The clock strikes 12:00 am, and December 15th begins. With it, comes a key implication to the NBA; summer contracts can officially be traded. You know what that means?

Fake trades!

This is the first chapter of my fake-trade series. In this installment and future ones to come, I create a scenario in which the Raptors construct a groundbreaking, blockbuster trade. Before we hop into this first chapter, let's go over some of Toronto's trade limitations.

The Stepien Rule

Do a little research and you’ll learn some not-so-fun facts about the worst GM (probably) in NBA history. He also goes toe-to-toe with Sterling for the anti-coveted crown of the Most Racist NBA owner over the past few decades. It’s bad.

In an interview in December 1980, Stepien said, "No team should be all white and no team should be all black, either.” He also said that "blacks don't buy many tickets and they don't buy many of the products advertised on TV." He described his Cavaliers at that time — consisting of six whites and five blacks — as "a balanced team racially, and that's a good reflection on our society because it's balanced too." He described himself as "really big on desegregation" and "for a totally integrated society."

Nice, dude.

Anyways, Ted Stepien was such an abysmal GM, that they created a rule to keep other GM’s from screwing up as badly as he did. In the 1980 Ted took the reigns of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and did a horrendous job at impersonating a competent NBA GM. In his three-year tenure, the team went 28-54, 15-67, and 23-59. He screwed up the organization so badly that the Cavs didn’t break .500 until the 1987-88 season when they finished 42-40.

That whole spiel of balancing the team racially to increase revenue didn’t work out either. During his three years, the Cavs attendance ranked last, second last, and last again.

As I mentioned, Ted did something in those three years that was so inexplicably moronic, that it warranted a rule preventing further GM’s from being as stupid.

He shipped out every 1st rounder that Cleveland owned for the next few years, in return for aging veterans who were far from good enough to push their “racially balanced” roster over the hill.

Out of all the picks Stepien traded away, six of them turned into historically notable players:

• 1982, 1st Overall - James Worthy - All-Rookie, 7x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, 3x NBA Champion, Finals NBA, Hall of Famer.
• 1983, 11th Overall - Derek Harper - 2x All-Defense, 17-year career.
• 1984, 4th Overall - Sam Perkins - All-Rookie, 18-year career.
• 1985, 8th Overall - Detlef Schrempf - All-NBA, 2x Sixth Man of the Year, 3x All-Star.
• 1986, 7th Overall - Roy Tarpley - All-Rookie, Sixth Man of the Year.
• 1986, 27th Overall - Dennis Rodman - 2x All-Star, 2x All-NBA, 8x All-Defensive, 2x Defensive Player of the year, 5x NBA Champion, 23rd most Rebounds in NBA history, Hall of Famer.

It’s safe to say that these guys woulda’/shoulda’/coulda’ been Cleveland Cavaliers. But who’s to say Ted would of even drafted Worthy or Rodman? I mean, what if they threw off the racial balance?

After this horrendous series of events, the NBA barred future GM’s from trading their 1st round picks in consecutive years.

And thus, Masai cannot include any of our first rounders in any trade this year. This past summer, Toronto’s 2018 first rounder (top-15 protected) was sent to Brooklyn (along with our 2018 second), so they could take on Demarre Carroll and his overbearing contract. 

Limitations

Short and sweet.

The Raps’ are currently around $20,000,000 above the Cap and $120,000 above the tax line. There isn't much wiggle room.

There are two players who can’t be included in deals until January: Lowry and Ibaka. I wasn’t planning on throwing them in on any deals anyways, but it's important to note.

I’m not just going to throw out fake-trades; I’m created more-or-less, fake situations. It would be easy to rip through the trade machine and bust out 3-6 deals and copy/paste them here, but that’s not what I’m doing. Instead, I’ll try my best to predict some future outcomes, as well as the storyline for the negotiation. Here we go!

Chapter 1: Boogie Nights

The date is February 8th, 2018; trade deadline day. The clock is ticking, and the deadline time is set for 3:00 pm.

The Raptors sit at a comfortable 36-18 record, 3rd in the East.

On the other hand, the Pelicans are on the outside of the Western playoff picture looking in. OKC has pulled it together, theJ azz have hit a mean stride and the Wolves' are officially spooky. The Pels’ are at 24-26, and Cousins does not look intent on re-signing. To be blunt, things are bleak in this fantasy world for the Pelicans.

The Pelicans receive a call from the Raptors; a potential deal. We lay it out on the table:

Raptors Receive: Demarcus Cousins

Pelicans Receive: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira

Classic lowball and the Pelicans see right through it. They know that we can’t deal any of our future picks, too (thanks, Ted). The deal is actually a tad enticing for New Orleans. They most likely aren’t making the playoffs (in this fantasy situation), and DMC will probably not resign. Might as well deal out his expiring deal to a renting contender. Toronto seems like the perfect fit.

Two issues for the Pelicans here:

• Jonas is on a three-year deal. They don’t like his contract, and they don’t like the prospects of him as their starting center. Jonas needs to be in this two-team deal though. His contract (and Demar’s, for what it’s worth) are the only ones that can match the salary of Demarcus.
• The Pelicans want, and need draft picks. We can’t give them that. What we can give them, however, is our first-round pick from this year’s draft: OG Anunoby.  OG has a shot at an all-rookie team, and more importantly, he’s contributing to a contender. So many of the best rookies are drafted to poor teams, thus earning a plethora of empty stats over the year. For this deal to work, the Pelicans demand OG.

