3 Free Agency mistakes the Toronto Raptors must avoid making

No. 3: "Reward" the team's own free agents

The Toronto Raptors have a track record of looking at its own players and seeing the 1992 Dream Team. They certainly waited too long and negotiated too hard with their last core of players, letting Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet walk in free agency and selling Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby at a discount because they didn't move at the peak of their value.

That same love of internal players is likely to come to play again this summer, and the Raptors need to work not to let it unduly influence their decision-making. Immanuel Quickley is an extremely talented player and could develop into an All-Star; that continued growth is hardly a lock, however, and paying Quickley like an established star would be an unnecessary concession. The Raptors have a lot of leverage given that Quickley is a restricted free agent.

The danger is greater with Gary Trent Jr., an unrestricted free agent who should be on the way out. He doesn't mvoe the needle as a starter, the Raptors have drafted his replacement in Gradey Dick, and as they get expensive paying Trent a mid-range salary is an unnecessary expense.

Yet Trent has also been on the team for years and the front office will be tempted to overvalue him in negotiations, offering him a contract high enough to convince him to stay, when they should be assuming he leaves unless he's available at a steep discount.

The Toronto Raptors have a lot of options this offseason, but that also means there are a lot of potential pitfalls. They need to take a measured approach to free agency and not make one of these egregious mistakes that could cause them pain down the road.