By Tim Bontemps, Brian Windhorst | ESPN, 2025-02-21 20:00:00
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
虽然NBA在周三以一场比赛，周四以接近完整的赛程恢复了全明星假期后的征程，但在圣安东尼奥马刺队球星内线球员维克托·文班亚马(Victor Wembanyama)因右肩深静脉血栓将缺席本赛季剩余比赛的消息传出后，联盟的焦点转移到了其他地方。
这个消息在联盟中引起了轩然大波，因为文班亚马的地位举足轻重，他在一个辉煌的最佳新秀赛季之后，又迎来了一个更加出色的二年级赛季。他参加了周末的首届全明星赛，并且是年度最佳防守球员的热门人选，是入选全NBA最佳阵容的板上钉钉，甚至有可能获得一些最有价值球员的考虑。
然而，所有这些都退居次要地位，因为焦点转移到他眼下和长远的健康状况。因此，随着联盟重返赛场，我们将关注联盟对文班亚马消息的反应，并回顾全明星假期前赛程中的一些经验教训。
跳转至以下版块：
文班亚马和马刺队的下一步是什么？
为什么第二层工资帽无法阻止大手笔交易
……以及为什么这么多交易现在完成
赛季上半程的更多教训
文班亚马的健康现在成为一个主要话题
Bontemps： 在全明星周末期间，有一个时刻让我印象深刻，那就是周六在奥克兰甲骨文球馆的媒体采访中，有人问明尼苏达森林狼队后卫安东尼·爱德华兹(Anthony Edwards) 是否有可能成为NBA的下一个门面。
“不，不是真的，”爱德华兹说。“他们有文班了。”
这就是文班亚马在过去两年中所享受的地位提升；在他21岁生日后不到两个月，他就被视为勒布朗·詹姆斯(LeBron James)、斯蒂芬·库里(Stephen Curry) 和凯文·杜兰特(Kevin Durant)的当然继承人。
这导致了我在周四得知文班亚马因右肩血栓问题赛季报销后，从NBA内部人士那里听到的普遍震惊。
布兰登·英格拉姆(Brandon Ingram) 六年前几乎患有相同的疾病，并且康复后没有出现任何问题，这让人相信，文班亚马可以康复而没有任何问题。但对于一个在文班亚马身上投入了如此之多的联盟来说，对于一支刚刚交易得到德阿隆·福克斯(De’Aaron Fox)的马刺队来说，他们原本的计划是在未来至少十年内成为NBA最大的影响因素之一，这是一种我记忆中罕见的震惊。
Windhorst： 马刺队被这一诊断结果震惊了，既担心又庆幸医生发现了如此可怕的问题。对于圣安东尼奥来说，这是一个情绪化的赛季。主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 在11月2日的一场比赛前在霜冻银行球馆突发中风。在德克萨斯州奥斯汀举行重要比赛的当天，球队在投篮训练前得知文班亚马赛季报销，这破坏了一年一度的牛仔竞技之旅，而这次旅行的目的是为了冲击附加赛。
尽管交易得到福克斯在很大程度上被视为积极的发展，但对于一个不以赛季中期交易而闻名的球队来说，这造成了不稳定。此外，还有巴黎之旅，这对于支持文班亚马的大型旅行团来说是激动人心的，但也让人情绪疲惫。“这是一个漫长而疯狂的赛季，”一位球队消息人士说。
Bontemps： 还有一个次要事实是，圣安东尼奥本赛季没有争夺总冠军，并且可能会获得一个明显更好的选秀顺位。
对于我交谈过的球探和高管来说，一旦新闻带来的震惊过去，他们的想法就转移到这是否会重演1996-97赛季圣安东尼奥发生的事情，当时大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的背伤为球队赢得了状元签并最终得到了蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)。
想象一下，如果这导致马刺队再次获得状元签，并有权将文班亚马与库珀·弗拉格(Cooper Flagg) 这样的新秀配对。这可能是球队在2030年代争夺总冠军的基础。
劳资协议并没有像我们想象的那么大地阻碍交易
Windhorst： 金州勇士队及其十年来的巨额支出——自2015年以来在奢侈税上花费了6.9亿美元，其中包括今年预计的1200万美元——是集体谈判协议修订的目标球队之一。他们在赛季初的支出距离第二层工资帽仅约20万美元，已经受到“硬工资帽”的限制，无法再增加支出。从理论上讲，这应该会限制他们进行交易和利用资金促成交易的能力。
然而，他们却进行了两笔重要的交易，12月份得到了后卫丹尼斯·施罗德(Dennis Schroder)，然后在交易截止日得到了前全明星球员吉米·巴特勒(Jimmy Butler)（将施罗德送走），同时给了巴特勒一份为期两年价值1.14亿美元的合同，以吸引他“同意”这笔交易。而在交易截止日的前一周，金州勇士队还有一个三方交易的框架，原本可以让他们得到凯文·杜兰特，只是杜兰特表示他不想进行这笔交易。
这听起来并不像一支富有的球队受到新规则的限制。
Bontemps： 我原本预计今年的交易截止日不会有太多的活动，但我错了。我也没有预料到卢卡·东契奇(Luka Doncic)会被交易，这当然在截止日前的烟花中发挥了作用。此外，还有很多用一份大合同换另一份大合同的交易（巴特勒换安德鲁·威金斯(Andrew Wiggins)，德阿隆·福克斯换扎克·拉文(Zach LaVine) 等），这是绕过劳资协议限制的一种方式。
Windhorst： 正如一位高管本周告诉我的那样，“我认为我们所看到的是，真正受到惩罚的地方是第二层工资帽，主要是因为（禁止合并合同的规则）。如果你在第一层工资帽内，会更困难，你可能需要第三方球队，但这是可以管理的。”
