Offseason Report Card: Raptors get an A, four Bs, three Cs and a D for summer moves

1. Traded for Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov

Traded Jalen McDaniels to the Sacramento Kings for Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, the No. 45 pick (used on Jamal Shead) and a 2025 second-round pick (from Portland)

The Toronto Raptors clearly made the decision to pick up Bruce Brown's $23 million team option ahead of the NBA Draft, even though they didn't announce the decision until a few days later. That allowed the front office to make moves during the draft with the understanding that they would be operating as an over-the-cap team rather than using cap space.

That meant taking back money in a deal didn't sacrifice cap space, merely room under the luxury tax, and cleared the runway for Toronto to take on salary another team didn't want in exchange for an asset. The Sacramento Kings were the team to ring the bell, executing a trade on the second day of the 2024 Draft.

Defensive pest Davion Mitchell was somewhat superfluous in Sacramento after the drafting of Devin Carter and emergence of Keon Ellis, and Sasha Vezenkov didn't want to play another minute for the Kings (he may not play another minute in the NBA, period). The Kings got off of their combined $13.2 million for next season and took back only Jalen McDaniels and his four million, saving the Kings enough money to later go after DeMar DeRozan in a sign-and-trade.

For their troubles, in addition to a pair of intriguing players, the Raptors picked up two second-round picks. If they hadn't made this deal they could have likely use the Full Mid-Level Exeption, but it's not clear who would have taken that money. This gives the Raptors flexibility after this season, takes a shot on two talented young players, and chips in a couple of picks to boot; Toronto used the first on Houston guard Jamal Shead, and they'll see the second one next year.

This cost the Raptors relatively little and added four good, not great, assets. It was a tidy bit of business even if it didn't change the team's fortunes in any meaningful way.

Grade: A-