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2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Toronto Raptors

May 27th, 2020 at 2:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

Following a thrilling run to the first NBA championship in franchise history last spring, the Raptors lost Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, prompting a number of league observers to project a fall back to earth in 2019/20. However, this year’s version of the Raps proved they’re more than just Leonard’s supporting cast, entering the hiatus with a 46-18 record, good for third in the NBA.

With key contributors like Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka all headed for unrestricted free agency, Toronto’s outlook is uncertain going forward, but the team should have the flexibility to bring back at least one or two of those veterans while retaining spending power for the 2021 offseason.

Here’s where things stand for the Raptors financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Kyle Lowry ($30,500,000)
Pascal Siakam ($27,285,000) ¹
Norman Powell ($10,865,952)
Patrick McCaw ($4,000,000)
OG Anunoby ($3,872,215)
Matt Thomas ($725,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.
Total: $77,248,167

Player Options

Stanley Johnson ($3,804,150)
Total: $3,804,150

Team Options

None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Terence Davis ($1,517,981) ²
Dewan Hernandez ($1,517,981) ³
Matt Thomas ($792,981)
Paul Watson (two-way)
Total: $3,828,943

Restricted Free Agents

Chris Boucher ($1,985,289 qualifying offer / $1,985,289 cap hold): Early Bird rights
Malcolm Miller ($1,985,289 qualifying offer / $1,985,289 cap hold): Bird rights
Nando De Colo ($1,828,750 qualifying offer / $1,901,900 cap hold): Early Bird rights ⁵
Oshae Brissett (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
Total (cap holds): $7,318,175

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Marc Gasol ($38,199,000): Bird rights ⁴
Serge Ibaka ($34,907,406): Bird rights
Fred VanVleet ($17,757,691): Bird rights
Lucas Nogueira ($8,841,915): Bird rights ⁵
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($3,000,000): Non-Bird rights
No. 29 overall pick ($1,950,600)
Jeremy Lin ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights ⁵
Jodie Meeks ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights ⁵
Jason Thompson ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights ⁵
Total: $109,518,304

Offseason Cap Outlook

The Raptors don’t currently have a ton of guaranteed money on their books for 2020/21, but we’re assuming they’ll operate as an over-the-cap team in order to retain the ability to re-sign some combination of VanVleet, Gasol, Ibaka, Boucher, and Hollis-Jefferson.

Depending on how expensive VanVleet and their veteran centers get, Toronto could even end up flirting with the tax line again next season. If we assume the cap doesn’t increase at all for 2020/21 and that Johnson and all the non-guaranteed players return, the club would have a cushion of about $45MM to re-sign its own free agents (and/or add outside talent) before going into tax territory.

Cap Exceptions Available

Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 ⁶

Footnotes

This is a projected value. Siakam’s actual maximum salary will be 25% of the cap, unless he makes the All-NBA First or Second Team, in which case it will be anywhere from 28-30% of the cap.
Davis’ new salary guarantee date is unknown.
Hernandez’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
Gasol’s cap hold will be the lesser of $38,393,550 or 35% of the 2020/21 cap.
The cap holds for De Colo, Nogueira, Lin, Meeks, and Thompson remain on the Raptors’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
This is a projected value. If the Raptors’ team salary continues to increase, they may be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Debating Siakam Vs. Tatum Vs. Simmons

May 22nd, 2020 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

In Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), and Ben Simmons (Sixers), the Atlantic Division features a trio of rising young wings who appear poised to play important roles for their teams for years to come. In a two-part series, Jared Weiss, Blake Murphy, and Mike O’Connor of The Athletic debate which of the three players has the brightest future.

Raptors Notes: Salary Cap, Draft, Watson

May 20th, 2020 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors will have major roster decisions to make during the 2020 and 2021 offseasons. At the end of the current season, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol will all become unrestricted free agents, forcing Toronto to either lock them up long-term, try to negotiate one-year deals, or risk losing them for nothing.

A year later, the Raptors’ cap is relatively clear, and there have been frequent whispers about the team looking to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has a long-standing relationship with president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri.

While the financial impact of the NBA’s coronavirus-related hiatus may not entirely upend those plans, it’ll affect them to some extent, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. As Lewenberg observes, a lower salary cap than expected in 2020/21 may result in many free agents settling for one-year contracts, which could increase the Raptors’ chances of re-signing their own veterans.

