Why Everyone Is Wrong About The Raptors Contract Situation

Why Everyone Is Wrong About The Raptors Contract Situation

Look at the money. Hey, listen. I don’t know what the heck is going on in Toronto. And if you’re a Raptors fan and you can explain it to me, please explain it in the comment section because this is a very expensive starting five for a team that it’s not going to be very good. They might be okay. They might be okay, but I don’t know if they’re going to be, you know what I’m saying? Cool. Well, I’ll just make this short video today to explain to you all and also Kenya as well uh what the Raptors are thinking and why I feel like a lot of this contract talk is a bit overblown and obviously you may think I’m biased. You’re a fan. You of course you’re going to say that. Bro, just be honest. The Raptors have a bleak future. What roster situation, picks, contracts, assets, everything. Who would you not want to be for the rest of the 2020s if you could pick one team? I have mine. What’s yours? The next four years, five years. I don’t want to be Toronto. I don’t want to be Toronto because even though Scotty Barnes is better than some of the other team’s best players. It’s 38.5 million for him. It’s 38 million for Brandon Ingram. It’s 32.5 million for Quickley. It’s 28 million for R.J. Barrett. Purle who’s fine. You know, 20 million that’s going to go up with the extension. There’s no moves here really for Toronto. I’m not gonna lie. When he said that last part, there’s no moves over here in Toronto. That’s when I knew he was just talking [ __ ] bro. He was just talking nonsense cuz he no moves. And then he proceeded to say this right after. There’s no moves here really for Toronto. And all of these players other than RJ are under contract for the next three years. RJ Barrett, there you go. He just said a name that is most likely to be moved this summer. I don’t know. Like does he not realize or maybe he thinks oh there’s no market for RJ Barrett so Toronto would you know be much better off not moving him or they’d lose terribly in the trade. Honestly his contract really the problem with his contract isn’t so much the money amount. It’s the fact that he’s basically the most expendable contract there is in the starting lineup. But the Raptor team are over $4 million over the luxury tax and and are now a first apron team with all the things that they’ve done. so far as of July 10th, 2025. And that’s the concern that a lot of people are having. They’re saying this team is not good enough to be first apron. So, I think R.J., you don’t even have to win the trade. You just have to dump a salary and, you know, get whatever asset you can in return. Hopefully, bunch of second rounders at best. Uh, a first round would be a cherry on top. I I don’t care. All I need is for a salary to be dumped. We’d be under the apron. be under the tax. And then after that, I feel like the concerns of money is really just overblown. It really is. Like people are really looking at these numbers and are operating as if they’re still in 2019. But bro, look, there’s three players making $30 billion next season. How can they sustain this? And I think people just don’t want to hear the answer because I’m not going to lie, it’s not really that big of a deal that they’re getting paid 30 mil each, right? RJ Barrett, if you dump his salary, you take in less salary. At that point, you’re under 80 apron. What the hell is even the the cause for outrage? Obviously, people are looking down the line years later. But I can see where a lot of people come from if, you know, they think the Raptors aren’t that good of a team to be paying, you know, three player 30 plus million, right? There’s people projecting the Raptors not even to win above 34 games. I mean, that’s that’s just how low a lot of people are on Toronto in general. They’re doing a lot of Alevel spending on like Bminus guys. And I think that’s where a lot of people are just quite frankly, you know, putting a cap on what Toronto can do based on the the things we’ve seen from these players individually in past seasons, regardless of what team they played in, right? RJ Barrett, New York, he looked different than he does now in Toronto. Emanuel Quickley is a player that a lot of people they just don’t understand the contract. Why did he get this much money? He he’s not that good to be earning that much. And I think a lot of people they’re just they’re not high on him. And I think that’s mainly because of the season he had just now where quite frankly he was going through a lot of injuries. He didn’t play that many games and when he did play he didn’t look at nearly as good. And a lot of that can be chocked up to the fact that well quite frankly he’s coming off of injuries uh that make it harder for him to play. But I think people just they don’t think these players can reach their full potential in Toronto. I think that’s what a lot of people feel. And that’s a lot of people uh criticize the Raptors for trading for Brandon Ingram. As if as if that trade alone was like what the hell are they doing? They should be tanking. I think there’s this mentality around fan bases that, you know, if you’re not a good team, you should be at the bottom so that, you know, you lock in and and get the best picks possible. But what if you’re not at the bottom? Like the Raters weren’t around the season. Well, you get a guy in Brandon Ingram that quite frankly, he was going through an ankle injury and his recovery process, I mean, it was going to be extensive. The big irony actually was that the Brennon Ingram trade actually helped the Raptors lose more games because Brendon Ingram really didn’t play at all when he got to the Raptors. Bruce Brown and Kelly Lynn, guys that did get traded for Brennan Ingram, they were actually playing. Not just that, they were actually contributing to some of these wins that we were seeing in January. So even then, the argument for the Raptors, oh, you shouldn’t be trading for guys like this. I mean, you’re trying to be a middle of the pack team. And again, this concept of the Raptors being a middle of the pack team is a concern because how else are you going to get better