and ready to play for a team.
He would a great pick-up for Toronto because they can use him the same way they use Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, starting the two-point guards at the same time.
The only difference is that with Lowry and VanVleet, they can play in either the PG spot or the shooting guard spot because they are similar in height. Thomas must play point guard because he is 5 ft 9, whereas Lowry is 6 ft tall. They can also have Thomas come off the bench and have Norman Powell start.
For Isaiah Thomas, he will be on a playoff team. He will not be the same player that he was in 2017, but that is not what they need him to do. They need him to be a guy that gives you 14-17 points a night.
The money should not be a problem for the Raptors because Thomas’s value should be less than five million due to his history of injuries. And for the former two-time NBA All-Star, this is a chance for him to play well and in the 2021 offseason, get a max type of deal from the Raptors or from another team.
The Raptors should do whatever it takes to sign VanVleet because he is a valuable piece to this team.
But it’s understandable why they might not be willing to pay him that much due to the players available next year.
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So replacing VanVleet with Powell, Rose or Thomas is a good idea for Toronto because they can fill VanVleet’s role and still have the cap space for 2021.