Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby has been linked with a huge move to join former coach Nick Nurse with the Philadelphia 76ers in a trade or as a free agent.
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00:00 The Raptors should be very concerned as many teams around the NBA are lining up a major
00:04 move for forward Oji Enenobe.
00:06 And unfortunately for Toronto fans, the situation is a lot worse than you think.
00:12 Let's get into it.
00:14 The situation in Toronto is turning into a troublesome one with Oji Enenobe in regards
00:18 to his contract and what his future really looks like with the Raptors.
00:23 Oji Enenobe is on an expiring contract at this point.
00:27 Yes, he has the option to take a $19.9 million player option at the end of the season, but
00:32 all signs are pointing towards Oji getting a massive contract at the end of the year
00:36 and there is a distinct possibility that is not going to be with the Raptors.
00:40 So opportunity knocks potentially for other teams to swoop in and make that signing for
00:45 Oji Enenobe and the opportunity knocks to potentially make a trade for the players so
00:50 the Raptors can cash in now and not have a repeat of the situation that transpired with
00:54 Fred Van Vliet where ultimately the player walks away for nothing.
00:58 So Oji so far this season has looked pretty tremendous all over the floor.
01:03 Specifically on defense, he has very much looked once again like a Defensive Player
01:06 of the Year candidate.
01:07 On the offensive end, he's doing his thing.
01:09 In fact, maybe doing a little bit more even though we've seen in the past with the way
01:13 he's shooting the basketball and the way he's been efficient on the inside.
01:18 Much more suiting his game to the modern NBA where he's getting right to the rim and finishing
01:22 up strong using his size, strength, and it's led him to get to his spots.
01:26 Now the game against the Boston Celtics was not Oji Enenobe's best but widely recognized
01:31 around the league as one of the premier 3 and D+ role players, 3 and D players, elite
01:37 role players in the NBA.
01:39 Many teams picture Oji Enenobe as perhaps the final piece of their championship puzzle
01:44 and for that reason there is going to be a lineup of teams at the end of the season looking
01:49 to get Oji's signature.
01:50 Now, if Oji would want to remain in Toronto, if the Raptors are really pushing to bring
01:56 the player back, why is it such a problem that Oji Enenobe's on expiring contract?
02:01 Why can't the Raptors simply just extend him right now and no longer have to worry about
02:05 the impending free agency or perhaps having to trade him before the trade deadline because
02:10 they don't want to risk the player leaving in free agency?
02:12 Well this is where the situation becomes extremely complicated for the Raptors.
02:16 Because Oji's contract currently is so team friendly, like it shouldn't be a problem,
02:21 but it is, Oji has developed into such a premier player in the league and his contract right
02:26 now is so team friendly that the max contract extension that the Raptors are able to offer
02:31 him right now is only 4 years $117 million, under $30 million per year.
02:38 They can only go up a certain percentage from the former contract or the current contract
02:43 at this point for that extension, therefore that's why they're only allowed to give him
02:46 that 4 year $117 million contract.
02:50 Widely predicted around the league is that Oji is going to receive like bare minimum
02:54 $30 million a year in free agency, so it doesn't really make any sense whatsoever for Oji to
03:00 take that current extension and even if there's a threat of injuries that he wants to mitigate
03:05 and at the end of the season maybe those contracts aren't really available for him anymore, well
03:10 he does have the player option where he can fall back on that if he has to, so there's
03:14 no need for Oji to avoid risk and sign the contract right now.
03:18 He is bound to get a massive payday at the end of the season, whether or not that be
03:22 from the Raptors.
03:23 So it becomes a question now, how much is Oji Enenobi actually worth?
03:28 Well in terms of his actual value for a team in the NBA, how much you would be willing
03:32 to pay Oji Enobi if you're a Raptors fan looking at just straight up his value, you're probably
03:37 looking at $32.5 million a year, that would be my best estimate based on what we've seen
03:42 from the player, based on his age, based on how far he can go in his career, $32.5 million
03:48 seems fair, but when it comes to a player signing a new contract as the Raptors rudely
03:54 learned in the previous offseason, it's not just about what they're worth, it's about
03:59 what other teams are willing to pay and one team who might be willing to pay up big time
04:04 is the Philadelphia 76ers.
04:06 Yes, they've brought in Nick Nurse, obviously maybe there's a bit of ties there between
04:11 Nick Nurse and Oji Enenobi, but the Sixers are in championship mode.
04:14 They want to put a contender out there and they possibly see Oji as that missing piece
04:19 that makes them a true contender in the NBA because right now it really feels like they're
04:24 a peg or two behind the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks.
04:28 This is the sort of player in Oji that significantly can elevate a team to a new tier in the NBA
04:34 and vault this Sixers team into championship contention.
04:37 So along with the 76ers, there's going to be a wide variety of teams who are lining
04:42 up at the end of the season trying to give Oji a contract.
04:44 So all of a sudden this becomes a bidding war.
04:47 We look at the Fred Van Vliet situation of the previous offseason.
04:50 Fred Van Vliet is not worth $42 million.
04:53 No way is like Fred Van Vliet is a good player.
