The Toronto Raptors are NBA Champions.



Greatness carries a cost. The Raptors owned the third-highest payroll in basketball last year and spent deep into the luxury tax. That’s all worthwhile to secure that Larry O.B., but an all-in push has left the Raptors’ cap sheet for 2019-20 fairly inflexible.



Inflexible doesn’t mean bad, necessarily. If Kawhi Leonard returns, the Raptors will once again be deep into the luxury tax, an area they’ll be happy to live if it means another year of contention. They’ll try to trim that bill within reason, of course, but you don’t make win a title and see the type of surge in audience, gate and merchandise the Raptors saw and then pinch pennies at the more meaningful margins of the roster. If Leonard leaves, the focus may shift some, though the cap sheet won’t exactly open up.



Not even a projected seven-percent jump in the salary cap can help the Raptors here. No matter the scenario,...