Last week, The Athletic’s John Hollinger — a former Memphis Grizzlies executive — made Toronto Raptors fans collectively drool in anticipation when he dropped a report indicating that Toronto would be one of the main suitors for reigning MVP Giannis Antetokoumpo when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021.
Hollinger then added metaphorical lighter fluid to the roaring bonfire when he appeared on Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Good Show and essentially doubled down on his report, saying the Milwaukee Bucks superstar would consider Toronto to be a “chief destination point” for him in free agency should the Bucks fall short of his expectations this season and next.
These two factors combined had people theorizing what an Antetokounmpo-Pascal Siakam combination could look like. However, before that can happen, the Raptors must first find a way to secure the Greek star’s services.
On this week’s episode of Free Association, hosts JD Bunkis and Donnovan Bennett attempted to answer what Toronto’s blueprint to an Antetokoumpo acquisition would look like.
[snippet id=3360195]
Kicking things off, Bunkis presented the scenario of trying to extract value for some of the Raptors’ highest-priced assets right now as a means to offer Antetokounmpo some level of team-building say.
“I think there’s a case for stripping down some of your assets now, the ones that might not be here in the future. A la Kyle Lowry, a la Marc Gasol, a la Serge Ibaka,” said Bunkis. “If you can get a first-round pick for Kyle Lowry, move him so you can have another asset that you can use as a basically bargaining chip for Giannis Antetokounmpo when he’s here, saying, ‘Hey man, what do you want us to do with this pick?’”
Taking the trade deadline into consideration, Bennett countered that the best way for the Raptors to convince Antetokounmpo to sign would be by staying their current course.
“I think February’s gonna be interesting in terms of where this team is, what types of needs there are elsewhere for point guards and centres and the fact that they’ve got two good ones at both positions, and if they’re buyers, sellers or will stand pat at the deadline,” said Bennett. “I came into this season thinking if Kawhi’s gone it’s a ‘don’t-pay-a-cent’ event. You’re selling off everything and making sure that the books are clear. I’ve now come off that a little bit. …
“I actually think that there’s a good chance that they relatively stand pat unless they’re blown away because, again, that money is coming off the books and if you want to bring back those guys on lower deals and put, basically, a version of this team together with Giannis. That sounds pretty good to me.”
[snippet id=4771505]
There’s obviously a lot of time left until Antetokounmpo hits the open market, but it seems clear, in Toronto at least, this will be a storyline and talking point that isn’t going to go away anytime soon.
You can listen to the entire episode of Free Association in the YouTube player above where, among other things, Bunkis and Bennett speak to former Raptor Muggsy Bogues.
[relatedlinks]
