Breaking Down The Toronto Raptors Offseason Options

Breaking Down The Toronto Raptors Offseason Options

it was initially reported that the Toronto Raptors were in search of a big fish but since then the buzz has fallen off as now the Raptors big fish options might not be available we’re going to talk about the latest Raptors news in this one and also I’m going to look ahead and break down what the Raptors options are for this off seasonason and if you’all can do me a favor drop a like on the video and subscribe to the channel for more raptors updates and content just like this so let’s first start with big fish target number one Giannis at Takmpo it was reported by Brian Winhorse he said right now there is no Giannis trademark there is no Giannis trade discussions he has not asked for it the Bucks are not looking to trade him so he effectively shut down the notion that Giannis would be available on the open market and then Giannis himself shut it down when he was interviewed and he said “I’m rooting for good basketball the finals are different i hope to be back soon with the Bucks.” And then Shams appeared on the Pat McAfee show did a little bit of damage control and he basically said Giannis is in the process of figuring out what he wants to do and then right after Shams put out that little segment with McAfee Giannis took to X and he basically said “Does anyone else miss Woge?” So I feel like that is Giannis dunking on Shams and just calling him out for all of this stuff that he’s putting out there about Giannis maybe being open-minded to leaving so yeah if Giannis is not on the open market that’s a big blow for the Toronto Raptors because uh if Giannis isn’t available there’s no way the Raptors can get him he’s not a free agent the Bucks would have to trade him and this one is a bummer because this is the one that I put the most stock into i do believe if Giannis is still made available and again it could happen we are still so early into the offseason i mean we’re not even officially into the offseason things can change in July and August but if Giannis isn’t made available there is no pathway that the Raptors trade for him it seems like Giannis he’s going to stay true to his loyal brand and it seems like they’re going to operate as is he’s going to operate like he’s still with the Bucks and the Bucks are going to operate like they still got Giannis on their roster so that is big fish target number one off the board for now for the Raptors another big fish target likely off the board for the Raptors Kevin Durant because Shams put out a piece today stating that the Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant’s business partner Rich Kimman are sorting through trade options with interested teams mainly featuring the Houston Rockets San Antonio Spurs Minnesota Timberwolves Miami Heat and New York Knicks now Shams in his article did put out that there are several wildcard suitors that have made inquiries on Duran in the past 7 to 10 days source is set so maybe the Raptors are in that wildcard scenario but I wouldn’t put any stock into that i always thought KD to the Raptors was a long shot nor did I really like the framework for the Raptors in acquiring KD i’m much more inclined to trade for Giannis than I am for KD who is going to turn 37 years old and he is an unrestricted free agent so I wasn’t like super super down on this KD stuff as I was for the Giannis stuff durant is going to get traded soon i wouldn’t be surprised if he gets traded before the NBA draft all arrows are pointing to that but I do think Durant’s gonna end up on one of these teams if I had to make make a prediction right now i am going to say he’s going to San Antonio i think that makes sense for both sides so two big fish off the board and then just some other big names trey Young I don’t think he’s going to be traded i know that’s a name that’s floated around as a potential point guard target for the Raptors i don’t think Atlanta is going to trade him lamelo Ball another point guard who I don’t see reaching the open market there was Damonte Sabonis saw a lot of Raptors fans inclined to that i don’t like Sabonis on this team nor do I think the Raptors should try to trade for him i think it’s a weird fit the spacing would be bad i mean you got to run your offense through Sabonis and he’s not a defensive anchor i think a big three of him Scotty and BI is very limited that’s just a weird fit altogether that I’m willing to pass on uh another big name that could hit the open market marketing don’t really see the Raptors making a play for him either another name Darius Garland but for the Cavaliers like what would they get back you would think it’d be like a an Emanuel Quickley trade package with some other assets attached to it but the Cavaliers they’re trying to win now so I think like if they’re willing to part ways with Garland it would be for a big move they’re not going to trade Garland for a a manual quickly trade package i mean Garland does make sense from the Raptors timeline perspective but I just don’t see the Cavaliers parting ways with Garland in a trade with the Toronto Raptors so the other thing we can see here for the Raptors