Are The Raptors Really Overpaying? | Ranking Every Contract On The Team

Are The Raptors Really Overpaying? | Ranking Every Contract On The Team

The Toronto Raptors have an incredibly large payroll going into the 2025 2026 season for a team that looks to be on the fringe of being able to make the playoffs. So, how many players are overpaid on the roster and do we have any players that are actually underpaid? Let’s get into it. What’s going on everybody? Welcome back to Amateur Sports. This is the YouTube channel that is completely dedicated to giving you Toronto Raptors content. Make sure you drop a like if you enjoy. Subscribe for more content all about the Raptors on this channel. In my different setup once again for today because we are doing another tier list on today’s video. We’re going to be going through every player that is currently under contract with the Toronto Raptors, looking at their contract value, and deciding if they are overpaid or underpaid. We have very overpaid all the way down to very underpaid. The final the final spot here, which is for players who we will wave or will be free, and therefore, we pay them nothing. And I will preface this by saying once again, I am on vacation at the time this video is released. I’m recording this on July 16th, 2025. I’m recording all these videos in advance. So, you still have content to hopefully enjoy while I’m away on vacation. So, if anything about this roster has changed before I leave, if anything’s roster has changed after I leave, I will not be able to rectify this. Essentially, it it just is what it is. So, I apologize if there’s any errors associated with that. Please keep it in mind as you are watching the video. But let’s look at what these players are actually going to be making for the upcoming season and decide if that player is overpaid or underpaid. And we’re going to be starting here with Grady Dick. And for Grady Dick, he’s still on his rookie contract. I think he’s quite a good performer for that contract. It says here that he is going to be making right around on basketball reference $5 million this season. I’m not really sure how we can say this is a player who is overpaid. Um I think for that amount of money, I know it’s a rookie contract, so it just kind of is what it is, but for the sake of putting players in different categories, this is a player who is playing above that valuation of money. That is a player who is underpaid. I wouldn’t say very underpaid because it’s a rookie contract, but that is a player who certainly fits into the underpaid category there. Up next, we have Jamal Shed. He was a 45th overall pick by the Raptors last year going into his second season this year. Held out to get selected by a team who would give him a guaranteed NBA contract rather than a two-way contract. And it has worked out for him. It has worked out as well for the Raptors. Jamal Ched going to be making $2 million this season. Yeah, that is a player who we are going to be putting in. I I mean, I’m going to go as far as say that’s very underpaid. Your backup point guard is making $2 million. That is a player who is very underpaid. But again, a rookie contract, so it’s not like great business or anything really by the Raptors. A great draft pick though. It is. Jonathan Mobile also going into his second season with the Raptors as a second round pick. 31st overall pick by the Raptors. He is going to be making this season. Again, the same figure, $2 million. I think that’s fair for what Jonathan brings. That’s probably not going to be a player that’s I mean, it could be a player that cracks your rotation. It may not be. So, I think overall that is fair valuation. All right. Look who’s next. Scotty Barnes. Controversial. Um. So, this season, Scotty Barnes been making $39 million. His max contract extension has just kicked in. $44 million average annual salary, which could go up, could go all all the way up to 270. Right now, it’s 224 for five years. I don’t think the Raptors could have given him anything other than a max. I think they had to give him a max. He was an all-star previously. He is a centerpiece of the team. You had to give him Max. Based off his performances last season for the time being, this can change. He’s overpaid. He’s not worth that much money with the way he played last season. However, he could become worth that contract. Absolutely. Let’s we we have to be honest right now and say he’s probably not there just yet. So, for now, he’s slightly overpaid with a chance to earn to to the with the chance to become a player who is on fair value or potentially even underpaid if well I mean it’s max. I don’t think you could be underpaid. Just the best case he goes to fair. Let’s don’t hate me, please. AJ Lawson comes up here. So, if AJ Lawson makes the roster, uh, he’s on a non-G guaranteed cont. If he makes the roster, he’d be on a minimum deal. I think that’s fair for AJ Lawson. Jacobe Walter going out into his second year with the Raptors. This season, he’s be making $3.6 million. I know it’s a rookie contract, so it’s like not a super good comparison to make, but like that’s underpaid. I think he’s gonna perform outperform that valuation and that will help the Raptors. Uh David Rody gonna be on an exhibit 10. He’s on an exhibit 10 deal so I think you have to stay fair for him. Oliver Shamsh on a two-way deal. I think you have to stay fair for him. Clifford Omarui on a exhibit 10 deal. I think you have to stay fair for him. Garrett Temple [Music] so he’s on a minimum. Now, I’ve said in a different video, the Raptors very much value his locker room presence, his on the bench presence, his veteran presence for the team. Coaches talk so highly about him. The players talk so highly about him as well. They love him. There’s a reason he’s still on the roster. But he is a player you cannot trust to play in games. He’s on exhibit 10, but he brings more than just the off the onc court stuff. If I was being super picky, I could say he’s overpaid. I’m gonna say he’s fair. They value it a lot. It’s only a minimum deal. Garrett Temple is is fine over there. Up next, Oce Abaji. So, the complication is Aaji is a player who needs an extension the end of the season, and the Raptors will potentially look to trade this season to get under the tax. He’s gonna be making $6.3 million this season. Now, his value as a 40% corner three-point shooter and a good defender to me that and and this is rookie contract still. So, it’s so it’s another one in the underpaid on a rookie, but I think he’s underpaid. I think he’s going to outperform that $6.3 million. Now, the issue is they can’t really keep him because he’ll get more money into the season. But for now, while we have him, he’ll probably be a bit underpaid. RJ Barrett, oh boy. I mean, I I signed up to do this video. But, okay. So, RJ Barrett’s contract, here’s the deal. Here’s the deal, everybody. RJ Barrett this season is going to be making about $27 million. 