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How The Raptors Can Be Creative This Offseason

By Matthew Allman

Mar 28, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) heads up court against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. Oklahoma City defeated Toronto 119-100. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) heads up court against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. Oklahoma City defeated Toronto 119-100. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll (5) centre Jonas Valanciunas (17) guard Kyle Lowry (7) and guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the media day at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Raptors forward DeMarre Carroll (5) centre Jonas Valanciunas (17) guard Kyle Lowry (7) and guard DeMar DeRozan (10) during the media day at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports /

Final Thoughts

Again, sticking to the hypothetical scenario, a challenge would most likely prevent us from both resigning DeRozan and acquiring Durant, that challenge being we would most likely have to resign DeMar before going after KD (assuming my knowledge on salary cap rules are slightly off). Should that be the case, we would have to do one of two things: move DeRozan or move someone else.

The implications and ramifications of dealing DeRozan is actually staggering. On one hand, he just came off a career year and earned the title of All Star for the second time in his career. He would also become the first Raptor to stay with the Raptors for 8 full seasons (surpassing Jose Calderon at 7 seasons and 45 games before being traded to the Detroit Pistons). On the other hand, the playoffs once again exposed DeRozan as a ball stopping volume shooter without a consistent 3-point shot.

The alternative would be to move another player who wouldn’t impact winning or losing during the regular season as much as DeRozan would. That player would be DeMarre Carroll, who spent the majority of the season nursing multiple injuries. We know we didn’t need Carroll to win 56 games this past season, however his presence was felt in the playoffs.

That notwithstanding, having a player like Kevin Durant would ease the loss of either DeRozan or Carroll. How much the Raptors would be willing to sacrifice in order to take the next step would be solely up to Masai Ujiri. He has been known thus far to make the best move for the Raptors, and more importantly, he has finally removed the stigma that the Raptors – and Ujiri-built teams – can’t get out of the first round.

The Raptors have a lot of work to do, and by the time the draft rolls around, we’ll have a better picture of where the Raptors will stand among the elite. And it will take a measure of creativity for them to exceed past this season’s success.

Next: Raptors Win In The Face Of Defeat

All stats are provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise stated. NBA Draft information and stats are provided by NBADraft.net unless otherwise stated. Matthew Allman is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. For more coverage on the Toronto Raptors, follow Matthew on Twitter @ShadowRapsFan and also follow @RaptorsRapture for the latest in Raptors news.

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