Toronto Raptors: Previewing the upcoming 2020 free agent class

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Toronto Raptors – Buddy Hield (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Toronto Raptors have a boatload of cap-space available in 2020. Who are some of the potential free agents they might go after?

The Toronto Raptors will enter next free agency as big-time players. They don’t have a ton of cap space for the summer of 2020, because the phrase “a ton” doesn’t do it justice. They have beyond a ton, with more than $60 million in projected space next season.

The Raptors have Norman Powell set to make $11 million, a couple of important cap-holds combining to $24 million, and everyone else projected to make $4 million or less. — Pascal Siakam will, of course, be due for a pay raise next offseason, but his minuscule cap-hold offers the Raptors flexibility to go above the cap while keeping him on the roster.

So what do the Raptors plan to do with their Scrooge McDuck sized pile of money? Well, they have a couple of options.

The most obvious option is to re-sign the players they have. Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and Marc Gasol are all coming off the books. If the Raptors want to compete, the best option may be to look inward and sign a couple of them back for the following season.

They could also roll over their cash to 2021. 2021 is expected to be one of the greatest free agent classes of all time, with players such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bradley Beal, and others available. The Raptors could sign a few one-year deals (perhaps of their own players), and attempt to sign two max guys the following summer.

Or they could attack the class of 2020 (boy it would be a weird article title if I didn’t mention this option). The 2020 class features less in terms of free agent talent than most years, but it also features fewer teams with space than in 2019 or 2021.

Few teams can offer the stability of a top-tier organization, along with hoards of available space. Because of that, the Toronto Raptors may have an advantage on the rest of the market.

Who will Toronto want to go after? They’ll likely want players who are young enough to match up with their current core. The 2020 market is filled with restricted free agents and players who are just below the demarcation of a “star”. If Toronto can add a few interesting pieces, they might be one piece away from truly contending for a title.