有三支球队在第二层工资帽内：波士顿凯尔特人队、菲尼克斯太阳队和明尼苏达森林狼队。波士顿和菲尼克斯进行了甩卖薪资的交易，而明尼苏达没有进行任何交易。这些球队受到了影响，太阳队试图增加他们的阵容但数周无果。消息人士称，在截止日前的最后24小时内，明尼苏达和菲尼克斯试图达成一项长远的杜兰特交易。但它很复杂，需要采取极端措施才能满足交易规则，并且最终没有发生。
有四支球队在第一层工资帽内：纽约尼克斯队、洛杉矶湖人队、密尔沃基雄鹿队和丹佛掘金队。湖人队和雄鹿队进行了重要的交易——东契奇去洛杉矶，凯尔·库兹马(Kyle Kuzma) 去雄鹿队——利用第三方球队来促成交易。
Bontemps： 这与我本周与联盟高管的讨论相呼应。我们仍然看到很多交易需要第三方球队来承担薪资。在这种新制度下，三方交易是零方交易的旧模式不再适用。
还有一位高管在过去几个月里多次向我重复的一句话：“有动力的球队总会找到完成事情的方法。”
年龄不仅仅是一个数字——它是一个问题
Bontemps： 通常，年龄较大的阵容拥有争夺总冠军的决心和期望，而年轻的球队则需要磨练才能实现他们的目标。本赛季，情况并非如此。一位东部联盟的高管表示，这可能与联盟的人员流动有关。
“很多时候，成功的球队都是年龄较大的球队，”这位高管说。“我认为现在在没有化学反应和连续性的情况下组建一支由年龄较大的球员组成的球队更加困难。我不知道这种模式是否还能奏效。”
Windhorst： 联盟中最年轻的球队也拥有最好的战绩。俄克拉荷马城雷霆队在揭幕战时的平均年龄为24.1岁。西部第二的灰熊队紧随雷霆队之后，平均年龄为24.3岁。东部第一的骑士队在平均年龄方面排名联盟中游，但他们的首发阵容中没有超过28岁的人。
赛季开始时，联盟中最老的两支球队是太阳队和费城76人队。他们是仅有的平均年龄超过28岁的球队，也是联盟中表现最差的球队之一。
Bontemps： 根据我与几位高管的交谈，部分原因是NBA杯赛对赛程的影响。在杯赛淘汰赛的两边都有一个更加紧凑的赛程，这可能会使年轻球队受益。
“它影响了整个赛程的密度，”这位东部高管说。“因此，一些年轻球队更具活力是有道理的。”
Windhorst： 勇士队在赛季开始时是联盟中第四老的球队，在赛季中期他们跌出西部前十后，交易得到35岁的巴特勒，球队的年龄结构更加老化。
“他们说在NBA，你用男人而不是男孩赢得比赛，当你回顾联盟的历史时，有很多道理，”一位经验丰富的教练说。“但是和一群老家伙一起赢球很难，因为即使他们很棒，他们也会受伤。”
深度比以往任何时候都重要
Windhorst： 骑士队有11名球员场均至少上场19分钟，没有人超过31分钟。雷霆队有12名球员场均至少上场15分钟——尽管他们遭遇了各种伤病，从而使这个数字有所提高——只有两名球员的上场时间超过30分钟。灰熊队有9名球员至少出场40场比赛，场均上场20分钟，其中一人不是贾·莫兰特(Ja Morant)，他只上场29分钟，但只打了32场比赛。
凯尔特人队有9名球员场均至少上场17分钟，尽管杰森·塔图姆(Jayson Tatum)和杰伦·布朗(Jaylen Brown)的场均上场时间本赛季有所增加。印第安纳步行者队在健康的情况下可以派上11名球员，每人场均上场17分钟。
这些都是分区排名前四的球队。年轻且有深度。这有助于球队赢得很多常规赛比赛。
“随着比赛的风格和节奏，联盟从未像现在这样对身体要求如此之高，”一位总经理说。“这会让人疲惫不堪。”
Bontemps： 然而，问题是这是否会带来季后赛的成功。我们已经看到一些天赋不错但并非顶尖的球队在常规赛中取得了很大的成功——特别是2012-13赛季的丹佛掘金队，在卡梅隆·安东尼(Carmelo Anthony) 交易后留下的优秀球员赢得了57场比赛。然而，那支球队在季后赛第一轮输给了斯蒂芬·库里带领的勇士队，库里的个人明星力量是丹佛无法克服的。
“我认为一直都有证据表明深度可以让你在82场比赛中赢得很多比赛，”一位东部球探说。“我认为我们无法知道这是否会在季后赛中带来胜利，直到春天。”
多位球探和高管指出孟菲斯——正如布莱恩指出的那样，孟菲斯在出场时间方面采取了一种独特的平等主义方法——作为这种新模式是否可行的例子。
防守（在某种程度上）回归了
Bontemps： 不久前，感觉好像有一篇又一篇关于传统中锋消亡的文章，以及球队是否会继续打小个阵容。
但是在掘金队和凯尔特人队在过去两个赛季都以高于平均水平的位置尺寸赢得总冠军之后，以及骑士队和雷霆队拥有联盟中最好的两项战绩，他们的阵容中都有两名7英尺以上的球员，我们已经看到这种模式被颠覆了。
“这是一个模仿联盟，”一位高管说。“你看到克利夫兰打两个内线并取得成功，其他球队也会试图模仿这种模式。
“事情已经发生了巨大的变化。”
我们还看到整个联盟的进攻都在下滑。尽管关于三分球的讨论甚嚣尘上，但平均进攻效率比上赛季有所下降，一些消息人士指出，大约在去年这个时候颁布的判罚变化产生了影响。
这很好地提醒我们，每当我们认为事情正在发生变化时，联盟就会朝着另一个方向发展。球队的目标是在其他人之前找出下一个低效之处。
球队在冬季完成了夏季业务
Bontemps： 交易截止日的主题之一是球队选择现在完成他们的业务，而不是等到休赛期。孟菲斯在交易截止日交易了马库斯·斯玛特(Marcus Smart)，以确保他们可以重新签下圣地·阿尔达马(Santi Aldama) 并根据需要延长小贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson Jr.) 的合同。
