The Toronto Raptors have a lot of options this offseason
As the team gets mentioned in various trade rumors, the Raptors actually have a few paths they could take this summer.
The Toronto Raptors are in a very awkward position this offseason. They’ve missed the playoffs the last three seasons but have a payroll that’s larger than half of the teams that did make the playoffs this season, including the two teams currently in the NBA Finals. And unlike other high-salaried lottery teams like Washington or Brooklyn, the Raptors don’t have a bunch of expiring contracts or bad contracts they’ve taken on for extra draft picks.
The Raptors also aren’t built like most of the playoff teams (and most contenders over the last 40 years). Ideally, a team hoping to contend (or eventually contend) would be constructed like a pyramid.
On top, you’ve got a superstar (perennial All-NBA player), followed by an All-Star calibre player or two on the next level. Under that, 2-3 solid starting calibre players, 3-4 good bench players and then several decent bench players who can step in periodically when there are injuries. Hopefully, those players would be paid accordingly, with a number of them on either rookie or close to minimum contracts.
This is how most Championship teams, including the Raptors when they won their title, are built. Take a look at the example below:
Kawhi Leonard
Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam*
Marc Gasol, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka
Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, OG Anunoby
*Siakam was not an All-Star yet, but played at an All-Star level during the playoffs and made the All-Star team — and All-NBA 3rd team — the next season.
They had a great salary structure in 2019, too. Only Kawhi, Lowry, Gasol and Serge had the large contracts (Siakam was still on his rookie contract) and were the only ones above league average, with three of those contracts expiring.
Flash forward to today, and this is how the current Toronto Raptors roster is constructed:
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Scottie Barnes
Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickly, Jakob Poeltl
Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Chris Boucher
Several other players have the potential to be decent to good players, but at this point, they would not get minutes on a real contending NBA team.
The most glaring thing about this Raptors roster is the lack of a superstar on the team. Although the hope is that Scottie Barnes will eventually become one (especially since he is now being paid like one), at this point, it’s hard even to call him an All-Star. He only made one All-Star team, and it was as an injury replacement, but it still counts, regardless.
Brandon Ingram made one All-Star team, but that was six years ago. He’s now coming off an injury that kept him out most of last season, so while he has the potential to regain his All-Star form, at this point, he’s simply a solid starter.
Salary-wise, the Raptors have five players making well above average, with Barnes and Ingram both making close to $40 million this season. And they are just under the luxury tax. Keep in mind, this is a team that didn’t even make the playoffs.
The big problem with the roster is that it’s middle-heavy, talent-wise. Yet, it’s loaded with players who work best with the ball in their hands. Barnes, Ingram, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and even Gradey Dick and Ja’Kobe Walter’s strength is creating for themselves and others, not playing off others. On a recent podcast, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said something on his recent Game Theory podcast that might cause some hand-wringing among Raptors fans. When discussing the Desmond Bane trade, he surmised that Bane was worth as much as he got on the trade market because of his ability to play off the ball, and that non-elite on-ball creators have less value in today’s NBA. And that would describe most of the Raptors' roster. He even mentions Brandon Ingram.
Whether this is the vision Masai had in mind or whether he’s just collecting assets to be used down the road is unclear.
I’ve outlined some of the options the Raptors have, and whether or not I think they are viable. Stay tuned for part 2 of this series.