The Toronto Raptors are riding high after signing back Kyle Lowry in free agency and now any rumors involving trade deals with DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas or Terrence Ross to the NY Knicks are likely off, as the team now has a core to build around and GM Masai Ujiri will be looking to add players to that rather than trading any away.
According to ESPN.com, the Raptors have locked in deals with Lowry as well as Patrick Patterson and that means any potential deal involving DeRozan is off the table most likely. Chris Broussard from ESPN.com wrote on Twitter after the Raptors inked Lowry that the team will not be looking to deal DeRozan, who was an All-Star this year, as Masai Ujiri feels that Lowry and DeRozan could be one of the best duos in the NBA next season.
The Raptors biggest move of the offseason was signing back Lowry on a four-year, $48 million deal and now they really can start building for the future. The team has Lowry back after interest from the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets and he now has the chance to develop into one of the best point guards in basketball. Lowry had a career season with 17.9 points and 7.4 assists per game and he just missed making the All-star team and now the Raptors feel they have a franchise player to build around along with DeRozan and Patterson, who the team also signed to a deal. The Knicks were interested in trading for Lowry last season, but Toronto opted to keep him and now he will stay north of the border for at least the next few years.
The Raptors have already made some moves this offseason, as they have traded Steve Novak to the Utah Jazz and that helps free up some cap space for the team to move around in free agency. The Knicks originally traded Novak to the Raptors in the deal for Andrea Bargnani and while he was no LeBron James while with NY, his absence was felt on the team and that was one reason why they did not make the playoffs. The Raptors also moved a future second round pick to the Jazz in the deal and the team gets a player that has a nonguaranteed $915,000 deal and now they can try and make other moves. Novak still has two years and $7.2 million on his contract and he will now be with the Jazz, who may lose Gordon Hayward in free agency.
Last season the Raptors had a franchise best year and ended up winning 48 games and the division over the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks. Many predicted that the Raptors would end up in the bottom of the east, but they actually improved after trading away Rudy Gay and now they have a foundation for GM Masai Ujiri to build around. The Raptors were a much better defensive team than anyone expected and if they can add some bench players, the team could be a dark horse in the east next season if LeBron or Carmelo head out west.