达拉斯小牛队本可以等到夏天再放弃卢卡·东契奇，许多人会认为这可能会让他们获得更大的回报，但他们优先考虑得到安东尼·戴维斯(Anthony Davis)，以便在本赛季冲击季后赛。联盟中的许多人都期望德阿隆·福克斯的交易会在今年夏天发生。“福克斯的事情让我措手不及，只是因为时间安排，”一位高管说。
但是现在福克斯也可以通过在今年夏天留在马刺队来获得更大的续约合同。
不过，最大的例子是多伦多签下布兰登·英格拉姆，然后在不到一周的时间里与他签署了一份高额合同。
Windhorst： 猛龙队经历了一个阶段，他们让2019年夺冠球队的几名关键成员进入不受限制的自由球员市场——科怀·伦纳德(Kawhi Leonard)、弗雷德·范弗利特(Fred VanVleet) 和凯尔·洛瑞(Kyle Lowry) ——并且失去了他们所有人（尽管他们对洛瑞进行了先签后换）。球队的高层决策者马赛·乌杰里(Masai Ujiri) 和鲍比·韦伯斯特(Bobby Webster) 已经下令不要让这种情况再次发生。现在，他们似乎在赛季中期处理自由球员事宜。
他们在去年放弃了帕斯卡尔·西亚卡姆(Pascal Siakam) 和OG·阿奴诺比(OG Anunoby) ，因为他们不确定是否愿意支付市场价格（两人都在他们的新球队获得了顶薪合同）。他们签下了伊曼纽尔·奎克利(Immanuel Quickley)（换取阿奴诺比），知道他将进入自由球员市场，但准备支付他首发控卫的薪水。他们在去年七月为这位前尼克斯第六人提供了一份价值1.75亿美元的合同，震惊了联盟。
今年，猛龙队在交易截止日后给了英格拉姆一份为期三年价值1.2亿美元的合同——其中包括球员选项。
“我不认为英格拉姆如果进入自由球员市场会得到那份合同，特别是球员选项，但这取决于如果他没有被交易，他在新奥尔良的赛季结束方式，”另一位联盟高管说。“他们显然非常喜欢他，并且认为他很适合，但他们在交易中抬高了自己的价格——他们在奎克利的交易中也抬高了自己的价格。”
Bontemps： 猛龙队自从放弃西亚卡姆、阿奴诺比和范弗利特以来，一直强调这不会是一个漫长的重建过程。通过增加英格拉姆，并有可能在今年六月获得另一个高顺位选秀权，他们发出了他们的目标是在下个赛季表现出色的信号。但是英格拉姆是正确的选择吗？那是合适的价格吗？这些是联盟中存在分歧的问题。
“我认为英格拉姆太贵了，”一位高管说，“但这对限制有意义。”
点击查看原文：NBA intel - Wembanyama's future, lessons for season's second half
NBA intel - Wembanyama’s future, lessons for season’s second half
Although the NBA returned to action after the All-Star break with one game Wednesday and a nearly full slate of action Thursday, the league’s focus was elsewhere after the stunning news that San Antonio Spurs star big man Victor Wembanyama will miss the rest of the season due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.
The announcement sent shock waves through the league, given Wembanyama’s status as he followed a brilliant Rookie of the Year season with an even better sophomore campaign. He appeared in his first All-Star Game over the weekend and was the leading contender for Defensive Player of the Year honors, a shoo-in to make an All-NBA team and, potentially, garnering some Most Valuable Player consideration.
All of that, though, moves to the background as the focus shifts to his immediate and long-term health. So, with the association back in action, we’ll look at the leaguewide reaction to the Wembanyama news, plus examine several lessons from the pre-All-Star-break portion of the schedule in our weekly trip around the NBA.
Jump to a section:\
**What’s next for Wembanyama, Spurs?\
Why aprons couldn’t stop megadeals**\