As for 2021, Lewenberg thinks that the Raptors should have enough room for a maximum-salary player even if the cap levels off, but VanVleet’s next contract could be a wild card — a multiyear deal this offseason would cut into Toronto’s flexibility going forward.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Based on the current NBA standings, Toronto would receive the 28th and 58th overall picks in the 2020 draft. Blake Murphy and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic explore what the Raptors might be looking for with those selections, specifically discussing whether DePaul’s Paul Reed, Washington’s Isaiah Stewart, or Charleston’s Grant Riller could be among the team’s targets.
Could Paul Watson, who signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Raptors in January, become the team’s latest under-the-radar value addition? Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines that question, with some input from veteran player development coach Rico Hines.
NBA teams may start recalling players to their home markets in early June, but the U.S./Canada border will remained closed for non-essential travel for at least a few weeks beyond that. As we detailed earlier today, that’s not expected to be a major impediment for the Raptors.

NBA Teams Expect Guidelines For Ramp-Up Period Around June 1

May 20th, 2020 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

NBA teams expect the league to issue formal guidelines around June 1 detailing the first steps of a ramp-up to the resumption of the 2019/20 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.

As ESPN’s duo explains, the first step of that ramp-up process would involve teams recalling players who left their respective markets during the hiatus. Clubs also believe they’ll be able to expand workouts for players already in their market around June 1, sources tell Wojnarowski and Lowe.

According to ESPN’s report, the NBA envisions a ramp-up process that would include an initial two-week period of recalling and possibly quarantining players. That would be followed by a week or two of individual workouts at team facilities, then a two- or three-week formal training camp. From there, teams would likely eventually travel to one or two centralized locations where the season would resume.

Earlier today, The Athletic reported that the most popular scenario discussed by the NBA would see players fully training by mid-June, with games resuming by mid-July. It sounds as if Wojnarowski and Lowe are hearing a similar timeline suggested — sources tell ESPN that many team owners, executives, and NBPA higher-ups believe commissioner Adam Silver will green-light a return to play in June, with games resuming before the end of July.

The NBA and NBPA still have to work out many details on a potential return, including whether or not regular season games will be played, whether all 30 teams will resume play, and what the playoffs will look like, sources tell ESPN.

Additionally, for some teams, recalling players to their market may not be as simple as having them travel across a state or two. Luka Doncic, for instance, returned to Europe during the hiatus. And the Raptors will have to deal with a U.S./Canada border that is closed to non-essential travel for at least another month. However, the league expects to receive assistance from the U.S. government for any teams and players requiring international travel, per Woj and Lowe.

And-Ones: Sotto, Drew League, Hampton, Fields

May 15th, 2020 at 9:20am CST by Luke Adams

After a report earlier this week indicated that Kai Sotto, a 7’2″ center from the Philippines, would be joining the G League’s new Select Team, Shams Charania of The Athletic confirmed (via Twitter) that Sotto has officially signed his contract with the NBAGL.

Sources tell Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com (Twitter link) that Sotto, who was ranked 51st in 247Sports’ rankings of 2020 recruits, will earn at least $200K on his G League deal. According to the details that have been reported so far, Sotto’s deal won’t be as lucrative as the ones for his teammates like Jalen Green and Daishen Nix, but he’ll still be earning far more than the average G League veteran does ($35K).

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The Drew League, a popular pro-am basketball summer league basketball in Los Angeles, has been forced to cancel its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, as ESPN’s Dave McMenamin details. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Chris Paul, and the late Kobe Bryant are among the NBA stars who have taken part in Drew League games in past years.
As part of his preparation for the 2020 NBA draft, probable lottery pick RJ Hampton is working with former NBA guard Penny Hardaway, according to John Martin of The Athletic. Hardaway is now the coach of the Memphis Tigers team that Hampton passed on last year to play in Australia’s National Basketball League.
In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Blake Murphy spoke to former NBA forward Landry Fields about his disappointing stint with the Raptors and the health issues that derailed his NBA career, as well as the opportunity he has received in the Spurs‘ front office. Fields was named the general manager of San Antonio’s G League affiliate last September.

Raptors Will Need To Balance Their Youth And Vets in 2021 Free Agency

May 14th, 2020 at 8:20pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

For the Raptors, balancing the team’s young core and aging veterans may become especially tricky during the 2020 offseason, according to John Hollinger and Blake Murphy of The Athletic. Among the team’s top six players, ascendant young point guard Fred VanVleet, 35-year-old center Marc Gasol and 30-year-old big man Serge Ibaka will all be unrestricted free agents at season’s end.

