Bismack Biyombo has said would like to stay with the Toronto Raptors next season.
What he wants more than that is to get paid.
Which is why, as was long expected, he opted out of his $3 million deal with the Raptors — because he will make more than five times that on the open market next season. Via the well connected Eric Pincus:
Bismack Biyombo's deadline to opt out was 7 days after Toronto Raptors' last game (5/27/16) as such, he officially opted out @BBallInsiders
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 7, 2016
Biyombo is a free agent and the going rate could be $17 million a year. Biyombo had a breakout playoffs — in a league where rim protecting bigs are at a premium — but said he would even consider a hometown discount to stay with the Raptors. The Raptors want to bring him back, but the salary cap makes it difficult. The Raptors do not have Biyombo’s Bird rights, so they need to use their salary cap space to re-sign him. Toronto’s top priority is bringing back DeMar DeRozan (who will be a max or near max player.
Expect some teams to try and poach Biyombo. The questions become what do they offer, and how much of a discount would Biyombo take to stay in Toronto?