The Toronto Raptors have signed Kyle Lowry back as a free agent and now trades with players DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross are likely off the table and the team may not get proactive as they try and sign their own free agents, including targets like Pau Gasol, Vince Carter and Shawn Marion.
Many predicted that the Raptors would be rebuilding this season, but that ended up being premature and the trade of Rudy Gay to the Kings was one reason the team turned around. Ujiri inherited some talent and the team got very good seasons out of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, as DeRozan made the All-Star team and Lowry had a career year under Casey. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Raptors priority this offseason is trying to bring back Lowry, who flourished under Casey and may want to stay now that the team has won the division and made it to the playoffs.
The Toronto Raptors are coming off of their most successful season in years and now the focus is on the offseason and Kyle Lowry is at the center of things for GM Masai Ujiri after he signed and now the team is likely not trading players like DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross or Patrick Patterson as they try to keep the success going.
The Raptors lost to the Brooklyn Nets in the postseason, but they showed they are a renewed franchise and after many saw the team tanking for Andrew Wiggins, they ended up doing the exact opposite and making the playoffs. The Knicks nearly traded for Lowry during the season and that would have been a big hit and now the Raptors have to decide what is best for the future as Ujiri gets the chance to build up the team. Clearly Lowry is the centerpiece of the plans and now they are going to build around him. Stein writes that while the team likely will not trade DeRozan, they could listen to offers.
The idea of picking Wiggins, a Canadian star, to the Raptors, a Canadian team, was one of the main reasons why people thought the Raptors would tank in 2013-14, but Ujiri showed that a team can rebuild and play good basketball at the same time. Whether or not he realized the Gay trade would open things up is not clear, but the results sure made an impact for Toronto.
DeRozan is an emerging star and while the team likely will not trade him, they could be tempted with a good enough offer after he averaged 22.7 points to lead the team last season. Lowry was excellent with 17 points and seven assists per game and now he is staying with the Raptor after teams like the Lakers and New York Knicks tried sign him. Vince Carter has been mentioned as a free agent option for the Raptors and they have a young core with Lowry and DeRozan, including Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross and that could be enough to sway some players to sign. Lowry is the key to everything and the Raptors will try and keep him north of the border.