We hear their demands and understand. They didn’t bite on the lowball; understandably so. We fire back:

Raptors Receive: Demarcus Cousins

Pelicans Receive: Jonas Valanciunas, OG Anunoby

Statistically enticing, but again, the Pels’ don’t like the idea of JV on a 3-year deal with them. They don’t like his fit with DMC. OG is the only piece making this deal worthwhile for them.

We have to get creative. Let’s get some teams with cap-space involved. After many rigorous hours spent yelling on the phone, we have crafted a three-team deal that all teams agree on:

Raptors Receive: Demarcus Cousins, Marco Belinelli

Pelicans Receive: OG Anunoby, Lucas Nogueira, Miles Plumlee, Minnesota 1st round pick (top-15 protected, from Atlanta)

Atlanta Receives: Jonas Valanciunas, 2019 2nd Rounder (from Toronto)

Raptors POV

After five-and-a-half seasons, Valanciunas’ tenure with the Raptors comes to an end. We say goodbye to him (and his remaining 3-year $45 million), along with Bebe. The third outgoing piece is our beloved OG. Although it rips my heart out to fake trade him in a fantasy scenario, it’s the price one must pay to become a sure-fire contender. This is the absolute definition of mortgaging the future.

On the receiving end, we grab two decisive rentals; Boogie and Belinelli.

Cousins is the best center in the league. Feel free to argue with me, but he is the clear cut #1 at the center position.

Boogie can do all things, and the Raptors could do all things with Boogie. He may only be a rental, but he could be that monumental piece that heaves the Raptors over the hump, and into Finals territory.

Belinelli would serve as a rental replacement for OG. He’s a savvy vet with a sure-fire stroke. Belinelli has been in the league for 11 years now, with 8 different teams (Raptors being one of them, 2009-2010). He has made his name by shooting the basketball from deep, with consistency and volume.

Losing OG would sting, and if the whole thing didn’t work out it could seriously hamper Toronto’s success in the future. But it’s the risk we're willing to take for what we receive. The only unknown variable would be DMC’s “meshability” with the Raptors lineups. It would take some adjusting, but with Marco making up for some of OG’s usage, and inserting a bonafide star into the center position … this could be the fantasy scenario that brings Toronto passed Boston/Cleveland and into the Finals.

New Orleans’ POV

In this fantasy scenario, it’s pretty clear that Boogie doesn’t intend on staying in New Orleans over the summer. It’s hours before the deadline, and New Orleans is trying to ship him out to get as much return on investment as they can.

They export DMC, but they acquire a ripe selection of talent in return.

They take Bebe, who is on the last year of his rookie deal.

Miles Plumlee is acquired, doing a favour for Atlanta (3-year, $36 million deal left).

OG joins the NOP roster, becoming their wing-of-the-future. A position New Orleans hasn’t solidified since drafting AD.

Lastly, they receive Minnesota’s top-15 protected pick for this summer’s draft. Minnesota will probably end up around the 20’s, so this pick will likely pan out.

They currently run Asik as the backup center - who is the legitimate definition of an oaf. With Bebe, they have the potential to turn him into a pet-project. His above-average length, height, and underrated hands around the basket could turn prosperous for an organization desperately trying to find diamonds in the rough.

Simply put, the New Orleans roster is set up to be mediocre (which isn't our doing). They have Jrue on a 5-year $125 million, AD on a 4-year $90 million and then Solomon Hill, Omer Asik and E'twaun Moore all being overpaid on three-year deals (although E’twaun is starting to make his money look justified). They don't have the cap space to improve this team in the offseason, and I don’t see the improvement coming from within.

This trade gives them another chance at getting better down the road. They deal out Boogie (who won’t be returning in this scenario), and take on a bad three-year deal that fits bittersweetly with their other bad deals.

In return, they grab a promising 20-year-old wing and a 1st rounder for next year. If they could find potential suitors for their bad deals, New Orleans could fashion a dynamic roster out of what this trade gives them.

Atlanta’s POV

The Hawks were famously quoted this year on their proclamation that they were,

N O T  T A N K I N G.

Well, as I write this, they are at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, rocking a mean 6-22 record. Fast forward to when this fake deal takes place, and I still see them sitting in the same spot. If Chicago cools down (what a weird feeling to say this), Atlanta could leapfrog them into the 14th spot, but that’s about it.

If it were up to me, I’d blow it up, and maybe they will at the deadline. This trade gives Atlanta JV, another piece to work around with Baze and Schroder.

Their trading of Dwight this summer was extremely untimely and poor.

They acquired Plumlee, a 2nd/3rd string 29-year-old center with an indefensibly expensive contract.

Marco, a serviceable wing-shooter, but old with an expiring deal.

Traded up from the 41st spot to the 31st.

With Dwight’s borderline all-star season so far in Charlotte, this deal is somehow looking even worse than it did over the summer.

Back to the fake timeline.

Valanciunas is on a three-year deal as well, at $15 million a year (only $3 million-per-year more than Plumlee). Perhaps Atlanta taps into JV’s offensive arsenal and proves that he has indeed been undervalued in Toronto’s system.

They have to deal out Minnesota’s top-15 protected, but that’s okay. They upgrade Plumlee to JV, and swap a Minnesota first rounder for a Toronto second rounder. Atlanta still has their own pick, along with Houston’s pick in this year's draft. I still don’t like their situation, but this trade gives them a much better outlook for the coming years.

Boogie can do all things, and we can do all things with Boogie. 

***DISCLAIMER***

I actually think the Pelicans will be a solid playoff team. Not top-5, but I think they have a shot at getting a later seed. For this trade to make sense, however, the Pelicans truly need to be in limbo, and DMC has to make it clear that he’s not coming back.