Kings, Pacers, Heat Among Latest Teams To Reopen Facilities

May 13th, 2020 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NBA continue to reopen their practice facilities to accommodate voluntary individual workouts for their players. The Kings, Pacers, and Heat are among the latest teams to do so.

As James Ham of NBC Sports California details, Sacramento opened its facility on Monday, and a handful of players have already taken advantage of the opportunity to get some work in.

The same thing happened in Indiana this week, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Michael’s source didn’t identify the specific players who have been back at St. Vincent Center, but said some players have returned to the facility, even as many staffers still aren’t cleared to enter the building.

As for the Heat, they reopened their facility at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. All but three of Miami’s players are still in the South Beach area, per Winderman, so a number of those players figure to make use of the building.

The Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Jazz, Hawks, and Raptors are among the teams that have also opened their respective facilities. Raptors forward Malcolm Miller confirmed today that he was the first player back at the club’s facility in Toronto earlier this week (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).

As the list of teams with reopened facilities grows, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday night that the league believes 22 of its 30 teams will have their building opened back up by next Monday (May 18). However, situations remain fluid.

For instance, the Wizards had reportedly targeted this Friday to reopen their practice facility. That target date is now up in the air, since the stay-at-home order in Washington, D.C. has now been extended through June 8, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Players who have been given the green light to participate in individual workouts at their teams’ facilities face restrictive guidelines. They can only work out for an hour at a time, with no more than four total players in the building. They also must undergo temperature checks before entering the facility and are required to wear a mask when not engaged in physical activity.

Western Notes: Stevens, Pelicans, Nuggets, Oubre

May 11th, 2020 at 8:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Warriors minority owner Mark Stevens will return to active status as a team stakeholder and also rejoin the team’s executive board once this season officially ends, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic reports. Stevens received a one-year suspension and was fined $500K after he shoved and yelled at the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry during Game 3 of last season’s Finals.

Despite reports to the contrary, Stevens was never bought out, nor was he in danger of being kicked out of the ownership group, Kawakami continues. Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob believes Stevens had a momentary lapse in judgment and has served the suspension without complaint, Kawakami adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans plan to reopen their practice facility in Metairie, La. next Monday, March 18, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune reports. Louisiana’s stay-at-home order prohibits the team from using the facility through Friday, when that order is set to expire. At least five teams are known to have reopened their facilities since the NBA gave the go-ahead to conduct individual workouts under supervision and safeguards.
The Nuggets have created virtual locker rooms to stay in touch and engaged, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Rather than staying connected via e-mails and text messages, the Nuggets have conducted a handful of team Zoom calls.
Suns wing Kelly Oubre Jr., who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in early March, showed explosiveness in an Instagram post, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic writes. Oubre, who wasn’t wearing a knee brace in the video, could return to action this season if it resumes, Rankin adds. Oubre will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020/21 season.

Examining The Draft History Of Masai Ujiri

May 10th, 2020 at 5:58pm CST by JD Shaw

Blake Murphy of The Athletic examines the draft history of Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who’s widely considered to be one of the top executives in the league. Ujiri was responsible for drafting Pascal Siakam in 2016 and OG Anunoby in 2017, along with signing Fred VanVleet as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Raptors To Allow Limited Access To Facility Starting Monday

May 8th, 2020 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is allowing teams to begin reopening their practice facilities for controlled individual workouts beginning today, and while only three clubs – the Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, and Nuggets – are doing so immediately, others will follow suit next week. The Raptors are the latest team to join that group, announcing today that they’ll reopen their practice facility on a limited basis starting on Monday, May 11.

The “strict protocols” outlined by the Raptors in their press release are even more restrictive than the guidelines the NBA has provided to teams. While the league allows for up to four players at a time in practice facilities, the Raptors will permit just one player in their building at a time, according to the team. A single coach will be allowed to accompany the player.

Additionally, the Raptors stress in their announcement that activities which can be done at home – such as weight lifting – won’t be permitted at their facility. The basketball court is the only area that will be open, with locker rooms, weight rooms, medical facilities, and other areas of the building staying closed.

As some teams around the NBA begin to reopen their practice facilities for voluntary workouts, others are continuing to play it safe, with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggesting this week that he’s apprehensive about allowing players back into Dallas’ building until the league permits coronavirus testing on asymptomatic individuals.

Although the Raptors’ stance isn’t as extreme as Cuban’s, the measures they’ve implemented as they prepare to reopen their facility suggest they feel the NBA’s safety guidelines could – or should – have gone even further.