From guest contributor, Simon:
Now that we all know Hedo Turkoglu wants out of Toronto, and that Chris Bosh is likely following him out the door, the roster next year's Toronto Raptors is going to look quite different. Haven’t we heard this sometime before? Say, around this time one year ago?
Anyways, since the rosters need to be changed, let’s take a look at how you can re-build your roster in NBA Live 10 to get the Raptors to dynasty status.
1) Get rid of Hedo. He clearly just doesn’t fit in with this team, and Bargnani provides both the three-point shooting and inside presence when he’s hot. Send Hedo packing to a team with cap space that has some garbage salary to send back. Regardless of what you get in return, losing Turk leaves the door open to sign some more players on the free-agent market. Considering dealing him to Memphis for Darrell Arthur, DeMarre Carroll and Lou Hudson. Sure, these guys won’t exactly get off the pine, but you can always use them in other trades for salary cap relief, or waive them. And one of Carroll or Arthur could replace Patrick O’Bryant on the end of the bench. In the end, you're getting rid of Hedo’s contract for some important cap room, and that sets you up for your next move.
2) Sign Chris Bosh and swap him to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green, James Harden, salary-cap filler and picks. Here you send Bosh to an up-and-coming team in the West that could use a forward to play alongside Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. In return, you're getting some great young pieces from a solid young team, and two guys in Harden and Green who can fit right into your rotation.
3) Use your mid-level exception on the best player you can get. Look, NBA players won't all settle for around $5 million per season, but this is your chance to add some salary to your now capped-out roster. Look for another big man or a slasher - hey, maybe Ray Allen will settle for less, but it's unlikely.
4) Sign-and-trade Antoine Wright. Last year, Sonny Weems was a revelation – not bad for a guy who was nearly waved after being acquired in August. The fact that he comes cheaper than Wright, a good character guy who’s been in big games before, means Wright has to go. Swap Wright to Sacramento, another young team in the West, along with Jose Calderon for a package of Omri Casspi and Carl Landry, plus salary-cap filler. You might even want to get a third team in there to send Calderon to, since Sacramento already has Tyreke Evans running the point. This trade gives Sacramento another veteran as they rebuild around Tyreke Evans, while netting you a solid player who can give you some excellent minutes off the bench in Casspi. Carl Landry and his 16.8 points per game replace Amir Johnson, who you can afford to let go now.
So, after all these trades and signings, your roster should look like this:
Starting Lineup: Jarrett Jack (PG), Ray Allen (SG) - we can dream, right?, Omri Cassipi (SF), Jeff Green (PF), Andrea Bargnani (Center).
Bench: DeMar DeRozan, James Harden, Sonny Weems, Carl Landry, Marco Belinelli, Darrell Arthur, Reggie Evans, Lou Hudson, and filler. Those last few players can always be swapped around on the end of the bench.
Suddenly, this roster looks like one with a chance of contending post-Bosh, instead of collapsing a la this past season. Maybe it’s not championship caliber right away, but hey, no one’s expecting a re-production of the Celtics 2008 turnaround. This is a good young team that you’ve constructed, with a foundation that’s locked in long-term and ready to grow together. And the Eastern Conference is fairly wide-open, so you never know. The bottom line is you’ve gotten rid of a cancer in Turkoglu and gotten several pieces for Bosh, as well as an unexpected free-agent prize in Ray Allen to hold the fort down in the short term. Suddenly this team looks exciting for the long-term. And who could have said that after this year’s collapse?
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