With Calderon being in a contract year, I got to thinking what impact resigning him would have on the Raptors. You have to imagine that he has earned something comperable to what TJ is making. I started to dig up player salaries, and found some very interesting things. We all know that one of the reasons Colangelo took this job was the favourable salary cap situation in Toronto. How favourable was a bit of a surprise to me. Below is the Raptors salary situation until the 2010-2011 season:
What a nice little war chest Colangelo has to play with starting int he 2009-2010 season. Until then, there are questions that need to be asked for next season and resigning Jose.
There are currently five Raptors who are in a contract year: Calderon, Humphries, Dixon, Martin, Moon. It stands to reason that Krispy Kreme Martin, will not be resigned. Humphries and Dixon, if resigned - and I don’t expect them not to be, should expect about the same level of pay. Moon and Calderon, so far, have earned themselves a big pay raise. Figure Calderon gets a 3yr/$24mil, and Moon scores a 3yr/$13.5mil. That puts total salaries at roughly $71mill for the 2008-2009 season…AKA luxury tax. So the Raptors will be paying out an additional $9mill in contracts (and another $9mill tax) for the same team (barring any trades). This ensures that as fans, we have to struggle through the same issues as this season:
- Limited interior scoring (bosh et al take it to the rack on occasion, but we have no low post scoring).
- Horrible perimeter defense.
- Replaceable players with no clearly defined roles.
I don’t expect the Raptors to be a lottery team, so any 1st round pics we may have, will not ranslate into an impact player - or so history tells us. That leaves adding pieces via trade and free agency. At $71mill, signing anyone (or a couple players) to address our needs will prove difficult. Michael Pietrus is available, but I don’t know who else is out there, but rest assured, the mid-level exception will not land us the coveted player we need to get to the next level.
Where does that leave the Raptors? A trade! So before you start leaving me hate comments/emails, hear me out:
- Bosh is as close to untouchable that this team has.
- Parker is the kind of player you need on your team, that does the right things, and doesn’t make any noise. At $4mill/year, he is a great deal.
- You need Kapono’s shooting/scoring off the bench. Best in the league at what he does.
- If Moon keeps up his pace, he wont be replaced as cheaply as we what he will be offered in the offseason.
- Same with Delfino and Humphries.
- There is a question mark with Garbo, he seems to be on his way out..
- The rest of the players are marginal, and have their counterparts on every bench in the league.
So that leaves us with the point’s: TJ and Jose. For the record, I like both of them. They bring something different to the floor, and the Raptors have different looks when either of them are running the offense. Does it make sense to devote $16/$17 million to one position when there are other gaps that have to be addressed to get to the next level? It does when the rest of your lineup is solid, but the Raptors aren’t there yet.
For my money, I keep TJ, and here’s why:
- He is about 3 years younger than Jose.
- Is way more explosive.
- Has more upside in the sense that he is still learning the game.
- Has a swagger to him, that I kinda like.
Jose is damn good, but what else can he add to his arsenal that he already doesn’t have? He is not a 20-10 guy. He just doesn’t have that game. He leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, probably could do about 16pts 8ast a game given the right amount of minutes.
But doesn’t TJ do that now - aside from the assist-to-turnover ratio.? This issue is a hard one for me. You have to give up talent to get talent (remember we traded Charlie V for TJ to begin with. He is a solid player when he is injury free) and seeing as how TJ was brought in by Colangelo, his first move in fact, stands to reason he will be standing when the dust settles.
Don’t delude yourselves, there is going to be a shakeup at some point this season. Colangelo see’s what the rest of us do, and the current makeup of this team, as good as it is, will not contend for anything in the East save a playoff birth…and after last season, I suspect that wont be enough for Toronto fans anymore. I know it wont for me. Let me know what you think.
Technorati Tags: TJ Ford, Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Jorge Garbajosa, Jose Calderon, Kris Humphries, Jamario Moon, Maceo Baston, Juan Dixon, Carlos Delfino, Darrick Martin, Joey Graham, Rasho Nesterovic, Jason Kapono, Salary Cap, Bryan Colangelo
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November 26th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
solid writeup - I was saying the same thing last season and I agree with your analysis. Just remember if we do trade Jose, his new team would only get a partial season out of the guy - what would they want to give us in return? Jose possibly agreeing to a contract with a new team or a sign and trade would allow us to get something more solid and long term in return…
November 26th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
well that is what i was thinking. if/when he gets traded, there would need to be a sign and trade situation. that looks less likely during the regular season. however, he could be the key piece of a larger package 2 for 1 or a 3 for 1 scenario. if you refer to the chart above, there are lots of guys with expiring contracts, who would be valuable to a team looking for a starting point guard, and cap relief.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:30 am
Cosign on the excellent writeup. Gotta love the salary situation BC has got us in going into the 2009-10 and 2010-2011 seasons with our core guys being signed and without carrying any dead weight. I’m not so familiar with the salary situation myself but didn’t we have Humps extend till the 08-09 season? And I was actually surprised by us extending Joey G (was he really that crucial in run leading into the playoffs?). You make a good point since Calderon is the only thing really not untouchable that holds significant trade value. I love what Jose has done running this team in TJ’s absense but you’ve got to wonder what TJ can effectively bring to the table given 38min/game. Sure it’s great to have them both especially in the regular season but we could really fill holes in other areas of our roster. Hopefully we’ve steered clear from a TJ vs. Jose debate.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:44 am
it is quite possible we did have humps extended that long. the above chart is by no means 100% correct.
