Bismack Biyombo wants to re-sign with Raptors, but it'll be tough for Toronto
Toronto center Bismack Biyombo will be a hot commodity in July
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3 min read
TORONTO -- Last summer, the Charlotte Hornets decided not to pick up the fourth-year option on Bismack Biyombo's rookie contract. For most players, this is a slap in the face. The center, drafted. No. 7 overall in 2011, chose to look at it as a new beginning. He signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Raptors worth about $6 million, with an opt-out after the first season. He then worked out harder than ever before, hoping that he would be able to surprise people.
"The truth is when I got the phone call, I told them whatever you guys decide was going to be fine," Biyombo said Saturday. "I trusted that I was going to be in a situation that probably people will end up regretting the decisions they have made. When the opportunity to come to Toronto came, I felt like it was going to be a perfect fit for me from the jump."
Biyombo couldn't have made a better decision, and it's now hard to believe that the Hornets let him walk. He would be crazy not to become a free agent this summer, as Sean Deveney of the Sporting News reported that teams could offer him as much as $17 million per season. With the Raptors, Biyombo became a playoff hero thanks to monster contributions in four of the biggest wins in franchise history: Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers, Game 7 against the Miami Heat and Games 3 and 4 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I can't be mad at [the Hornets]," Biyombo said. "This is a business. You look at it as a positive rather than a negative. They did what they have to do and I am where I am and I think I'm happy to be where I am because, without them doing that part, then I shouldn't be here."
The question now is how long Biyombo can remain here. Toronto already has a starting center, Jonas Valanciunas, who signed a four-year, $64 million contract extension last year. The team does not have Biyombo's Bird rights, meaning it cannot go over the salary cap to sign him. Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said in March that he would do whatever he could to keep him, but there is no simple way to do that now.
Biyombo started 22 games in the regular season and 10 games in the playoffs when Valanciunas was injured. He thrived in that role, rebounding and protecting the paint at an elite level. He also significantly improved as a free throw shooter and pick-and-roll finisher. He earned an enormous raise.
If Biyombo leaves, Toronto will miss him. As it turns out, he will also miss the Raptors. He called coach Dwane Casey "amazing" and said this was the most fun he'd ever had in the NBA.
"At the end of the day there are situations and scenarios that you can't control," Biyombo said. "It's a lot of [stuff] that I have to think about but at the same time, like I said, I love it up here, man. That's all I'm going to keep in my mind and stay away from all this for a week and think about the great season that we had, I think those are the most important things. And once the time comes, there's the right people that will handle it and I will hope to be back here again."
Biyombo said that he believes he did more than enough to show the rest of the league that he's a starting-caliber player, but also said that winning is more important to him than starting. Whatever happens in July, the phone calls he'll get will be completely different from last year.