… And why so many got done now\
More lessons from season’s first half
Wembanyama’s health is now a major story
Bontemps: A moment that stuck with me during All-Star Weekend occurred during Saturday’s media availability inside Oakland’s Oracle Arena, where Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards was asked about possibly becoming the next face of the NBA.
“No, not really,” Edwards said. “That’s what they got Wemby for.”
That’s the ascension Wembanyama has enjoyed over the past two years; less than two months after his 21st birthday, he’s seen as the heir apparent to LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
And that led to the universal shock from sources I spoke to around the NBA in the wake of Thursday’s news that Wembanyama will be out for the season due to the blood clotting issue in his right shoulder.
Brandon Ingram had virtually the same condition six years ago and has come back without issue, giving credence to the belief, per sources, that Wembanyama can come back without any problems. But for a league that has invested so much in Wembanyama, and for a Spurs team that just traded for De’Aaron Fox and is set up to be one of the biggest factors in the NBA for at least the next decade, it’s a shock unlike many I can remember.
Windhorst: The Spurs were jolted by the diagnosis, both concerned and relieved that doctors had caught such a scary issue. It has been an emotional season in San Antonio. Coach Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke while at Frost Bank Arena before a game Nov. 2. On the day of an important game in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, the team found out before shootaround that Wembanyama was out for the season, undercutting an annual rodeo trip that was built around a push to make the play-in tournament.
The trade for Fox, though largely seen as a positive development, was destabilizing for a franchise not known for midseason moves. And there was the trip to Paris, which was thrilling for the large traveling party there to support Wembanyama but also emotionally taxing. “This has been one long, crazy season,” one team source said.
Bontemps: There’s also the secondary fact that San Antonio wasn’t a title contender this season and will likely have a significantly better draft pick.