i think joey was resigned for trading purposes. he is still a young mobile body, and can provide a bit of cap room once his contract expires. don’t expect another nba contract out of this kid after the current one expires.
the tj/jose debate is a bit ridiculous. they both thrive because one steps up when the other isnt performing, and they both know they have the right backup. a lot less pressure in that situation to be loose and contribute.
November 27th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Great post!
But you know which PG bowl I dip my tortilla in.
November 27th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Hump is definitely signed through 2010-2011 but contract details were not disclosed:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/basketball/story/2007/11/01/nba-raptors-humphries.html
One can assume it’s no more than 3 mil a year. It is weird that Joey was extended for one more year at 2.5 a year, and I highly doubt he’ll get extended for 2009-2010 at the $3.5 figure.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
there you go. next season will be challenge for fielding a better team. come 2009/2010, there will be plenty of money available to bring in the right guys to line up with the core.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:27 am
I think the raps need to resign Jose. without Jose on the team and TJ hurt the raptors would suck terribly. Jose may be older than TJ, but he is comparable to him wth stats if he got the minutes TJ did. Ford is awesome, but I like what Jose brings to the table. He’s a floor general that makes everyone around him better. Guys like Bosh, Bargnani and Kapono should do most of the scoring and Calderon should make it easier for them. there are so many teams out there scouting Jose for their starting pg and you could get somethingin return, but i say resign him, let Rasho go to UFAgency and rely on Bargs to get better with rebounding. If I was BC I would try and sign MOON asap. the guy has been bounced around way too much to demand too much money.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:41 am
rasho has a player option, that he would definitely pick up. no one will pay him 8 mill to play. i agree though, the team is much better with calderon (specially when ford is injured)
but imagine we could land someone like a shawn marion, gerald wallace, or a player in that mold who can fill the gaps? bargnani wouldn’t need to worry about rebounding, and can just concentrate on staying in rhythm game in and out and score.
as far as moon goes, i let him play out the year. see how he does over 82 games, then sign him.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
$16-18 mil for the (two) PG position(s) doesn’t look awful considering that there are players who make that kind of money on their own.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Calderon is a priority, with or without Ford. There are few teams that can offer more than the MLE for Jose, who want’s to stay in Toronto. BC can probably re-sign him for around $6 mil.
March 13th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
If you think TJ is worth it, it figures you are not an excec or a coach in the NBA. You know nothing
March 13th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
well roger, i wrote this article when tj was healthy and playing in control, unlike what he is doing now. i still think one of them has to be moved. the whole point of this post was that the raptors shouldn’t be spending so much on one position when there are other areas that need to be addressed.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
NO NO NO. Nice write up. Buh i rather have Jose.
Better Shooter
Stronger
Stronger Defence
Assist/Turnover Ratio
makes Player better
UNSELFSIH.
TRADE TJ for a shooting guard
April 9th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
i agree with you now vinthulan. this was written in november when tj wasn’t all headcase and disruptive, and jose wasn’t as bad ass. however, if tj didn’t get injured, we all might be singing a different song in respect to who should get traded in the offseason.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Keep Jose and Trade TJ. Although TJ is improving I rather roll the dice and have my chances with Jose. But if we trade TJ we can get someone good out of it like Carlos Arrayo, JR SMITH, Samuel Dalembert. Those are my top 3. OH btw I’d trade Jorge,Brezec,TJ,Baston and Graham for someone good
April 19th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
TRADE TJ KEEP JOSE> WHAT TO DO WITH JOSE???????
SIGN HIM and get a good center Samuel dalembert or Jamaal Magloire. TRADE TJ FOR JR SMITH OR MIKAEL PEITRUS
April 19th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Samuel Dalembert Jammaal Magloire JR smith carlos arrayo or mikael peitrus ARE ALL PERFECT FOR THE RAPS. I’m seing this vinthulan guy in all raptors stuff talk about hard core fan. I see him on facebook too buh ye this guy actually has a point
April 19th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Ye I SO AGREE! this vinthulan guy is everywhere i see him alot in facebook. buh ye he has a great point on brezec sukin n samuel dalembert. buh one wuestion what if bargs is good afta??? dalembert wil be benched n he wont wanna be in raptors makin him hate toronto n he’s candian problems will come. buh peitrus make alot of sense n so does tj for jr smiths
April 19th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
SAMY D is hype buh ppeitrus n jr would help the team n there will be less chances of problems in the future. samy d is good buh geroge has a point with bargs so ye. ye that vinthulan guy is a Raptors fan thats y pplz