Danny Green professes he has no idea what the Toronto Raptors roster will look like in two weeks.
“We’ll find out when July 1 hits. I think a lot of his decision changes a lot of things for a lot of other people.”
The “his” in that sentence refers, obviously, to Raptors teammate and NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, whose pending decision on whether to remain with the team he led to the 2019 championship would constitute the tip-off point for either an attempt to defend the franchise’s first league title or the start of a rebuild.
Leonard declined the player option for the final year of his contract, so he’ll become a free agent on Sunday. Green, acquired along with Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs last summer, has an expiring deal, too.
On Tuesday morning, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Uriji used a nationally televised media conference to describe what, in essence, were Plan A and Plan B, linking the futures of such players as Green and veteran centre Marc Gasol to what happens with Leonard.
“We have spoken at length with them and their agents, and I think they know what the effect of Kawhi’s decision is,” Ujiri said, “but we are approaching it like we want everybody back on this team. That’s a priority for us, and how we run it back. I think they know that and we had good communication toward that.”
There was a rumour floating around Montpetit Hall at the University of Ottawa, where the second and final evening session of the Danny Green Skills Camp took place, that Green had a telephone conversation with Raptors ownership about free agency, but the 32-year-old shooting guard denied it.
“It depends on what kind of year you had. I think it’s a great year for all of us. Anybody who is a free agent on our team, it’s not that bad a situation after winning a championship,” Green said, adding he spoke with Ujiri and Raptors general manager Bobby Webster before starting his camp tour.
“Obviously, every, not just in Toronto, but everybody in the (NBA) world is waiting to see what Kawhi does.”
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