To get us through the late-Summer doldrums of the NBA, we’re reviewing teams from around the league and how their offseasons went.
Toronto Raptors
Key Additions:
Davion Mitchell
Key Losses:
Gary Trent Jr
Offseason Review and 2024-25 Season Outlook:
The Raptors had such a strange offseason. They were busy, locking up Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes to long term deals and playing hardball with Sasha Vezenkov and gaining cap space for their troubles, but in the end the 2024-25 Raptors look basically the same as the end-of-season 2023-24 Raptors. Toronto picked up Davion Mitchell cheap, but lost Gary Trent Jr for nothing. It’s smart to lock up your young guys, but the price tags for Quickley and Barnes made me raise my eyebrows a little in this new era of teams avoiding the aprons. Quickley and Barnes (especially Barnes) are very good players, and good players are expensive, but it’s hard to look at this team and know where it’s going.
Will Toronto finally flip Bruce Brown this season? Why did they sign Bruno Fernando when they still have Jakob Poeltl, Kelly Olynyk, and Chris Boucher on the roster? I don’t have any answers, and I’m not sure the Raptors organization does either. It feels like Masai Ujiri has spent the last few years overplaying his hand, and has more often than not seen talent leave the organization for little or not return. The Raptors right now seem destined for the play-in, but in the East its an easier path out of the mediocre middle. We’ll see if Masai has any more magic up his sleeves.
Why We Hate Them:
Remember what I said about Masai overplaying his hand? It’s been true, but I’m also bitter that is has often felt like it has hurt the Kings ability to land certain players. It’s hard to be overly upset about OG Anunoby given what Toronto got from the Knicks, but the Pascal Siakam fiasco felt like the Kings got screwed by Masai’s antics. While I’ll be wishing Davion the best of luck in his career, I have no warm feeling for the Raptors organization
Didn’t they lose Jalen McDaniels? ????
I’ll fit it:
Key Additions:
Davion Mitchell
Sashsa Vezenkov
Key Loses:
Gary Trent Jr.
Jalen McDaniels
Sasha Vezenkov
Holy overpay, Batman! I did not realize the Raps gave Quickly a $175M contact over 5 years! Maybe I’m wrong but I put Quickly in the same tier at Monk and he is now going to make nearly double per year what Malik makes.
I know they had a small sample size with their new rotation last year, but I’m just now sure a core of Barnes, Quickly, Barrett, and Poeltl gets you very far. They really need another star next to Barnes.
Say what you want about Massai, but the Raps finished the 23 season with a starting 5 VanVleet, OG, Barnes, Pascal, and Poeltl and now they will likely start this season with Quickly, Barrett, Barnes, Poeltl, and…. Gradey Dick? IMO, that’s poor asset management and a roster going the wrong way.
Masai bought himself a lifetime ticket with the 2019 Championship.
It has given him the freedom to stretch the limits and have many wonder if he has another Ace up his sleeve, even if he doesn’t.
Let me ask you this:
If somehow/someway Monte McNair and Wes Welker were on the outs, would you jump at the chance to hire Masai Ujiri?
I’d have to give that careful thought. But I am a no-nothing fan. Two or three seasons ago – heck yeah, I’d think that was awesome.
For me, the Raptors are sort of on that /shrug boat on those Eastern waters.
I am curious to see how Gary Trent, Jr. performs for Milwaukee.
It’s a “what have you done for me lately” league, and the Raps/Masai really haven’t done anything well (other than draft Barnes) since they won the title in 2019. I think it’s pretty easy to say that Monte has done the better “GMing” over the last 4 years.
I am guessing this is the only place saying that picking up Davion Mitchell is a key acquisition.
I probably should have titled those sections “notable” rather than “key”.
In the terms of Davion notable works. In terms of the audience here key was probably best. Davion was the only defense this team had for a few years. Also the only viable backup point guard for a while..Davion was key here even though he was barely notable as an NBA player.
[…] Despite the fresh faces, the Raptors appear to be in a holding pattern. General Manager Masai Ujiri has been criticized for overextending his strategy, often losing key players without adequate returns. The team’s future seems uncertain, and while they may contend for a play-in spot, their path to success is not clearly defined. […]
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