Toronto Raptors: 3 players who hurt their contract value in 2020-21
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors will likely end up without playoff basketball for the first season in nearly a decade. For every success story, like Malachi Flynn emerging as a stud and the acquisition of Gary Trent Jr. at the deadline, Toronto had to watch the likes of Stanley Johnson and Aron Baynes eat up big minutes in an already cursed season.
Playing a season in Tampa amid the COVID-19 pandemic already started the Raptors off on the wrong foot, and the losses of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka forced the Raptors to hastily construct this subpar roster. Luckily, Masai Ujiri will get a chance to remake the roster in the offseason, which means that some members of this team will not return.
Several players will be cut loose this offseason as Ujiri looks to get the Raptors in a better spot both financially and competitively. This season will have consequences, however, as some of these prospective free agents will lose plenty of money in their next contracts.
These 3 players spit the bit this season to varying degrees, and it could hurt them when the offseason roles around and they look to continue their NBA journey.
Well, that was quite something, and kind of like the whole season's been
— Doug Smith: Raptors (@SmithRaps) May 7, 2021
Good game, really close, played their guts out, didn't win
Wizards 131, Raptors 129
These 3 Toronto Raptors hurt their contract value.
No. 1: SF Stanley Johnson
A former lottery pick who flunked out with the Detroit Pistons, Johnson played well enough in 2019-20 to earn another contract with Toronto. While he has started 56 games this season, those starts are out of necessity instead of merit, and he has been extremely poor at times this season on offense.
Johnson is scoring just 3.3 points per game and is making just 37% of the shots. In just shy of 30 minutes against the Washington Wizards, Johnson recorded a whopping ZERO points. Essentially, the Raptors are playing 4-on-5 whenever Johnson is in the game. All of the goodwill he engendered has slipped away.
Stanley Johnson is struggling to stick with the Toronto Raptors.
Johnson is still getting NBA chances because there is the potential that he could become a quality stretch four due to his size and defensive hustle. Unfortunately, despite being given plenty of opportunities to right that worrying trend, Johnson has fallen flat on his face, and his NBA future is in doubt.
Johnson has been coasting on his status as a lottery pick, as his production has not warranted getting a chance like this with Toronto. With Johnson having failed to live up to expectations in Detroit, barely getting on the floor in New Orleans, and having blown his golden ticket in Toronto, Johnson might need to look elsewhere to extend his basketball career.