The five best value contracts for the Toronto Raptors

4. Stanley Johnson

Stanley Johnson has had an up and down start to his NBA career.  After being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, Johnson wasn’t extended a qualifying offer by the team, and as a result, became an unrestricted free agent. With that freedom, he decided to take his talents to Canada and sign with the Raptors.

He signed a two-year deal worth $7.5 million, with the second year having a player option. Unfortunately, Johnson’s option puts the Raptors in a bad position for year two. If he plays well, he hit free agency one year sooner. If he struggles, the Raptors are stuck paying him for one more year.

Even with a player option in the second year, Johnson provides great upside for the Raptors.

Johnson’s bread and butter is on the defensive side of the floor. He has the size to play either forward position at 6-foot-7 , and with long limbs and top-end athleticism, he has the tangibles to individually lock-in like few players in the league.  Last season, he finished11th out of 92 qualified small forwards in defensive real plus-minus. 

To put that into perspective, Kawhi Leonard finished  43 in the same stat. RPM isn’t everything, but a ranking of 11 among all qualifying small forwards is encouraging.

Johnson has the potential replacement for Kawhi on the defensive end; offense might be another story.

Johnson averaged 6.9 points on 39-percent from the field and 29-percent from three-point range last season. He’s never been an efficient scorer, failing to average more than nine points per game at any point in his career. He’s also never posted an effective field goal percentage above league average.

With that said, If he can develop into even a serviceable offensive player, the Raptors could have a bargain.

Stanley Johnson’s contract could end up being of great value for Toronto. They will have a lockdown defender for a minuscule cost as the team hopes to groom his offensive game to their playing style.