And now the hard part. Or maybe the interesting part. But definitely the business part.
The Toronto Raptors had less than 12 hours to process their six-month season and seven-game playoff series coming to a sudden halt on Sunday night in Cleveland before going through their post-season medicals, exit interviews and saying their collective goodbyes in Toronto on Monday morning.
Even if you knew the possibility of it was coming – by definition a Game 7 is win or go home – it hits hard when it does.
“It’s a little bit of sad. It’s a little bit, we didn’t know it would come so soon. It was a bit of an abrupt ending,” said Brandon Ingram as the Raptors gathered to say their farewells at the OVO Athletic Centre. “So we enjoyed each other on the plane last night, played cards, listened to music. Just enjoying our last time together before the off-season came about.”
It’s here and there are subjects that can’t be avoided. For all of the fresh air and bright light that the Raptors’ better-than-expected, 46-win season (a 16-win jump from the year before) and fight-to-the-end, first-round showing against Cleveland provided, the goal from this point to the start of training camp next season is to be a better team than they are today.
There are plenty of avenues for that. Second-year wing Ja’Kobe Walter – whose post-all-star breakout showed signs of being sustainable in the playoffs – pledged to tighten up his diet and be more intentional about adding strength and size to his wiry frame. Immanuel Quickley said the next few days would be about identifying two or three things that he can add to his game – once his balky hamstring heals up – and drilling down on those, rather than casting his net as wide as he has in the past. Collin Murray-Boyles expects to spend long stretches of his off-season in Toronto working with the Raptors coaching staff, trying to accelerate his development after a rookie season that was even better than he was hoping for.
But for all the Raptors’ promise, there are some challenges as general manager Bobby Webster tries to look for areas and means of improving a team that will be expected to make the playoffs in what will likely be an even more competitive Eastern Conference a year from now.
A number of contractual commitments that had the Raptors hemmed in at the trade deadline could continue to be obstacles as they try to optimize a roster around Scottie Barnes, who showed superstar stuff against the Cavs. He served as a defensive game-breaker, primary playmaker and leading scorer, averaging 24.1 points, 8.6 assists and 6.1 rebounds in the series.
As an example, leading up to trade deadline in February, the Raptors were working hard to try and make a deal that would land them Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Memphis Grizzlies before he was ultimately traded to the Utah Jazz in a package that included three first round picks, according to multiple league sources. The sticking point was finding someone to take on Jakob Poeltl’s four years and $104 million the 30-year-old has owed to him.
Given Poeltl was out for an extended period with a bad back at the time, the interest, let’s say, was tepid, with the Austrian centre getting buzz as having one of most untradeable contracts in the league.
On the positive side of the ledger, Poeltl said on Monday that the back issues which limited him to a career-low 44 games were a non-issue after the all-star break and during the playoffs. On the negative side, even while healthy, Poeltl often looked overmatched against the Cavs in his first taste of playoff action in six seasons.
It seems likely that the market for Poeltl and his deal would remain clunky and require significant draft capital to make something happen.
The same would be true to a lesser degree with Quickley (four years and $130 million remaining) and Ingram (two years and $82 million), each of whom had positive regular seasons but were either injured (Quickley) or ineffective and injured (Ingram) in the playoffs. Quickley was in the trade market at the deadline and given how well the Raptors played even while Ingram struggled against the Cavs before missing most of Game 5 and all of Games 6 and 7 with heel inflammation, maybe they would consider using Ingram’s contract if they could somehow find an upgrade — which is no guarantee given he led the Raptors in scoring this past season.
And then there’s RJ Barrett, who the Raptors were very much open to trading in February, only to have him emerge as their second-best player in the playoffs. His seventh NBA season was his best, and the 25-year-old got stronger as the campaign went along, averaging 20.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists with an effective field goal percentage of 55.7 (compared to his career average of 50.1 and league average of 54.6).
The series against Cleveland was an even better showcase as he averaged 24.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists with an eFG of 54.2 per cent, even after shooting 9-of-25 as the Raptors were forced to play catch-up in the second half of Game 7. Defensively — not always Barrett’s strong point — he held up well guarding up a position or two against Cavs centre Jarrett Allen and used his sturdy six-foot-seven frame to good effect in stretches against burly Cavs point guard James Harden.
Barrett took on a leadership role as the season went along, being vocal behind the scenes and on the floor and even being willing at times to step up physically as the temperature of the Cavs series inevitably escalated as it went along.
Oh, and he means it when he says he wants to play here long term.
“I think that this is the easier question for me to answer because I’m from here and who doesn’t want to play at home?” he said Monday when asked about a possible contract extension heading into the final year of his deal.
“So of course I’m trying to stay here. I understand the business, but I want to stay here. I have no problem saying that. I want to be here. I want to be here for the rest of my career. I don’t ever want to leave … I don’t have any problems openly saying that.
“So that’s out of my control. I’ve done my part on the court this year, and I will continue to do my part, so, just hope thinks work out that way.”
In normal circumstances, Barrett would be an obvious candidate for a significant contract extension as he enters the last year of his current deal, with $29.6 million left on the books for 2026-27.
But as laid out above, the Raptors aren’t exactly swimming in short-term contracts the rest of the league is lining up to take off their hands if they want to reshape their roster or give themselves some future financial flexibility.
Meanwhile with Barrett coming off a strong season and with only one year left on his deal, his might be the contract the Raptors would be able to move most easily if it came to that.
But let’s not forget too that the Raptors have shown themselves to be a competitive team in the East.
Whatever move they make should, you know, actually make the team better next season rather than at some vague point in the future.
And have we mentioned that Sandro Mamukelashvili seems likely to exercise his player option and become a free agent after performing well (11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds while shooting 38.9 per cent from three in a career-high 21.9 minutes per game) in his first chance at being a rotation player?
Mamukelashvili also indicated his preference is to return: “I really want to be back,” he said Monday. “I love Toronto, I love the people, I love the organization, coach Darko (Rajakovic). I think he was a guy that gave me a chance to go out there and be myself.”
Even if the Raptors opt for continuity — completely reasonable given the success they had, the potential for internal improvement and the entanglements their current pay structure represents — finding money for Mamukelashvili isn’t as easy as writing a cheque.
On a team challenged for perimeter shooting and players that fit well around Barnes, there is no reason to believe the Raptors won’t want to bring Mamukelashvili back, but they don’t have a lot of wiggle room to work with (yes, this is a recurring theme).
Something in the $6-million range would likely keep the Raptors under the tax for next season but he might get more from others. The Raptors could likely free up more money by trading 2023 first-round pick Gradey Dick into another team’s cap space this summer, something the third-year wing would be amenable to, per sources, given he was locked out of meaningful minutes after the all-star break.
Add it all up and it’s a bit of a tricky spot: the Raptors have gotten better, Barnes has taken a leap and the expectations are only going to be higher from here.
But their financial maneuverability remains limited and whatever moves they make can’t easily be sold as lateral or taking one step back to take two forward in the future.
It was an enjoyable, refreshing season, but keeping the momentum rolling will be a tough needle to thread.