Grade the Trade: Raptors deal big man for Cavaliers guard in latest proposal
Laying out the sign-and-trade
The Cleveland Cavaliers have an unbalanced roster, and that has been true for quite a few years. In successive years they drafted point guards in Collin Sexton and Darius Garland, then added a shooting guard in Isaac Okoro. Then they pivoted, trading for center Jarrett Allen and drafting a center in Evan Mobley. Sexton was traded for another small guard, Donovan Mitchell, and shooting guard Max Strus was signed to a significant contract to join the mix. Add in Caris LeVert and you have a significantly unbalanced roster.
That means the Cavaliers have been trying to build a rotation from five guards and two centers, with only the oft-injured Dean Wade to try and glue things together. Undersized wings like Strus and Okoro have been pressed into service at small forward; in fact, over the past two seasons, the 6'5" Okoro has played an estimated 86.5 percent of his minutes at forward.
That glut of guards has led to Okoro languishing on the vine this summer as a restricted free agent. One of the best on-ball guard defenders in the league, Okoro missed out on the rush of money in free agency and now is stuck holding the bag looking for a team to pay him something close to what he is worth.
If that team is not the Cavaliers, could the Raptors work out a sign-and-trade to bring in Okoro? Here's one such trade proposed by the trade site Fanspo, which would see the Raptors address their disillusionment in Chris Boucher and the Cavs avoid committing long-term money to Okoro:
Boucher Okoro sign-and-trade
In this construction, Isaac Okoro would be signing a three-year contract worth $32.2 million and making about $10.7 million in each year of the deal. That would be a hair less than his qualifiying offer but secure him guaranteed money over the next two seasons, at which point he could reenter free agency at 27 to try and land another contract.
The Cavaliers avoid paying Okoro eight figures when the rest of their roster will be at its most expensive, getting a second-round pick for the facilitation of taking back Chris Boucher to send out Okoro. Boucher isn't worth $10.8 million to the Cavaliers, but his ability to space the floor could make him an intriguing fit with their non-shooting bigs and he could get some run as the third big.
What about Toronto - does this trade make sense for them?