For scouts and executives I talked to, once the shock of the news passed, the thought shifted to whether this could be a repeat of what happened to San Antonio during the 1996-97 season, when David Robinson’s back injury created the pathway to the franchise landing No. 1 pick Tim Duncan.
Imagine if this leads to the Spurs getting another No. 1 pick and the right to pair Wembanyama with a prospect such as Cooper Flagg. That could be the basis of a team competing for championships well into the 2030s.
The CBA didn’t jam up transactions as much as we thought
Windhorst: The Golden State Warriors and their decade of huge spending – $690 million in luxury tax since 2015, including this year’s expected $12 million bill – were one of the teams targeted by the changes to the collective bargaining agreement. And they started the season within about $200,000 of the second apron, having been “hard-capped” and unable to spend more. In theory, this should’ve limited their ability to trade and use money to facilitate deals.
Instead, they made two significant trades, acquiring guard Dennis Schroder in December and then landing former All-Star Jimmy Butler (sending Schroder back out) at the trade deadline while giving Butler a two-year, $114 million deal to entice him to “agree” to the trade. And earlier in deadline week, Golden State had the framework of a three-team trade that could have landed the team Kevin Durant – before Durant said he didn’t want the deal.
That doesn’t sound like a rich team being limited by the new rules.
Bontemps: I didn’t expect a lot of activity at this year’s deadline, and I was wrong. I didn’t anticipate Luka Doncic being traded, either, which certainly played a part in the fireworks before the deadline. There also was a lot of swapping of one big contract for another (Butler for Andrew Wiggins, De’Aaron Fox for Zach LaVine among them), which is one way to get around the CBA limitations.
Windhorst: As one executive told me this week, “I think what we’ve seen is the real penal place to be is the second apron, and mostly because of the [rule against aggregating contracts]. If you’re in the first apron, it’s harder, and you may need a third team, but it is manageable.”
There are three second-apron teams: Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves. Boston and Phoenix made salary-dumping trades, and Minnesota made no deals. Those teams were affected, as the Suns tried and failed for weeks to make a trade to add to their roster. Over the last 24 hours before the deadline, Minnesota and Phoenix tried to put together a long shot Durant deal, sources said. But it was complex, needed extreme measures to satisfy trade rules and ultimately didn’t happen.
There are four first-apron teams: the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets. The Lakers and Bucks made significant trades – Doncic to L.A. and Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks – using third teams to facilitate the deals.
Bontemps: That echoes my discussions with league executives this week. We still saw a lot of deals that required a third team to take on money. The old paradigm that three-team deals are zero-team deals no longer applies under this new system.
There’s also a line that an executive has repeated to me the past few months: “Motivated teams will find a way to get things done.”
Age isn’t just a number – it’s a problem
Bontemps: Typically, older rosters have championship mettle and expectations, and younger squads need seasoning to reach their goal. This season, that has not been the case. Some of that, according to an Eastern Conference executive, could be attributed to movement around the league.
“A lot of times, successful teams have been older ones,” the exec said. “I think it’s harder now to go out and create a team of older players without having chemistry and continuity. I don’t know if that model is going to work anymore.”
Windhorst: The youngest team in the league also has its best record. The Oklahoma City Thunder had an average age of 24.1 years on opening night. The Grizzlies, the No. 2 seed in the West, were right behind OKC with an average age of 24.3. The Cavaliers, the No. 1 team in the East, rank in the middle of the pack for average age, but their starting lineup doesn’t have anyone over age 28.
The two oldest teams in the league going into the season were the Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers. They are the only teams with average ages over 28 and also are among the league’s biggest underachievers.
Bontemps: Part of the reason for that, according to a couple of executives I spoke to, is the NBA Cup’s impact on the schedule. There is a more condensed slate on either side of the knockout rounds of the Cup, something that could benefit younger teams.
“It’s impacted the density of the schedule across the board,” the East executive said. “So, it makes sense some of these younger teams are fresher.”
Windhorst: The Warriors started the season as the fourth-oldest team in the league and got older when they traded for 35-year-old Butler after they were out of the top 10 in the West at the season’s midpoint.
“They say in the NBA you win with men, not with boys, and there’s a lot of truth to that when you look over the history of the league,” one veteran coach said. “But it’s hard to win with a lot of old men because even if they’re great, they get hurt.”
Depth means more than ever
Windhorst: The Cavs have 11 players who average at least 19 minutes, and no one averages over 31. The Thunder have 12 players who average at least 15 minutes – though they’ve had various injuries that allow that number to be boosted – and only two players play over 30. The Grizzlies have nine players who have played at least 40 games and average 20 minutes, and one of them isn’t Ja Morant, who plays just 29 minutes but has played in only 32 games.