27.7. Next year he’s making 29.6. We’re going to have to find a way to evaluate this correctly because RJ Barrett is a good enough player for him to be worth that contract and make it fair. The issue is in the eyes of the NBA trade market and other teams that is not a desirable contract to take on for a player like him. Let me explain. The type of player that RJ Barrett is is a player who needs the ball a lot to bring their to to to play their game style to play their game to play their style of offense. They need the ball a lot. But there’s a question mark on if RJ Barrett is good enough as a player to have the ball as much as he needs to have the ball over other players. For a team that has two players that are definitely better than him in the offensive hierarchy in Scotty Barnes and Brandon Ingram, they’re going to get the ball more. So, the type of skills you need to complement those players are shooting and defense. Welcome to the NBA. RJ Barrett is not a very good shooter. I know he shot 35% last season, open threes. Shooting is not about your percentage. It’s about your shooting gravity and the level of respect teams provide you. RJ Barrett’s not getting an aggressive closeout. RJ Barrett’s getting left open on the perimeter. So, as far as shooting, spacing and defense, he’s not very good at either. That makes it a complicated fit for us and for other teams. Talent-wise, that’s probably fair. Impactwise, it’s probably a slight overpay because teams don’t view this contract as favorable. If they did, well, the Raptors wouldn’t want to trade him. If they did, he would be probably traded. That’s just the reality of it. I That’s I said enough. There’s going to be hate in the comments. There’s nothing I can do. People love Argue. I like him, too. It’s just we that’s just the honesty coming from myself. Colin Murray Boils, we don’t know much about him. Rookie, ninth overall pick. We’ll put him fair. Emanuel Quickley. Uh how much do I like Emanuel Quickley? That has a big contract. It’s a flat $32.5 million for the next four years. Definitely didn’t play up to that number last season. I think this contract will look better over time, but at the very least, we we have to acknowledge that as at least a slight overpay. We have to also put him in the overpay category. And he’ll probably get the label. He might get the label of most overpaid player on the roster. I think Sandrew Mamu Kalesi signed on pretty much the minimum. That’s fair. Can’t really say anything other than that. Jameson Battle coming into this season, first year entering the season on a standard NBA deal. Jameson Battle be making about $2 million. Can’t say anything other than that being a fair contract for the player. Uh could outperform it this season, but as of right now, can’t say that he is uh going to be making going to be outperforming that deal. We’ll see. Chris Buché is a free agent. He’s currently not getting paid at all by the Raptors, so can’t discuss him. Colin Casten, I expect to get waved. Um, you know, he might get waved and get paid nothing. That still might be an overpay for how poorly he played in summer league, but I’ll be nice. I’ll put him in the wave category down here. Elijah Martin, a two-way deal. Simple. Going to put him into the fair category. Yakob Purle just got that big extension with the Raptors. JaKob Purle this season is going to be making it still though $19.5 million. He’s still on that 19.5 million for this season and the next season. I think he’s worth a lot more than that. I think 19.5 for Yakov Purle is a very large underpay. Uh I think the more people will see Yaka Purle, the more they will realize he is worth the extension he got. But for the time being, he is on $19.5 million. That is a very big underpay for Yaka Pearl. What he brings to the team. Now, when we get to his actual contract kicking in the extension, okay, now we’re talking fair. But for now, that is underpaid. Absolutely. Brandon Ingram starts his contract this season with the Raptors off his extension. He’s been making less than $40 million, $ 38.1 million. I mean, for a guy I thought was going to be in max territory, he came in under what I thought he’d get. I think that’s going to be a player who’s going to showcase to be underpaid. I think he’s got all-star potential this season. That makes him underpaid to me. If he if he if he plays like an all-star on that contract, I will say he’s underpaid, but you could argue he should be in the fair category. He’s definitely not overpaid. Definitely not overpaid for me. That leaves us with Chucky Heburn. He’s on 2A deal. Fair. Ty Deenhart, who’s on exhibit 10 deal. Fair. I don’t think anybody on the roster is very overpaid. I don’t think that. I think that these players can play up to their contracts. Like if Barrett becomes a better three-point shooter defender, he’s more than fair, potentially underpaid. If Scotty Barnes ascends to the stars the star level we want to see and he’s in an all-star conversation, now we’re fair. If Emanuel Quickley showcase be one of the better starting point guards in the NBA, now we’re talking fair. But at this moment, I can’t say they’re in the fair tier here. And I can’t put any I don’t think I don’t think any of them are very overpaid. What this tells us here and because we don’t even know what branding is going to show. What this tells us is that there really aren’t a lot of players on this Raptors team outplaying their contract. For the Raptors to find success this season, we need more players, especially at the top of the roster, to start to outplay their contracts. And I it starts first and foremost with these three players up here. We’ll see how it looks. Hopefully I’ve been fair here. If you disagree with something, let me know in the comments down below. We’ll be back soon for another video here on Amateur Hour Sports.

The Toronto Raptors have a very large payroll at the top of their roster despite only being on the bubble of the NBA playoffs, but how man players are actually overpaid?

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