Now the Toronto Raptors are starting a new chapter without Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, where do they rank in the Eastern Conference?
The departures of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have left a significant hole in the Toronto Raptors starting lineup. Along with losing two of their best players, the Raptors have watched the Eastern Conference improve all around them.
Winning their first-ever NBA title in the 2018-19 season, the Raptors put the sword into a number of up and coming teams in the East, including the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams added to their already impressive rosters this season, both should look for revenge against the current NBA champions.
The Eastern Conference has fallen short in the past few years in terms of talent, compared to the West, with a large quantity of the games best players residing in the Western Conference. The likes of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and James Harden all made their names in the West, and now the Los Angeles Clippers have added Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to their roster, the West just got even stronger.
There were waves made by the East, too. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving shocked the world by teaming up and joining the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. Durant, likely, won’t see the court next season but expect fireworks when the two share the court.
Even without Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green on the roster, the Raptors still have a talented team full of hungry players. Most importantly, it’s a team full of champions. Sure, Leonard and Green helped tip the Raptors over the edge, but every Raptor that played in the playoffs showed up when they needed it the most.
The Eastern Conference could prove to be a cauldron of talent this season, but where do the Toronto Raptors rank in all the chaos?
Here’s the top five.
5. Boston Celtics
What was anticipated to be a chaotic offseason in Boston has some far rung true. The Celtics lost out on Kyrie Irving, who decided to join the Nets after a nightmare two seasons in Boston. Danny Ainge and co. knew for months that Irving would be on his way out of the team.
However, no one really expected the Celtics to replace him with Kemba Walker. That one came as a shock. Walker signed a 4-year $140million max contract with the Celtics at the beginning of free agency and will make almost as much in his first year with the Celtics as he did in his whole tenure with the Charlotte Hornets. Good for him.
Going in the other direction is Terry Rozier, who was paid $56million by the Hornets, because…reasons. The Celtics did well by avoiding to pay Rozier that themselves, so that counts as a victory.
What doesn’t count as a victory, though is the loss of Al Horford — more on his landing spot later. Horford was the defensive anchor of one of the best defensive teams in the league during his time with the Celtics.
Boston replaced Horford with Enes Kanter, who is a great rebounder and finisher around the rim. In terms of the value that Horford brought to the table, though, there’s no comparison. Kanter has never projected as a great rim protector, averaging 0.4 blocks per game in his career. Kanter is an obvious downgrade vs a center like Horford, who can switch out onto the perimeter defensively.
At 26 years of age, he still has room to improve and under the tutelage of Brad Stevens, it’s definitely possible.
Besides that, the Celtics still have a roster full of talent that could well develop into All-NBA talent. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown occupy the wing spots and Marcus Smart looked like one of the best defenders in all of the NBA last season, they could be great.
Ainge knocked it out of the park in the draft too, picking up Grant Williams, Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards, and Tremont Waters all in different spots. All could potentially play a role for the Celtics this season.
Losing Al Horford and Kyrie Irving is just too big to ignore, though.
4. Indiana Pacers
The big acquisition for the Indiana Pacers this offseason was the signing of former Milwaukee Bucks guard, Malcolm Brogdon.
Brogdon signed a huge 4-year $85million contract with the Pacers this offseason, one which the Milwaukee Bucks had no interest in matching, which could prove to be a strange decision down the line.
Still, this is about the Pacers and while they lost two big contributors in Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic, they might have improved the overall quality of their team, even if the depth leaves a little to be desired.
Indiana seems content with deploying a big frontcourt with Myles Turner and Domantis Sabonis at the four and five this season. The two have had trouble adjusting when on the court together at times in the past, but if Nate McMillan figures out a way in which both can be productive then the Pacers could be on to something special.
Turner is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year contender and a solid stretch five, while Sabonis is one of the best rebounders in the game. If there’s a way you can have both on the court at the same time, you do it.
Adding the highly-touted Jeremy Lamb turned out to be a good deal for the Pacers too. Lamb shot just under 35-percent from three on four attempts per game last season, not to mention the fact he killed the Toronto Raptors with a 40-feet buzzer beater late in the regular season.
The Pacers can possess a highly switchable backcourt with a dominating frontcourt this season, and that’s all before Victor Oladipo returns to the fold. Oladipo was a stud before falling to a ruptured tendon in his quad against the Raptors in January.
If he returns to the team healthy and raring to go, the Pacers could be one of the surprise packages in the NBA.
