NBA Free Agency has featured some truly seismic moves, from Paul George signing with the Philadelphia 76ers to Klay Thompson signing with the Dallas Mavericks. Names like DeMar DeRozan and Miles Bridges appear close to signing. Yet through it all, the Toronto Raptors have been very quiet.
That's in large part because they did most of their work prior to free agency, re-signing Immanuel Quickley, agreeing to a max contract extension with Scottie Barnes, drafting four players and making a 2-for-1 trade to bring in Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov. Once they sign first-round pick Ja'Kobe Walter to a contract, they will have 13 guaranteed contracts and less than $10 million left before the luxury tax line.
That doesn't mean the Raptors are done, but it means their last couple of signings will need to strategic ones and not at the top of the market. That changes if they find a trade partner for Bruce Brown or can offload Chris Boucher on another team.
What players still available should Toronto pursue in free agency? Let's look at some options both for taking fliers on young players and for adding veterans to fill specific roles.
Bigs: Dario Saric, Dom Barlow
The Toronto Raptors have not directly addressed their backup center need, and it would be somewhat surprising if they didn't add another big either through trade or free agency. Jakob Poeltl is a solid starter but Kelly Olynyk is not a rim protector and Boucher is both injured and relatively ineffective. Adding one more body seems like it would be important.
If the Raptors want to target a stretch big they could target Dario Saric, who is coming off of a down season with the Golden State Warriors but is a switch-big who could mix-and-match defensive assignments with Scottie Barnes and has developed into a pick-and-pop big who could keep defenses honest working with Barnes or Immanuel Quickley on offense.
A younger and larger option would be Dom Barlow, recently cut loose by the San Antonio Spurs. Eligible to be signed to a two-way deal, the 6'9" big moves around the court well and offers a solid mix of rebounding and shot-blocking. He shows signs of expanding his range, which would elevate him to a whole new level of value. He's well worth a flier as a developmental big behind Poeltl and Olynyk.