Minnesota Timberwolves
Post by Walt Frazier on Jul 17, 2022 16:40:34 GMT
**Chris Paul is signing with the Toronto Raptors for a 4-year, Full Max offer with max raises**
Towards the end of the combined 60+ messages between Bryan Colangelo , James Kay and myself, during which we ended up at full 4-year max contract offers from each of the two final suitors, things went to a committee.
Thanks as well to Boston, Brooklyn, Utah, Houston, Memphis, New York, and New Orleans for also checking in or putting in offers at various stages of the process, but once Charlotte & Toronto started to get serious with their money AND their time/years of commitment, any remaining suitors fell by the wayside.
As of the time of this writing, 6 out of 8 have all sided with Toronto, and the final two have not put in an official vote yet, but even 6 out of 8 means it is decided. Many of us agree it's pretty close, and we're looking into more minute details than usual.
Teams (Playing time & chances of success): We pretty much all agree it's very close, and too close to make any real advantage to either team.
Money: The same from a macro-level. Same exact 4-year Max contracts with raises.
Effort: Generally, the same. 30+ messages in each message thread back and forth in negotiations.
Real-life personality: This gets a little interesting. At some point, I wouldn't even say capping was truly "discussed" but the point was brought up that CP3, as the president of the Players Association, in previous negotiations IRL, felt he couldn't take a discount because it sets a bad precedent for player empowerment. So, even though it was mentioned multiple times that he may not play more than another 2 years, the full max (or, whatever the highest bid would end up being by these teams) would be what CP3 would go with.
Additionally, it was discussed (and brought up deftly by James, originally), that CP3 is from the Charlotte / North Carolina area, and has a foundation / basketball camps / AAU teams, etc, all based there. While many acknowledged it, no one seemed to think that would be the type of factor that would push him to Charlotte on it's own. Everything else would have to be a literal, exact tie for that to be the tie-breaker. Ultimately we found other elements that overrode that factor.
#1 - Toronto offered on July 4, pretty early in the process. Charlotte offered on July 10, after Harden left for Utah. While I'm listing this first, the second factor was more of a deciding factor. But, coupled with this, made everyone lean towards Toronto.
#2 - By July 11/12 area, both teams had put in a 4-year offer, but worth about $119/120M total (Charlotte) and quickly outbid to $125M by Toronto. Charlotte jumped to $133.5, but was jumped to $152 by Toronto. At this point, a quick discussion occurred between James and myself about the merits of each team, but I stood pretty firm that they were close enough that money would be the deciding factor, likely, if there ended up being a big difference of money. During this discussion, the offer was matched by Charlotte. Toronto then raised to $161M total. Charlotte slightly beat it to $162, but essentially a match. Toronto raised significantly to $178M. Charlotte went .5M more per year, to $180.
Finally, though we were already close to the max, I asked each team to give a best & final offer.
Toronto's first response: Full max with raises, all 4 years.
Charlotte's first response: Can I match whatever Toronto offers?
I said, no... not really. At which point he did offer the max. My one regret is not asking for this best & final offer sooner, when we were further away from the max, but it still showed some reluctance on Charlotte's side to offer more money, compared to Toronto.
While it had become kind of clear to me during most of the process, this really crystallized it for me, and the rest of the committee.
Toronto felt like he really, really wanted CP3 there, while Charlotte seemed like they needed him. Charlotte, while willing to match or slightly increase, was not the one really pushing the offers the entire time. That was, instead, Toronto.
If the contract was up to Charlotte, it felt we would be much short of the max. Toronto on the other hand made big pushes multiple times, including the willing jump to the max as their best & final offer.
I feel I may have either over-explained or rambled a bit, but I hope it's clear why CP3 is going to Toronto. He would have been very happy in Charlotte, but ultimately, after some deliberation, this became clear to everyone who has put in a vote on the committee. Toronto just wanted him more and was more willing to pay him more. Charlotte seemed to reluctantly agree he needed to pay that much to get him, and was willing to essentially match along the way - to his credit - but the feeling from Toronto was more welcoming.
Ultimately, coupled with the earlier interest, it became clear that was where CP3 would be going.
I want to thank both James & Bryan. It sucks to make these decisions, frequently. Everyone here in D5 is pretty amazing and knowledgeable. But, we must make these decisions. Someone has to lose. Someone gets the joy of winning.
Congrats to Toronto on this signing!
Year 1: $43,279,250
Year 2: $46,525,196
Year 3: $49,771,142
Year 4: $53,017,088
TOTAL: $192,592,676
Year 1: $43,279,250
Year 2: $46,525,196
Year 3: $49,771,142
Year 4: $53,017,088
TOTAL: $192,592,676
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Cleveland Cavaliers