is maybe there’s a deal closer to the draft or a draft move a deal that has been thrown out there a potential trade involving the Raptors and the Nets this was reported by uh Nets Daily the Nets are reportedly looking to move up in the NBA draft and the Raptors pick at number nine has caught their attention so a potential trade could see the Raptors sending on over RJ Barrett and the number nine pick to the Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson and number 19 i’m actually not opposed to this cam Johnson’s 29 he averaged 18.8 8 points per game this past season while shooting 39% from three on 7.2 attempts i think he would be a nice fit in the Raptor starting lineup as that versatile shooter with the size and he’s also got great mobility to defend multiple positions so if the Raptors do this deal it would actually create about 7 million in salary cap savings for them and it would make them have more of the non-t taxpayer mid-level exception so it would definitely give the Raptors front office a lot more flexibility under the luxury tax line if they did a deal like this and again he’s he’s a versatile shooter i like his size he’s a guy who I think would complement Barnes and Brandon Ingram really really well he’s a guy who fits that win now timeline that it seems like the Raptors are now entering uh he’s a floor spacer and when you look at RJ he is under contract for the next two seasons at 57.3 million he is coming off a career year however he has had his lapses defensively and he’s an average three-point shooter so of course that raises questions about his long-term fit in a lineup with Ingram and Barnes as your main pieces so the thing I like about this again is it does provide a little bit more financial flexibility i do think you’re getting the better player in Cam Johnson i think Cam Johnson’s just been in a bad situation and I think he would be a huge piece for whichever team is trying to compete now and uh what you’re giving up though is the better pick that’s the trade-off here you’re giving up the better pick but you’re getting the better player on the better contract situation in this scenario so maybe we see something with RJ and I think like besides the whole big fish talk I think the likeliest Raptor to be traded is RJ Barrett that’s if a deal goes down uh I don’t see the Raptors trading up you know they probably really love Malawak and they want him and he’s probably not going to be there at nine but I don’t think the Raptors are going to necessarily trade up to draft him i think they’re just going to stay where they’re at if they don’t even move that pick in a deal like this and they’re just going to go for the best player available if they really want a big Derek Queen he’s been gaining a lot of traction linked to the Raptors in a lot of previous mock drafts but let’s just say there’s no trade that happens i mean that’s a real possibility this off season there is a very strong possibility that the Raptors just start the season as is i mean the team would remain slightly below the tax to start the season and they could just see what they have you have Brandon Ingram in the equation you got everybody healthy see where this team’s at and then you can re-evaluate and make changes at the trade deadline so the Raptors do have a little bit of flexibility from that perspective they don’t have to make a significant trade of course we’re just going based on the reports that they were looking for a big fish but if that big fish is off the table they don’t have to you know trade a an RJ Barrett immediately they can see they can go along with their draft get their draft pick selections made and then they can go into next season with this team see what this team’s ceiling is you’ll know quickly how good this team is in the first couple of months of the season and then if things don’t look good yeah you can readjust that to trade deadline so that is a big big possibility here and knowing the Raptors knowing Messiah Yujiri that shouldn’t come to you all as a surprise cuz we know he’s very patient in his approach and he’s not going to make a swing just to make a swing so I do believe right now if you want to you know bet on this somewhere somehow like I would really strongly lean towards the Raptors doing nothing of substance this off season and just running this group as is and seeing what this group can do again with Ingram now on the team so that’s kind of what the Raptors offseason is looking like i do think if Giannis does become available somehow the Raptors will strongly be in those conversations but if that doesn’t happen I don’t see the Raptors making a trade just to make a trade and I wouldn’t even be surprised if they don’t trade RJ this summer because there’s no rush to trade RJ just yet yeah we’ll see what happens with that guys but let me know your thoughts do you see the Raptors doing anything this summer of significance a a big move a big trade let me know drop a like subscribe to the channel if you’re new that’s it for me it’s Luke on thanks much for watching and I will catch you all again in the next

The Toronto Raptors offseason plans.

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