5 Non-Cavaliers storylines fans should be glued to
Toronto Raptors infighting
The Toronto Raptors have not been the model for a successful franchise over the past few seasons. They have made win-now moves that have resulted in win-occasionally results, they have refused to move star players ahead of free agency, and now there is dissension in the ranks.
Raptors president Masai Ujiri was asked at Media Day why he hasn’t started extension talks with All-NBA forward Pascal Siakam. He said: “We do believe in Pascal. We do believe that a lot of our players didn’t play the right way last year. I said it, that we were selfish, I’m not running away from that. We were selfish and we did not play the right way. So let us see it when we play the right way.”
The Raptors are probably a clear step below the Cavaliers in the East standings, but another win-now trade could conceivably push them into the mix with Cleveland. What’s more important from this situation is that Ujiri could be trying to push Siakam to agree to a trade out of Toronto. If so, the Cavaliers should call about the possibility of adding the forward.
New Resting Rules
The NBA has rolled out a number of new rules this offseason, many of them wrapped up in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. One rule added on top is the league’s new player resting policy, which includes restrictions on when you can rest star players.
The Cavaliers are one of the few teams with three players who fit the criteria (All-Star in the last three seasons) so they will need to be careful not to run afoul of the rules themselves. With that being said, this is likely more of an opportunity than a hindrance to the young and generally healthy Cavaliers, who won’t be pushing their players any differently under the new rules.
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Other East contenders like the Milwaukee Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Damian Lillard) and Boston Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday) have older stars with more load-management needs. If this rule does anything to prevent those teams from ideally managing their stars it’s a win for the Cavaliers.