04:55 He's had a good start to the season with the Houston Rockets as well.
04:58 He is in no way worth $42 million a year, but it doesn't really matter what he's worth.
05:04 It matters what another team is going to be willing to pay the player.
05:08 And when it comes to this situation with Oji with perhaps a number of teams trying to make
05:12 this deal happen, all of a sudden we're looking at 35 maybe even more.
05:17 The Philadelphia 76 reportedly would be able to offer Oji and Enobie a starting salary
05:22 of $40 million per year.
05:24 And the reason they are going to be able to afford that and possibly make that happen
05:27 is the $40 million Tobias Harris is getting paid comes off the books at the end of the
05:32 season.
05:33 They are going to be willing to shell out a big sum of money to try and lure Oji to
05:39 Philadelphia.
05:40 So for the Raptors, when it comes to Oji, the situation that's brewing, how much they're
05:46 actually going to have to pay him, it becomes scary because teams are going to be willing
05:50 to give him a big offer and the Raptors are also having to concern themselves with a Pascal
05:55 Siakam free agency coming up and a Gary Trent Jr. free agency that is coming up.
06:00 This makes the situation a problem, not to mention the fact that Scottie Barnes is also
06:04 extension eligible in the season where he's almost certainly going to be getting that
06:09 rookie max extension.
06:10 Obviously, that's not on the books next season, but it's just another piece of financial payment
06:15 that the Raptors are going to have to concern themselves with.
06:18 So with all of these things going on, all of these contracts, the worry about a player
06:23 of Oji and an Obi's caliber leaving the team completely for free, maybe a trade comes into
06:29 question for the Raptors and for Oji.
06:32 It does make sense that a trade could go down for the player because as much as he's on
06:36 an expiring contract, yes, teams can wait to the end of the season to sign the player.
06:40 Oji is good enough and fits a specific role well enough that teams will be willing to
06:46 make that payment in a trade to secure him for the rest of the season.
06:51 If you feel like that this is a player that really vaults you into a new tier of NBA status
06:56 as far as the championship contenders are concerned, you would be willing to make that
07:00 splash at the trade deadline or before to make this deal happen.
07:05 One team that could do this as well is again the Philadelphia 76ers.
07:08 They just lost James Harden in that trade and what they acquired in return along with
07:13 the sum of old players on expiring contracts who also add on to the payment they can make
07:17 Oji in the season along with getting those players, they added in two first round picks.
07:21 Those are two first round picks that they're going to be looking to flip, especially after
07:25 the way they've looked to start the season.
07:27 The Sixers have been much better than expected.
07:30 They seem like they're able to maybe even compete with Boston Milwaukee, but something
07:34 that really vaults them there again is an Oji and an Obi trade.
07:37 So they see an opportunity to strike this season.
07:40 Who's to say they wouldn't be willing to offer three first round picks to pry the player
07:45 away from the Raptors and get him in a Philadelphia 76ers uniform, give him the possibility of
07:50 signing an extension in Philadelphia at the end of the season, sign a, re-sign a player
07:54 at the end of the season.
07:56 What the Raptors have at the end of the season that other teams don't is the ability to pay
08:00 him more.
08:01 If the Raptors want to give Oji the max allowable contract, they can give a higher sum of money
08:07 over the course of four years than any other team in the NBA can provide.
08:11 The Raptors can give Oji, let's say a starting salary of $35 million.
08:16 They can increase that number by a maximum of 8% per year based on the salary cap elevating,
08:23 whereas other teams around the NBA are only to increase that sum, increase that one year
08:27 figure by a 5% increment every single year.
08:31 So the Raptors would be able to pay Oji more than any other team.
08:35 But the problem once again starts to become, perhaps Oji wants to go somewhere else.
08:40 Perhaps this, perhaps that.
08:43 All these ways in which Oji can end up in a new uniform and the Raptors would get absolutely
08:48 nothing in return.
08:50 So at the end of the season, the situation for the Raptors, there needs to be an assessment
08:55 right now.
08:56 How far are you willing to go to pay Oji and Nobby?
09:00 Because if you're Messiah Ijiri and Bobby Webster and you're looking at it right now
09:04 and you're not willing to give Oji that 35 base plus the 8% increments around $155 to
09:12 $160 million a year over four years.
09:14 If you're not willing to even consider giving Oji that number at the end of the season,
09:19 and that's a lot for Oji, I get it.
09:21 But if you're not going to give him that, I firmly believe another team might be in
09:25 the ballpark of being willing to give him the max allowable possible.
09:29 Max contract players aren't what they used to be.
09:32 Fred Van Vliet just got a max contract.
09:34 So who's to say a player with the impact of Oji and Nobby couldn't get one as well?
09:38 So a major decision needs to be made by the Raptors because if they aren't willing to
09:41 give him that sum of money, then it might be worth it to look for a trade right now
09:46 and cash in on the player before he leaves, potentially completely for nothing.
09:50 The Raptors just need to make a decision.
09:52 If they're willing to pay up, you can keep the player, I think.
09:56 But if you're not going to be willing to pay up, don't lose a player as good as this for