3. Toronto Raptors
Yes, this team did get significantly weaker due to the departure of the Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard.
And yes, they did also lose their starting shooting guard and one of the best three-point shooters in the league, Danny Green. The Raptors picked up some nice rotational pieces this offseason, namely Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson.
The Raptors look to keep their defensive identity intact, and with two big forwards added to the roster, that’s certainly in play.
Champions still remain on the roster, as well as young players who are ready or at least on the cusp of breaking out. Pascal Siakam was just crowned the NBA’s Most Improved Player of 2018-19 and looks to be the face of the Raptors franchise for the coming years. He still has room to grow but the signs are there; Siakam could well be an All-NBA player in a few years.
Sure, a large portion of the roster is hitting an aging curve. Both Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry are in their thirties even though their playing styles have changed, both still remain highly productive NBA players. While Kawhi Leonard was a large reason why the Toronto Raptors won their first ever NBA championship in June, he didn’t do it all by himself.
A lot of the Raptors payroll ends this year, with Lowry, Siakam, Gasol, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka all coming off of the books this time next year. Siakam could be receiving a max extension soon, but the rest may well be playing for their next big payday. They all deserve it, they’re NBA champions by design, not by fate.
The Raptors will presumably be one of the top dogs in the Eastern Conference once more, but this time they’ll be playing with a chip on their shoulder. They won’t be the premier team in the NBA, but they won’t lie down for anyone.
Still, the third seed seems like a best-case scenario for the Raptors.
2. Milwaukee Bucks
The big change for the Bucks was the aforementioned loss of Malcolm Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers, a huge potentially huge blow for last years Eastern Conference Runners-up.
As long as Giannis Antetokounmpo — the reigning MVP — remains on the roster, the Bucks have the chance to go back to the Eastern Conference Finals once again, only looking to go one step further this time.
The roster remains much the same, but for the loss of Brogdon. Khris Middleton was re-signed to a 5-year $178million contract, locking him into a future with the Bucks. Potentially one without Giannis.
Milwaukee didn’t need to tinker with their roster too much, adding Robin Lopez to the team while bringing back his brother, Brook. The Bucks needed center help last season, once they signed Pau Gasol, he suffered a season-ending injury, so Robin Lopez provides insurance in that department.
The Bucks identity is built around Giannis and putting shooters around him, allowing him to attack the rim in space. When he gets going, disaster spells for opposing teams. Losing Brogdon, their best shooter last season hurts but replacing him with Wesley Matthews at least plugs a gap for now.
The roster Milwaukee have in place is good enough to make it to the NBA Finals, especially with Antetokounmpo leading the team. The money is in place and the Bucks look invested in the duo of Giannis and Middleton moving forward.
Now is the time for the Bucks, but one team looks to stand in their way in the East.
1. Philadelphia 76ers
Despite losing Jimmy Butler, the Philadelphia 76ers might have had one of the best offseasons in the NBA.
In the sign-and-trade that sent Butler to the Miami Heat, the Sixers picked up Josh Richardson, while other pieces were sent to the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Now, after re-signing Tobias Harris to a monster 5-year $180million contract and signing Al Horford to a 4-year $109million deal, the Sixers possess the biggest starting line-up in the league, with the 6-foot-6 Josh Richardson being the smallest player.
At this point, the Sixers look like the runaway favorites in the Eastern Conference, bucking the trend of teams going small by going in the completely opposite direction. It’s a direction that may well work. The Sixers startled the Raptors with their length in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, and but for the first-ever Game 7 buzzer-beater, may have well gone on to win the NBA Finals.
Alas, they look for redemption this year. The frontcourt of Joel Embiid and Horford will terrify opposing teams, and given that we’ve seen Embiid occasionally switch out onto the perimeter, the flexibility of this team is frightening.
The Sixers are running it back with the most talented roster in the league, from top to bottom. Re-signing James Ennis, who turned into their best bench player last season, on such a team-friendly deal is a great pick-up.
It’s only fair to mention Ben Simmons at some point too, the point forward is one of the most devastating players in the game — even without a jump shot — and looks set to take on a large portion of ball-handling duties this season.
There’s now an adequate amount of floor spacing on the team, even without J.J. Redick, who took his talents to New Orleans.
It’s only July and nothing is set in stone, but the Philadelphia 76ers look like the best team in the Eastern Conference. Maybe in all of the league.