draft picks and get more talent in the door? Isn’t BI a crazy talent to begin with? What why are we acting like there aren’t other ways for the team to get more talent in the door? Let’s face it, the Raptors are not a free agency destination. Uh their biggest free agent signing, I think, in history was the Dennis Shruder signing two seasons ago. people, they obviously come from a, you know, good place. They want to see the Raptors make smart decision, especially having seen the last couple of years after that championship, you know, they’re on a downturn. They’re on a very bad trend. Messiah Jury just got let go and quite frankly, he got fired. Let’s let’s just be honest about what happened. But Brennan Ingram adds a a scoring punch that the Raptors quite frankly did not have since Kawi Leonard left the team. Seakkum was the closest player to basically uh replicate that scoring punch, but the consistency and quite frankly the level of trust uh that the team had in Seakum, I just don’t think it was there during his tenure in Toronto. And had he not been traded to the Pacers, he might have been the guy that they were going to lean on for the most part. I mean, we seen in the playoffs, but Brennan Ingram’s three years younger and oh, and the contract that he just got signed to is $7 million less next season than Seakcom is going to get paid. Toronto buying low on Brendan Ingram and what he could potentially be in two or three years. This may age really well. Brendon Ingram might opt out of his player option and earn even more money for himself. And let’s face it, Seyakum now, he’s not getting any younger. He’s three years older, 31 now. I mean, that’s going to be something that is going to play into this. Sakum’s an older player and because he got drafted to Toronto would have actually been paid more money than the Pacers were able to pay him. Like, so if anything, the Raptors saved money on a player that they hope could, you know, achieve uh more in terms of offensive prowess than Seakum did. Not just that, but they were able with the assets they acquired in the Seakum trade to round up uh the roster to fit more seamlessly around Scotty Barnes, who they were trying to build around at the time. But now they’re making a conscious effort to also fill in the scoring hole that was left on the team with Seakum traded. And by the way, this is no knock on CNB. This guy, when I seen some of its tape, I was like, “Oh, this is an interesting prospect.” But I did not expect the Raptors to pick him. Not just that, I was actually disappointed at first when I seen that they picked him. And quite frankly, the reason why I’m questioning the pick is because they basically picked a guy that is, you know, obviously going to be benched in favor of Scotty Barnes at the four position and quite frankly, they fit around Toronto. They need center play. They need somebody that could play the center position off the bench as a backup. Their backup as of now is Jonathan Mogo who’s I think 67 right now in shoes. Like that’s not something that’s going to be sustainable for the rap. They need talent at the center position. Not just that, but Yakob Purle, you know, he’s been going through injuries the last two years. You pray to God that he doesn’t get hurt. Not just that, but the guard position. I mean, RJ Barrett and then you got Grady. If you’re high on Grady, that’s the move, right? You’re going to put him insert him more into the lineup after you trade RJ Barrett. But you trade RJ Barrett, who are you going to getting in return? Not sure. You know, people hope Malik Monk is is available. People hope it’s it’s somebody, but you know, you basically are going to have to insert guys like Grady Dick and Jacobe Walter into the lineup more. They have Jacobe Walter as a as a three. That’s mainly because of the position he played throughout the season last year was at that three spot. But I’m telling you, there’s there’s just there’s other needs the roster had that I think the the the pick was just not going to answer. Like the pick itself is not a bad pick in itself. I just think there are definitely things you can criticize the Raptors front office for doing. And yet that doesn’t change the fact that the whole contract, you know, outrage over the Raptors signing all these players on big deals is quite frankly overblown, especially with the, you know, the new CBA. People are scared of the second apron. The more I read into this stuff, the more I realize it’s it’s quite frankly overblown. It’s fake. It’s a boogeyman that’s really not real. And I might make a bigger video on the main channel breaking that down, too. But like people look at the figures and they’re like, “What the hell is this number? Oh my god.” And I think something we need to, you know, focus more on as a community is the cap hit percentage, right? Scotty Barnes, he’s earning 25% of the cap with that percentage going down over the years, right? Brendon Ingram is at 24.6%. Emanuel Quick is at 21% of the cap. In a couple years, that contract is going to go down to, let’s see here, 15% of the cap projected being given to Emanuel Quickley in his last year of his deal. Do you know how well that contract is going to age? If Quickley is anything close to the player he is currently, do you know how good of a deal that is? And it’s a deal that’s flatlined. There’s no right. Obviously, it’s not going down, but it’s also not going up. It stays at the same rate, 32.5 mil. The cap percentage going down each year by 2%. Tells you this this this is going to age well for a player of his caliber. Oh, and by the way, it’s the same thing with the Yakapurto extension. Even though it does go up in 29, right, in 2030, that’s at less than 15% of the cap. That’s in five years from now. And that that’s a very flexible contract. A lot of people I don’t think realize how flexible this Raptors team can actually be. The moves they can be making down the line if you know if the team actually does overperform which is possible actually very possible. They overperformed expectations in a weakened Eastern Conference with teams like the Celtics looking to have a gap year with Tatum’s absence next season. And even a team like the 76ers who there’s uncertainty looming with Embiid’s health. And obviously Paul George as well, he’s aging. He’s 35 going into his 36th year in on this earth. I don’t know why I said it like that, but I did. Maxi, right? A lot of people are questioning the season he had last season and the money they’re on. I mean, oh my goodness, how much money are they giving up to their top three players? It the Raptors, it makes the Raptors money look even better. I mean, let’s be honest. And by the way, you see the percentage of the cap hit, right? 