Here in late August, the NBA offseason hasn't been defined by blockbuster moves, but we’ve still seen some key moves worth noting — like Peyton Watson joining the Cavaliers, which has dominated recent headlines. But over the past few days, there’s been more free agency activity involving two of the top young players still looking for deals in the market.
Those two gentlemen in question are Bennedict Mathurin and Jonathan Kuminga.
And while the expected price tag for these players wasn’t supposed to be “blow-away” money, I don’t think many saw the deals they’d end up signing for coming. The 24-year-old Mathurin, who was just traded to the Clippers at the deadline this season, is now reportedly headed to the New Orleans Pelicans after agreeing to a two-year, $16 million deal that includes a player option for the second year. Similarly, the 23-year-old Kuminga, who was also dealt at this year’s deadline (to the Atlanta Hawks) is reportedly on his way to the title-hopeful Minnesota Timberwolves, where he’s agreed to a two-year deal worth $13 million with a player option in the second year.
Now, it’s kind of been a trend for a few seasons now that a lot of these young or maybe fringe/up-and-coming ‘stars’ (let’s use that term loosely) haven’t quite been the apple of many teams’ eyes when it comes to opening up the checkbook and overpaying to acquire their services. At first glance, these deals might look like bargain contracts, but it’s important to remember the implications. For one, it doesn’t mean these players can’t easily outplay these budget deals and set the stage for even bigger money down the line.
Like I mentioned earlier, the market just isn’t working in the favor of players like these. Still, at least they’ve found NBA homes where they believe it will benefit their careers in the long run.
And in the case of Jonathan Kuminga (who apparently turned down a more lucrative Lakers deal), he’s widely expected to play a key role with the Wolves in their starting lineup — especially after already shaking up their roster this summer with the LaMelo Ball acquisition. While Mathurin joins a rebuilding Pelicans squad where he's sure to be a key piece and scorer, and in turn, this should only strengthen his case for more money in the future.
Which brings me to the Toronto Raptors. Unfortunately, they’re a team feeling the sting of one of their notable free agency oversights: overpaying in 2024 for Immanuel Quickley. Now, the Raptors’ recent history of overspending has been a recurring theme, with their puzzling Jakob Poeltl extension also drawing criticism. But even when looking back at the IQ deal (and hindsight only making it look worse), it’s clear Toronto’s hand was played against them.
Immanuel Quickley's contract continues to haunt Toronto with each passing summer
I understand that Toronto wanted to reward IQ with a starting point guard role for the future and lock him in long-term. However, going all out and offering him a massive five-year, $162.5 million deal in a market where most reports suggested the Raptors were pretty much the only team in the running for that kind of sheet was incredibly risky. We’ve seen how playing the waiting game with restricted free agents often benefits the teams that exercise patience.
Take Cam Thomas and Josh Giddey from the 2025 RFA class as key examples: Thomas accepted a modest qualifying offer with Brooklyn, eventually got cut, signed with Milwaukee, where he waived again, and now he’s out of the league entirely. That might be a bit more of an extreme example, but I’ll use Giddey as more of a measuring stick. The Australian guard settled for a four-year, $100 million deal with Chicago, which is way less than what the IQ deal suggested and feels more like a fair price for his services. If you need another example from this summer for context, I was pleasantly surprised by the price tag Ayo Dosunmu (whom I see as being in a similar tier to IQ) was able to secure with the Wolves: a five-year, $112 million extension.
And again, you can’t really blame Quickley and his camp for accepting the deal when it came, nor do you necessarily want to sour a top offseason priority. But just imagine if the Raptors had played it smart and recognized this trend back then. We might be looking at a Raptors squad with some added financial flexibility (even if it was just an extra $10-15 million in leeway) had they had signed IQ to a deal more like Giddey’s, or if Toronto managed to pull it off, with Quickley coming back for ultra-cheap to try and boost his value further, similar to what happened this summer with Mathurin and Kuminga.
It already stings that Toronto is cornered financially, with all the money tied up across different players. But the Quickley deal and subsequent free agency moves highlight the team's strained finances even more.
That said, I’m trying to stay optimistic, just like many others in Raptors Nation are with Quickley’s future. Hopefully, IQ can find his spark again, especially with Kawhi Leonard expected to join the mix and the Raptors looking to make some noise in the East. Or, in a more juicy turn of events, they could potentially leverage his expensive deal to swing for a Kyrie Irving trade.
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