The Raptors have exercised their team options for 2016/17 on the rookie scale contracts of Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira, the team announced (Twitter link). That means the team locked in their salaries of $1,589,640 and $1,921,320, respectively, for that season. The moves are no surprise, since most clubs pick up rookie scale team options, even though Toronto didn’t give much playing time to either last season. Each of them saw just 23 minutes of action all year at the NBA level, with a couple of D-League assignments sprinkled in.
Neither seems poised to grab a spot in the Raptors rotation this season, but they’ll likely see much more time in the D-League, since the establishment of Raptors 905 gives Toronto a one-to-one affiliate. Nogueira, now 23 years old, was more productive in the D-League last season than Caboclo was, though the three-year age difference between the two likely played into it. The younger Caboclo was a surprise selection at No. 20 overall in the 2014 draft. Nogueira was the 16th pick in the 2013 draft, but he remained overseas for a year with Estudiantes of Spain before the Raptors acquired his rights from the Hawks in the Lou Williams trade.
Toronto’s commitments for 2016/17 rise to almost $60MM against a projected $89MM cap with today’s moves. That includes the extension that Jonas Valanciunas signed this summer, but no money for DeMar DeRozan, who has a $10.05MM player option, or Terrence Ross, who’s also extension eligible. Agent Rich Paul reportedly believes he can get the Raptors to make a max offer next summer to Toronto native Tristan Thompson, who can hit unrestricted free agency in July if he signs his qualifying offer from the Cavs this week. The Raptors would have to pass on Ross and DeRozan would have to opt in or re-sign at a discount for the team to have the flexibility for Thompson’s max starting salary of a projected $20.4MM. Preliminary indications are DeRozan will opt out, a strong bet given his level of performance and the rising salaries around the league.
Which of Caboclo and Nogueira do you believe has the greatest chance to make an impact in the NBA? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Cabloco
Both players have massive potential upside and I’m glad we picked up the options
massive potential are u crazy fact is Cabloco has more of a chance to be something, but role players at best
Honestly I thought nogiera was brought in so Bruno could have someone to talk to lol. So yea
So Caboclo would be your pick here, right?
Lol same
Definitely both are going to be an impact if they stay focused and keep learning off vets. And get big while staying athletic!
Even in his limited minutes you can see that Bruno has all the tools to be an excellent wing player. A full year in the D-league playing every day should do wonders for him. At the worst, I think he can be a Jamario Moon type guy, but if he can put on a bit of muscle and keep a consistent outside shot, he could be the small forward the Raptors have almost never had.
I’m not a fan of Biyombo. Other block shots, he’s very limited at everything else. Noguiera is a biggg kid. He could surpass Biyombo this year. Biyombo was a good signing in case Noguiera doesn’t step forward.
Has to be Caboclo. 7+ foot centres are getting phased out in the NBA at least for a a few years and I think that Caboclo has improved his conditioning and basketball IQ to the point that his “growth” from where he was, has far exceeded that of Nogueira whom to be fair started as more skilled and NBA ready to begin with. So if the question is who will most likely keep improving and contribute in the NBA then based on the ratio of growth one can expect Caboclo to keep improving at a quicker rate and contribute sooner. I.E. the difference between exponential growth (Caboclo) and linear growth (Nogueira).