35 plus for Embiid, 33 for Paul George, 24.5 for Maxi, right? And it does go down for these players, right? But look at Max’s contract and the percentage in which it goes down. Not nearly as low as Quickley’s contract. Let’s be honest, there it definitely is a concern with Philly, I’d say. Uh with their top three guys getting paid how much? I mean, let’s face it, bro. And Beat’s probably opting into that player option at 28 and he’s set to make 67 million, which is 36% of the cap with his health issues. I’m not sure if that’s going to be a good deal. and it’s going to age well. Paul George, I mean, forget about it. He’s gonna turn 38 by the time his player option comes up. He’s definitely opting in. The cap hit is cra 32% of the cap. But Philly is just a much better team, the Raptors. Two for one. And I think that’s where a lot of people just fail to understand what the Raptors can maximize offensively with especially Darko as the head coach. uh offensively these guys, especially Brandon Ingram, could really be maximized to where you see a lot of Brandon Ingram here in highlights that you quite frankly make me salivate because that this is a player that the Raptors have been looking for since Kawaii left and this is a player that I think is going to benefit the most in Toronto. Actually, that might not even be true. Scotty Barnes on a secondary role is probably going to benefit more than anybody on the team. He’s gonna now be playing in a role that is more comfortable for him and he’s going to thrive like he did in his rookie season. His second year was a bump in the road. His third season though when Seakum was on the team, it looked really good that there was something there and I think the Raptors are trying to recreate that atmosphere for him. Get him a scoring punch next to him like Seakum was. But they got a guy that’s younger, cheaper deal with Brendan Ingram that could also maximize him on offense with a coach in Darko that is I think a lot of people don’t don’t realize very very creative in terms of what the offense, you know, he’s he’s able to run with the sets. He emphasizes cutting. He emphasizes quick decisions, dribble, pass, shoot. If you got guys that can dribble, pass, and shoot on the team and they’re basically able to make quick decisions, Bren Ingram is going to feast. He’s going to have so many open looks. Scotty Barnes is also going to feast. Yaka Purle, Scotty likes to pass. He likes to rebound the basketball. Um, it seems like his peers follow him. Um, he has a voice in the room. Um, YaKob, he’s seen some selfish unselfish also. Um, he has good hands. He can finish above the rim on the defensive end. He’s solid. Um there was a big reason why I wanted him to be here. Oh my goodness. Yaka Pearle. I don’t think many people are tapped in to how Yakob Purle is being used on offense and what he can even do as an offensive hub. We’ve seen how interesting the twoman game between Scotty and YaKob was. And in Yaka, he’s really good at being able to find cutters. And you know, his playmaking, his passing has really been good. and Yakob Purle, you could just get the ball there and just, you know, give it back to you. The give and go with him and Brennon Ingram, I’m not going to lie, palpable. BI as an offball player could be maximized even more. I think a lot of people don’t talk enough about how good of a player he is off ball. Sort of reminds me of another player that was, you know, talked about as really good offball, but you know, a lot of people don’t talk about his offball ability enough and even his playmaking to begin with. But that’s a whole conversation for another day. The truth will be told on this channel about the bean, man. People, man, they’ve been hating too much, but that’s a tangent. Let’s get back to Yakob cuz I think this could be the Gasol to a Kobe. I know big words to say in terms of unlocking Brendon Ingram even more as an offball player. That guy, I’m not going to lie, it makes me excited for next season. It really does. And I think a lot of people with the contract talk, they think this team is a playing team at best. And I think there’s a really good chance the Raptors can surprise a lot of people. Not just that, but they don’t even have to be that much better than expected for this season to still be a success. Let’s be let’s just think about it. The contracts that they’re on right now are going to be manageable years down the line. I think a lot of people fail to understand all this stuff. And quite frankly, it’s easy to dismiss the Raptors, especially after the last couple of years. So, I just decided to make this video cuz I thought, you know what, man? I’m going to give my two-piece and I’mma hope that people at least listen before they say anything in the comments. And you know, if you guys enjoy more videos like this, I I’ll try to make more of these on the second channel. I really haven’t been posting much and that’s because to be quite frank, I I don’t know what to post on here anymore. So, you know what? If you guys like this, hope you guys enjoy. Peace out, beautiful people.

I bet you’ve heard somebody say that the Raptors were overpaying for their starting lineup & that they were headed towards a bleak future. And with a roster consisting of Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett & Jakob Poetlt, many think the team’s ceiling is a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference.

In this video, I’ll outline why many of the concerns are overblown & why, if anything, the Raptors are set up to be more flexible for the future.

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