The Toronto Raptors are flush with salary cap space. Yes, they need to re-sign Sixth Man award winner Lou Williams, and they’ll likely need to give him a significant raise after what he gave them.
But what about getting unrestricted free agents to come to Toronto? It has never been an easy thing to do (last summer’s Kyle Lowry re-signing notwithstanding), and Masai Ujiri is going up against some awfully heavy hitters when it comes to going after the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge and his ilk.
If he strikes out on all of the big names, what might Plan B be?
Here’s my suggestion: Go get David Lee, who the Golden State Warriors are trying to trade. He is a former All-Star, he is the consummate professional, and he can score in the low block better than Amir Johnson, Chuck Hayes, Patrick Patterson, James Johnson or any of the other power forwards Toronto used last season.
The Warriors have already told Lee they will attempt to move him, and Golden State knows it will not get equal value in return. What is important to the Warriors is ridding themselves of Lee’s salary to keep themselves out of luxury tax territory. A future second-round pick might be all it takes to get it done, and adding Lee would give the Raptors a one-year rental on a solid player while keeping intact their cap space for the bonanza summer of 2016.
I tossed that idea at Toronto radio listeners this morning on Sportsnet 590-The Fan, and I also explained the strange free agent status of Atlanta’s Paul Millsap — and how that could be an option, too.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.