https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgyJSt8vxfI
Raptors have officially been eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. pic.twitter.com/BGsjozYHnw
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 11, 2021
Offseason moves for the Toronto Raptors – Choices on Kyle Lowry, Gary Trent Jr. – ESPN
The past two free agent periods have proved that there are other resources to acquire high-level players outside of cap space.
In 2019, the Miami Heat had zero cap space but were able to acquire Jimmy Butler in a complex sign-and-trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. The same applied for the Houston Rockets this past November when they acquired free agent Christian Wood.
For Lowry, the sign-and-trade option comes into play if the pool of teams with cap space dry up or the Raptors elect to go in a different direction and not sign him. Although the sign-and-trade is an option, it requires cooperation from the Raptors.
Right now, only two playoff teams — Miami and the New York Knicks — both project to have room and need a point guard.
The Heat were a possible Lowry destination at the trade deadline and, despite having room to sign Lowry outright, Miami could end up as a sign-and-trade partner (which would allow the Heat to operate as an over-the-cap team and retain free agent Victor Oladipo, Trevor Ariza or exercise the team option of Andre Iguodala).
A package centering on Goran Dragic works, but that would see Toronto punting on free agency. Dragic has a $19.4 million contract (his team option would be exercised) which would eliminate what the Raptors have in cap space.
There is also the obstacle that Lowry would have to sign a three-year contract (only the first year needs to be guaranteed) and the receiving team would now be hard capped.
Who is this year’s Ben Uzoh? What we’d like to see in the Raptors’ final games – The Athletic
A little more from Trent
Gary Trent Jr. has been solid since arriving from Portland. He’s mostly come as advertised, offering scoring at two levels without much pressure on the rim, the type of game that will be prone to fluctuations based on 3-point variance. Trent has nudged his scoring average up higher in Toronto thanks in part to being afford a lot more opportunities inside the arc. Those are big for his development, and so you can accept the shift to a less efficient shot profile through the lens of skill-based reps. He’s been good enough that the Raptors risked letting him achieve a higher qualifying offer for this summer.
You’d like to see more. In part because he rarely looks to pass, Trent has the lowest turnover rate among qualified players this year. That’s great, but controlling for his level of usage, he also has a fourth-percentile assist rate among wings, according to data from Cleaning The Glass. Even with a spike in his defensive rebounding rate, his box score contribution is largely just points, and his defence has been below the team’s standards (while flashing potential for more).
Trent is going to get paid this summer. Scoring is valuable, especially when it comes with a large track record of 3-point shooting. To shift from a guy they’d like to keep around to a fringe part of the core group, Trent will have to start adding layers to his game beyond scoring.
SIMMONS: Tanenbaum says contract talks with Masai will begin next week | Toronto Sun
And his pending free agency, frankly, is significantly more important than that of Kyle Lowry or any other Raptor whose contract status for the future is in question.
This is Ujiri’s eighth season running the Raptors and what a run it has been. Seven playoff seasons in a row before this one. The delivery of the championship he promised when first hired, maybe the most unlikely and inexplicable NBA championship in history. And the only Toronto big league title of the past 27 years.
That alone, in any NBA climate in which executives and coaches are paid at corporate CEO levels, would assure Ujiri of being able to write his own tickets with the Raptors, especially considering MLSE has hardly been shy about paying its top-level employees.
Really, this should be a fill-in-the-blanks kind of negotiation. How many years? How much money? How much freedom for involvement in other projects?
What exactly does Ujiri want in his life beyond basketball and beyond this season? Does he want more involvement for his work in Africa? Does he want more time for the social causes he is so believing in? More family time? Is his intrigue with the NBA as passionate as it once was?
So much of that he has kept to himself, distanced essentially from the local media and even national media this season, and no matter how many times he has been asked about the future, he has never completely given a clear answer.
Now, within a few weeks, there should be some kind of answer. Ujiri will return to Toronto early next week and, about the same time, he is expected to sit down with Tanenbaum, who may be a minority owner of the Raptors and the Maple Leafs, but is far more influential in the operation of the franchises than his corporate partners, Bell and Rogers.
anenbaum has made no secret in the past that he doesn’t expect Ujiri to leave the Raptors, but he wasn’t nearly so provocative when asked directly about the situation yesterday. That could mean he isn’t sure about where this is going or it could mean that he isn’t saying — which is likely — yet the future, both immediate and long-term with the Raptors, remains sightly unsettled. And the securing of Ujiri is the single most important work the Raptors will need to accomplish rather quickly.
Ujiri has had opportunities to leave the Raptors for other NBA teams in the past and he has never really cashed in on them. But this could well be something different. Not about running another NBA team — he’s doing that right now with his favourite team in a city his family has adored — but about some other kind of work or vision.
