The door was closed weeks ago, but the deadbolt was officially thrown on Friday night: the Toronto Raptors have been eliminated from postseason contention. An11-game losing streak has not only sealed their fate, it has also pulled the feeling around the team from mildly hopeful to entirely moribund. Cue Eeyore.
The reason to remain optimistic about the future is that the Raptors' core is young and largely coming back next season. Scottie Barnes will be extension eligible this summer, Immanuel Quickley is a restricted free agent who will almost certainly be re-signed, and RJ Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick and Jakob Poeltl are all under contract for multiple seasons beyond this one.
Not everyone will be coming back, however. Let's look at three players from this current team who are as good as gone this offseason.
No. 3: Jontay Porter
As recently as two weeks ago, the Raptors were likely excited about Jontay Porter's future and making plans to open up a roster spot for him this summer. He has shown real flashes of two-way play and seemed like the perfect kind of player to bring back as a third center and develop into something more.
Instead, Porter seems destined for a lifetime ban from the NBA upon the completion of their investigation. It's possible he avoids something overly severe, but only barely, and even in that scenario the Raptors aren't going to keep him around while he serves a lengthy suspension. Jontay Porter won't be on the Raptors, or likely any NBA team, next season.