Whether they can stomach it or not, the Toronto Raptors and their fans might want to root for the Cleveland Cavaliers to turn the NBA Finals into a competitive series.
Should the Cavs get swept and continue to get blown out every game, Cleveland could deciding to re-boot their roster yet again and make a big splash by acquiring another superstar, like Paul George or Jimmy Butler.
Are there simple and effective ways for Cleveland to add a player of that calibre without subtracting from the current roster? Well, no. But as we’ve learned the last few offseasons, watching the Golden State Warriors sign Kevin Durant, the Cavs trade their first overall pick, Andrew Wiggins, to Minnesota for Kevin Love, or even a scant few summers ago when Dwight Howard and Steve Nash both joined the Los Angeles Lakers, we should really learn to accept the unusual as par for the course in today’s NBA.
While Toronto’s offseason is consumed with questions about re-signing Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and P.J. Tucker, and where costly pieces like Jonas Valanciunas and Demarre Carroll still fit, a Cavs reboot is beyond their control. Yet it may influence how they address and evaluate their own wants and needs.
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There’s too much chatter about George wanting out of Indiana to assume he stays, and like most teams in the East, the Raps would and should hope he heads to the Western Conference. Same goes for Butler, has notoriously performed well against the Raptors in the regular season. Obviously, the Bulls have danced on multiple occasions with the concept of a Butler trade, and no one expects this summer will be different. Many insiders feel he’s as good as gone from Chicago.
Cleveland can’t add a $20 million salary in Paul George without a player (or three) going back to the Pacers, but Love’s contract is eminently moveable and he’d be a very popular player in Indianapolis.
But Butler would be the piece I’d seek if I’m Cleveland. While George will be a free agent after next season, Butler is under contract for two more years at a relative bargain of just under $20 million before he can opt out.
Either way, it would be a nightmare scenario if you’re the Raptors. The same could be said if either of those superstars landed in the Atlantic division on the Boston Celtics.
It’s stressful enough for Raptors fans that the Celtics are officially “back” after finishing first in the East this season. And they’re well-positioned to get better. They have big money committed only to Al Horford right now (Isaiah Thomas is a free agent after next season), the first overall pick in the draft and again have tons of cap space to splurge on in free agency this summer.
If the Cavaliers and Celtics both try to out-do each other this summer, there will be no mutually assured destruction that the Raptors would benefit from.
Would Butler or George moving to either the Cavs or Celtics mean the Raptors change course on decisions regarding their own pending free agents? Maybe so.
There’s a time to go “all in” and the Raps haven’t done so yet. And while that’s the expression that was linked by some to what Masai Ujiri did by acquiring Ibaka and Tucker in February, those moves weren’t all that costly in terms of the Raps long-term assets. Is now the time?
If I’m a member of the Raptors front office, I’m hoping the Cavaliers show more fight— and get better results— when the Finals shift to Ohio Wednesday night. Because if the Cavs make a definitive effort to strengthen the roster surrounding LeBron James, especially by making a big-splash and acquiring yet another superstar, it wouldn’t be welcome news for teams like the Raptors looking for any possible way to get past them in the East.
