NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors Must Pursue Jeremy Lin to Boost Star Power
The Toronto Raptors would be wise to make a strong push for Jeremy Lin this summer and attempt to steal the restricted free agent from the Atlantic Division rival New York Knicks.
According to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News, the Raptors are actually more interested in attempting to acquire Canada’s favorite son, Steve Nash.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, they do not have the pieces to actually contend for an NBA championship in the limited amount of time that Nash has left in his career.
The man has accomplished everything with the exception of raising a banner and will be hard-pressed to sign with a rebuilding club.
That is why they must have a back-up plan to put butts in the seats and get fans interested in the only Canadian team in the league.
Here is what Lawrence has to say about Lin possibly being the Raptors’ Plan B after Nash:
"They like him and what he'd do for their attendance, but Toronto would have to "back-load" an offer to the restricted free agent, paying him gazillions in the final couple of years of a deal, and hope that the Knicks would not match. According to league sources, that's what the Raptors just might do if their Nash plan falls through.
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As a huge international city with a major Asian population, Toronto would be a great second stop on the Linsanity tour. It just might not be in the cards.
It will be tough for the Raptors to procure Lin, even if Nash or another major free agent decides to take his talents to the Big Apple.
Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York found that the Knicks could possibly sign Lin and another marquee FA, provided that Lin would be willing to take a pay cut from the maximum $5 million he could make as an RFA down to $3 million.
If he were to do that, the Knicks front office would have a lot more cap flexibility to add another marquee free agent, and there is no way they would let one of their biggest marketing opportunities walk for anything beyond an insane back-loaded deal.
Toronto has got to decide if they want to take that risk, as it just might be worth it to add a star they have lacked since Chris Bosh moved to South Beach.
