With combined salaries of just over $139 million, the Toronto Raptors rank fourth in the league in total payroll. How do the team’s contracts rank individually?
For the second consecutive year, the Toronto Raptors are in the driver’s seat for the Eastern Conference. Sitting atop the East yet again, the team is being led by several players with large contracts and a breakout player that is still under one of the most team-friendly deals in the league.
Currently, the Raptors carry the fourth-highest financial commitment in the NBA at $139 million. The three teams ahead of them: The Miami Heat ($158 mil), the Oklahoma City Thunder($147 mil), and the Golden State Warriors ($146 mil).
Strong moves from Raptors’ President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri have given the team a platform for current success. Considering they’re as good as anyone not named Golden State, fourth is a relatively reasonable payroll.
With the Kawhi Leonard trade before the year, the franchise embraced a ‘win-now’ mentality. Win-now teams tend to be expensive and have expensive, good veteran players. If Kawhi Leonard were to leave next season, the team would be multiple expensive veterans heading into the 2019-20 season, with little wiggle room to make an impactful move.
How does each player’s current contract look though? Each contract can be ranked by looking at the player’s impact, relative to the amount of money they’re being paid.
Ahead, we will take a look at where each player on the Raptors’ roster stacks up regarding overall value to the team’s success.