Toronto Raptors
The reigning NBA Champion Toronto Raptors are at a crossroads.
President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri must decide what to do with his oldies but goodies on expiring contracts.
Kyle Lowry ($33M), Marc Gasol ($25M) and Serge Ibaka ($23M). Fred VanVleet’s $9M contract is also expiring.
Ohh but wait! Just last week, Kyle Lowry signed a 1-year $31 million extension for the 2020-21 season, his well-earned “Championship bonus.” The Lowry extension ensures that the Raptors will keep the identity of this team together for at least a little while longer. But the Raptors could still very well trade Lowry. He might even be a more valuable asset now.
There are so many different directions this team can take. For now, the Raptors are running it back sans Kawhi as Ujiri will test the waters and evaluate on the fly.
We see Toronto faring quite well in the watered down East. What was Toronto’s record last year without Kawhi? *checks notes* 17-5 is pretty damn good. But the vets might wear down with the constant extra workload. And Kawhi’s not walking through that door to save the day in the 4th quarter, or even late in the shot clock. Yet there are still plenty of reasons for optimism that the defending champs will still be an Eastern Conference force to be reckoned with.
The Raptors biggest reason for buoyancy, and the biggest pending X-factor, is Pascal Siakam, the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player. Spicy P’s game has ascended in such a momentous way. All of a sudden, Siakam’s a prime two-way player potentially in line for a max extension pay day, because he could very well take another step and become a true star. While we’ve pondered how Siakam will look as the #1 option, he seems ready for the opportunity. Training camp preseason whispers say he has taken over all of Kawhi’s old workouts and regimen.
Raptors strike fear in their prey and that sound you’re hearing is the Eastern Conference shaking in their boots.
League Pass Notes
Undrafted rookie Terence Davis had a helluva preseason power dunk in Tokyo.
Marc Gasol can still hoop! Don’t count out the Big Ole Spaniard.
Another candidate in line to break out: OG Anunoby.
Per John Hollinger of The Athletic, Matt Thomas made 48 percent of this threes last year in Spain. Forty eight!!
The Final Questions / The Final Take
Will Masai Ujiri actually bring back the super vets who are on their way to essentially becoming aging dinosaurs? Or will Toronto get a maximum return for their assets (just like DeRozan) and start this reboot? These questions are going to be even more difficult and interesting if Toronto is sitting at 3rd or 4th in the East.
Has there ever been a reigning champion who was a sleeping giant? And don’t forget about the Ewing Theory!
RUN IT BACK!!! OVER 46.5 wins.