The Toronto Raptors will undoubtedly try to pull off some economical free agency moves this offseason, as the Raptors are looking to get back to the postseason after an unlucky 2020-21 relegated them to the lottery for the first time in almost a decade.
The Raptors haven’t been regarded as a marquee free agent destination for most of their career, meaning that they have tried to lure free agents to Canada with some expensive contracts. While they have been able to pull in some quality additions over the years, there are some ugly misses across the history of this team.
The Raptors have, at one point or another, fallen into all sorts of pitfalls in free agency. be it overpaying for fading stars past their prime, investing too much in young players that didn’t develop as they believed they would, or adding role players at a price way above market value, Toronto has done it all at one point or another.
While Masai Ujiri helped the Raptors clean up their act, eventually, that doesn’t erase some of the mistakes of yesteryear. These 3 contracts, put on the books via either a garden variety signing or a sign-and-trade, stand out as some of the worst in the history of this franchise.
These are the 3 worst free agent contracts in Toronto Raptors history.
3. DeMarre Carroll: 4 years, $60 million, 2015
You can count on one hand the number of bad moves the exceptional Ujiri has made, but this is one of them. After two of the finest offensive seasons of his career with those Mike Budenholzer-led Hawks teams, the Raptors gave Carroll a princely sum in order to make the transition up north.
After getting $15 million per year, a figure that would still be questionable for a player with his stats in 2021, Carroll lasted just two seasons in Toronto, as he was soon shipped off to the Nets in a salary dump trade that forced the Raptors to surrender two future draft picks in order to get rid of him.
The Raptors have agreed to trade DeMarre Carroll and two future draft picks to the Nets. https://t.co/8Y43FjMWTF
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 9, 2017
DeMarre Carroll didn’t translate his Hawks stats to the Toronto Raptors
Carroll averaged just 9.4 points per game while making less than 40% of his shots during his two seasons in Toronto. Whatever value he added from a defensive point of view was negated by his poor shooting on the offensive side.
Just to twist the knife even further, Carroll became an important part of Brooklyn’s revival, setting a new career-high in points per game while getting D’Angelo Russell back to the playoffs. Carroll’s raw averages escape him from a higher place on this list, though it is inarguable his contract ranks among Toronto’s worst ever.