NBA Power Rankings – The races and players we’re watching closely in the final week
This Week: 24
Last Week: 21Toronto is playing out the string, spending what (hopefully) will be its final week without being able to play at Scotiabank Arena before heading into the offseason. It’s been a frustrating and disappointing season for the Raptors, who have dealt with myriad injuries in addition to having their season derailed by COVID-19 shortly before the All-Star break. Now they’ll be hoping to find some lottery luck next month. — Bontemps
This Week: 24
Last Week: 2227-41, +0.3 net rating
Weekly slate: Loss at Clippers, Loss to Wizards, Loss to GrizzliesWhere they started the season: 11th
Was the prediction correct? Not even close. I predicted newly acquired Toronto Raptors big man Aron Baynes would knock down 100 3-pointers in the shortened season. As of publishing these Power Rankings, he’s made 22 3-pointers in 50 games. Twenty-two. The Baynes signing hasn’t really worked out, but not much for the Raptors has worked out this season so I’m not sure how much we should hammer Baynes for that. He didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well and prolifically as we saw last season with Phoenix. I think we’ll see him bounce back next season. I’m just not sure where he’ll be.
What changed from preseason assessment? Everything went terribly wrong for the Raptors. They had to spend their home time in Tampa Bay. Guys were in and out of the lineup with injuries and protocol for healthy and safety. Some players went through massive swoons. This just wasn’t really a fair season for the Raptors to endure, in a time in which not much fairness seems to be available in general. The interesting thing moving forward will be seeing just how much this season affects their plans for the future. Will they trust Pascal Siakam as the top guy? Will Kyle Lowry look for a new team? Is Masai Ujiri going to be there long-term? If they bring back the core, they’ll be back to their winning ways next season.
Why are they ranked here? Another bad week for the Raptors. They drop a couple of spots because of it.
This Week: 24
Last Week: 23The Raptors lost to the Clippers, Wizards and Grizzlies this week to effectively end any hopes of a play-in spot, which they seem to be OK with given their pattern of resting good players. Pascal Siakam, one of the few Raptor regulars to play all three games this week, averaged 28.7 points and seven rebounds, while Fred VanVleet added 24.5 points and nine assists per game.
Power Rankings, Week 21: Sixers finish at No. 1 as season wraps up | NBA.com
This Week: 23
Last Week: 21Record: 27-41
Pace: 99.6 (14) OffRtg: 112.0 (14) DefRtg: 111.7 (15) NetRtg: +0.3 (16)The door to the Play-In was slightly ajar for the Raptors, but they cared not to walk through, sitting Kyle Lowry (coming off a huge performance against the Lakers) for all three of their games last week. The skeleton crew kept it competitive against the Clippers, Wizards and Grizzlies, because they have to maintain that positive point differential (currently +13 for the season). As they stand, the Raptors have the lowest winning percentage in NBA history for a team that has outscored its opponents over the course of the season. To keep that distinction, they can’t win more than two of their four remaining games (or else they’d pass the 34-48, 1976-77 Suns) and can’t get outscored by more than 12 points over the next seven days. If any team can thread that needle, it’s this one.
With neither Lowry nor team president Masai Ujiri under contract beyond this season, it could be a pivotal summer for the Raptors. No matter what happens, they have three critical and experienced pieces — OG Anunoby (24 in July), Pascal Siakam (27) and Fred VanVleet (27) — under contract long-term. That group, no matter who it’s surrounded by, is one of the best defensive trios in the league (with significant skill on offense too) and will continue to keep the Raptors competitive to a certain degree. So bri
GANTER: Raptors’ Siakam reflects on a tough year all around | Toronto Sun
The season began without Nate Bjorkgren, the long-time friend and trusted assistant to Nick Nurse who took over the job in Indianapolis.
Midway through the year, Chris Finch, another long-time associate and a key assistant this past season, left to take over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But on Monday came a report — confirmed by Nurse — that Sergio Scariolo, another assistant with a key role, was signing a multi-year extension to remain in Toronto.
“I’m happy.” Nurse said. “I think he brings a wealth of knowledge. We’ve fit together really well. I move him around a bit as far as strategy and what he’s covering. He’s been a head coach for such a long time he knows all aspects and both sides of the ball. It’s good.”
Nurse didn’t wind up replacing Finch when he left for Minny, but he admitted he’s in the market to fill that chair this off-season.
“We’re gonna add,” he said. “I always look down three avenues: One would be guys with a lot of head-coaching experience or super-experienced, long-time assistants, very veteran NBA assistants, or promoting from within is always the third avenue as well. I’m looking in all three of those right now.”
In addition to his role in the Raptors organization, Scariolo remains the head coach of the Spanish national senior ,en’s program, which has been so successful over the years.
