Garrett Temple re-signing feels good but further highlights Raptors’ offseason limits

On the evening of June 28, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania announced on X that 39-year-old journeyman Garrett Temple was working to sign a one-year, $3.6 million deal to stay with the Toronto Raptors for a third stint —marking his 16th NBA season overall.

Temple, one of the oldest active NBA players, also serves as Vice President of the National Basketball Players Association (or NBPA). His numerous stints across the league have made him one of the most respected veterans in the game.

This wealth of experience and leadership has also helped Temple build a strong rapport with his young Raptors teammates; making the move a necessary step that, while it might not look special on paper, ensures that a respected voice remains in Toronto's locker room.

And just earlier tonight, veteran Raptors insider Michael Grange of Sportsnet reported on X that Temple's deal is, in fact, confirmed for Toronto, and the end of his post reveals a very telling tale of Toronto's offseason intentions going forward.

As free agency moves are being announced left and right, the Raptors' lone move thus far has been the Temple re-signing, which is indicative of their limited ability to make any real improvements to the roster by signing talent.

Raptors re-sign Garrett Temple, but tight roster limits are still clear

As such, ESPN's Bobby Marks posted a helpful graphic on X illustrating Toronto's cap space issues, highlighting how they project among the most financially constrained franchises in the league — despite not being considered one of the more competitive teams.

While it's certainly good news for the locker room to have Temple back, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't quite a needle-mover for the Raptors' competitive nature going forward. And the sad reality is, the Raptors are pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to their offseason flexibility.

Note though, Toronto can still sign free agents to minimum deals or use their $5.7M tax MLE (mid-level exception), but as it currently stands, their roster would be quickly nearing full capacity.

The Raptors will either need to start trading guys — like RJ Barrett or Ochai Agbaji — to improve their roster, waive their non-guarantees, or find another way to open up some cap space for additional deals.

Put simply, Garrett Temple might end up being the Raptors' "big fish" of the offseason if they cannot navigate their current roster constraints.