Before the Toronto Raptors took on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, Bismack Biyombo was simply a quality depth guy the Raptors had a borderline sure shot at bringing back.
Not anymore.
Biyombo has been the MVP for the Raptors in the ECF with Jonas Valanciunas injured, grabbing 26 and 14 rebounds over Toronto’s last two wins and seven total blocked shots.
Great, but it causes an issue for the Raptors this summer in free agency, as Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times noted:
At issue – the Raptors have non-Bird rights only on Biyombo – they need cap room to pay him – have no cap room if they are paying DDR
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) May 23, 2016
Long story short, the Raptors don’t have Bird Rights for Biyombo, meaning they cannot go over the allowed cap to bring him back. And this summer the Raptors have to worry about keeping DeMar DeRozan in town, which in turn will keep the team competing in the Eastern Conference for years.
Even if this is just a hot streak of epic proportions at just the right time, Biyombo has made a name for himself and the rest of the league is watching. The performance could equate to major dollars on the open market and perhaps his only chance to cash in as a player, a situation he’d be silly not to take advantage of if the price is right.
Maybe this epic tear produces a title for Toronto. It’s all a moot point then. But it’s something to keep in mind as the ECF continues.