Toronto may be running tight on financial resources this offseason, but that doesn't mean they are completely handicapped in trying to improve the roster. The Raptors' core is made up of quite the expensive bunch, especially looking at Jakob Poeltl, Brandon Ingram, and Immanuel Quickley, but a bit more modest when you consider the efforts of Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett.
However, there is a key player in the Raptors' pecking order who is more than likely due for a new deal after a breakout 2025-26 campaign, and that man is Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Mamukelashvili holds a player option of about $2.8 million, a small sum that he outplayed by a mile in the regular season, which should set him up for a new financial agreement this summer. The question is, however, will Mamu opt to resign with the Toronto Raptors? If we're strictly looking at his regular season impact, then yes, there is more than enough evidence to support a long-term commitment that exceeds his current modest price tag.
Then again, as I previously covered, Mamu's poor playoff showing added a new layer to the extension talks, perhaps making the Raptors reconsider if he's worth investing more into. But that threat of losing Mamu entirely, a man who fully embraced the city from day one, expressed his desire to win with Toronto, was 10th in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and a key spark in the three-point shooting department — it puts a difficult spin on the extension talks.
Speaking on the subject of Mamukelashvili's future this summer, Sam Vecenie and Bryce Simon of the Game Theory Podcast analyzed the Raptors' prospects in the Mamu extension talks. Vecenie said (YouTube link here): "[...] Sandro is a non-bird free agent because he signed a two-year deal last summer and non-bird free agents, like you need your full number at the taxpayer mid-level or the non- taxpayer mid-level to retain him. I don't think he'll get the full 15 [million] or anything. But I do think he gets more than the taxpayer mid-level, which is set to be like seven [million] or so."
Raptors should pay close attention to Sandro Mamukelashvili's value on the open market
Vecenie went on to add for context on the Raptors' flexibility and chances to lock Mamukelashvili down for another deal: "[...] It's a situation where if you're the Toronto Raptors, you need to have the flexibility earlier on to be able to pay Sandro like 10 [million] a year or something like that. And I think that's where it should come in is, like it should just be like a three-year, $30 million deal for Sandro. Like somewhere in that ballpark. Like that's what a really great backup big man is worth in the NBA and that's what he is."
Simon chimed in by suggesting teams like the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, or even the Brooklyn Nets could throw their names in the hat as potential Mamukelashvili suitors. Bearing all this in mind, it paints a bit more of a clearer picture for Toronto to consider Mamu's appeal around the league and what exactly makes the most sense for them to keep him. That proposed number and agreement of $30 million over three years is more than fair for a player of Mamu's caliber, if not, maybe a bit low in some people's eyes.
But the Raptors cannot afford to get too trigger happy in these talks either. Rewarding and rightfully ackowledging Mamu for his efforts this past year is justified, but it shouldn't come at the cost of Toronto's already high salary sheets as I've said before. If another suitor does throw upwards of a $15 million annual salary at Mamukelashvili, then it might be time for Toronto to simply look elsewhere.
What Mamu brings may be hard to exactly replicate, but at the same time, it's not irreplaceable either, and some alternative options have already been explored in preparation of that reality.
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