The Raptors have failed, again, in the NBA playoffs. What can Masai Ujiri do to keep this team on the path to a championship?
All of us who are passionate fans of the Toronto Raptors are feeling quite miserable at the moment, and likely will for many more moments (and hours, and days…) to come. To be unceremoniously booted from the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers is bad enough, but to be swept, again, adds insult to injury.

Nevertheless, the Raptors will be back next fall for another go. I don’t know what the 2018-19 roster is going to look like, but we’re going to speculate all summer.
We’ll be drilling down on many topics during the too-long off-season (our team should be playing until June!). Let me offer my position on the questions which are top of mind for so many.
Should Dwane Casey be shown the door?
Yes, but with a twist. I’d like to see Nick Nurse as head coach, with Dwane lead assistant and defensive specialist. That notion might prove awkward. Is there room in the front office for another suit, even if a title has to be manufactured? I’d like to keep Dwane, a quality mind and person, in the organization.
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Casey is the best Raptors coach ever, and it’s not close. However, I’m unconvinced he’s truly committed to the nature of the new NBA. This league’s future belongs to the offensive squads, not the Grit-N-Grind defenders. If there’s a ceiling on the number of 3-point attempts and makes, it hasn’t been discovered yet.
Should Masai decide Nurse isn’t ready, then a couple of things are likely to occur:
- Jerry Stackhouse is offered the big job.
- Nurse and other coaches, like Rex Kalamian, pack their bags.
Will DeRozan and Lowry be given another chance?
I doubt it very much. How can you say “all is forgiven” and bring them back when a 59-win season is followed by a second-round flameout? The stars were aligned for Toronto to come out of the East and challenge for a championship. That opportunity is gone now, and may not return for some time. Philadelphia and Boston are likely to be better than the Raptors next season, and Indiana has proven it will be an interesting squad. Those Cleveland guys aren’t bad either.
Can we expect trades?
At the moment, the Raptors have no draft selections, so improvement isn’t on the horizon from that source. Toronto is hard-capped, though I expect Masai will work his way out of that status in the same manner he did last summer, i.e., by dumping high-priced players on teams below the salary cap in exchange for a spare part or two, and a pick.
This isn’t the venue for being more specific; I’m merely suggesting the likelihood of a cash-clearing trade.
Who will form the new core?
There’s an excellent question, and one I and others here at the Rapture will attempt to answer in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned
This off-season is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic in Raptors history. We don’t know yet when the play is going to start, nor who it will feature – but we will. In the meantime, your friends at the Rapture will provide you with lots of things to think about.
Finally, I’ll answer the question posed in the title – No, this defeat is not a mortal blow, but it is a setback, and a large one.