The Celtics have nine players averaging at least 17 minutes, though Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s per-game minute loads are up a bit this season. The Indiana Pacers can play 11-deep when healthy, each averaging 17 minutes.
These are all teams in the top four of the conference standings. Young and deep. It helps teams win a lot of regular-season games.
“With the style of the games and the pace of play, the league has never been more physically demanding,” one general manager said. “It wears guys down and out.”
Bontemps: The question, though, is whether it will lead to playoff success. We have seen teams with good, but not great, talent have plenty of success in the regular season – the 2012-13 Denver Nuggets, in particular, come to mind, after the collection of good players remaining after the Carmelo Anthony trade won 57 games. That team, however, lost in the first round of the playoffs to a Warriors team led by Stephen Curry, whose individual star power was too much for Denver to overcome.
“I think there’s always been proof depth can win you a lot of games over the 82,” an East scout said. “I don’t think we can know if that will lead to wins in playoff games until the spring.”
Multiple scouts and executives pointed to Memphis – which, as Brian pointed out, has a uniquely egalitarian approach to minutes – as an example of whether this new paradigm could work.
Defense is (sort of) back
Bontemps: It wasn’t long ago that it felt like there was one think piece after another about the death of the traditional center, and whether teams would keep playing smaller.
But after the Nuggets and Celtics won titles the past two seasons playing with above-average positional size, and the Cavaliers and Thunder have the league’s two best records with rosters that feature two 7-footers among their five best players, we have seen that formula be turned on its head.
“It’s a copycat league,” one executive said. "You see Cleveland playing two bigs and having success, and other teams are going to try to copy that model.
“Things have shifted big-time.”
We also have seen a depression in offense across the league. Despite all of the noise about 3-pointers, the average offensive rating is down from last season, and several sources pointed to officiating changes enacted around this time last year having an impact.
It’s a good reminder that any time we think things are shifting, the league swings in another direction. The goal for teams is to figure out the next inefficiency before anyone else.
Teams got summer business done in the winter
Bontemps: One of the themes of the trade deadline was teams choosing to do their business now rather than waiting for the offseason. Memphis moved Marcus Smart at the trade deadline to ensure it could re-sign Santi Aldama and extend Jaren Jackson Jr.'s deal if necessary.
The Dallas Mavericks could have waited until the summer to move on from Luka Doncic – and many would argue that might have gotten them a bigger haul – but instead prioritized getting Anthony Davis for a playoff run this season. Many around the league expected the De’Aaron Fox deal to happen this summer. “The Fox thing caught me off guard just because of the timing,” one executive said.
But now Fox, too, can get a bigger extension this summer by being on the Spurs.
The biggest example of this, though, was Toronto landing Brandon Ingram and then inking him to a big-money extension less than a week later.
Windhorst: The Raptors went through a phase where they let several key members of their 2019 title team get to unrestricted free agency – Kawhi Leonard, Fred VanVleet and Kyle Lowry – and lost them all (though they did a sign-and-trade for Lowry). Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster, the team’s top decision-makers, have made it a mandate not to let that happen again. Now, they handle free agency at midseason, it seems.
They traded Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby before they hit free agency last year, unsure whether they wanted to pay the market rate (both got max contracts with their new teams). They acquired Immanuel Quickley (for Anunoby) knowing he was headed for free agency but were ready to pay him starting point guard money. They wowed the league with a $175 million deal for the former Knicks sixth man last July.
This year, the Raptors gave Ingram a three-year, $120 million deal – including a player option – after the deadline trade.
“I don’t think Ingram gets that deal if he’d have hit free agency, especially the player option, but it depends on how he would’ve finished the season in New Orleans [had he not been traded],” another league executive said. “They obviously really like him and think he’s a good fit, but they bid against themselves on that deal – and they bid against themselves on Quickley.”
Bontemps: The Raptors have stressed since they moved on from Siakam, Anunoby and VanVleet that this wouldn’t be a long rebuild. By adding Ingram and potentially another high draft pick this June, they are signaling the goal is to be good next season. But was Ingram the right move? And was that the right price? Those are divisive questions around the league.
“I thought Ingram was too expensive,” one executive said, “but it made sense with the restrictions.”
By Tim Bontemps, Brian Windhorst | ESPN, via ESPN