The Toronto Raptors are not in a very advantageous position right now. While they have young talent like Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick to build around, the impending free agency sagas that will impact Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. could stand to tear this team apart.
Masai Ujiri appears to be ready to give this core one more big try before throwing his hands up and admitting defeat. If the latter situation happens, Ujiri will likely have no fear of taking a sledgehammer to the roster in pursuit of a more sustainable winner.
The Raptors have very few players that are firmly entrenched on this roster. Many of the team’s best players are in a position to bolt the team, like Fred VanVleet in free agency, and some of the less amazing performers could be cast aside in favor of someone else with a similar ceiling.
The current Raptors roster is likely going to look much different in 2024, as a substandard season might finally be the catalyst that sparks change. Which players will be locked into the 2024 roster, and which ones need to start looking for new apartments?
Which Toronto Raptors will stay on the 2023-24 roster?
Tier 3: Start looking elsewhere, just in case
Kevin Obanor/Mouhamadou Gueye/Ron Harper Jr/Javon Freeman-Liberty: 10%
Jeff Dowtin/Garrett Temple/Malachi Flynn: 15%
Otto Porter Jr/Thad Young: 20%
Gary Trent Jr: 30%
The Exhibit 10 and two-way players all have promise individually, but it takes quite the Herculean effort for someone with their status (or lack of same) within the league to last long with their original team. Freeman-Liberty’s scoring skill might give him a slightly better chance of surviving than the other three.
While Dowtin showed great promise last season, he is hardly regarded as an essential part of the team’s future. Temple is likely a one-year stopgap that is going to provide some veteran leadership, while Flynn will assuredly get a chance to reboot his career away from Toronto.
Will Gary Trent Jr. remain with the Toronto Raptors?
The fact that Young was not ditched when the offseason began speaks to how the front office seems to value what he brings to the table, mainly off the court. Porter has been beaten up quite frequently with injuries, meaning that he will need a terrific 2023 season to convince the front office to stick with him.
Trent is the type of player that Toronto needs more of, and he is still a very young player, but it is hard to see a future in which Barnes, one of Anunoby or Siakam, and Trent all get nine-figure contracts. Still, the Raptors could lock Trent up long-term if some of the big names leave.