Ranking Toronto Raptors free agents by likelihood to return next season
The Toronto Raptors have not had the best experiences in free agency over the past few years. Fred VanVleet walked away last season, signing a lucrative new contract with the Houston Rockets that the Raptors' front office was not will to match. Kyle Lowry walked the year before to join the Miami Heat.
To their credit, Masai Ujiri and company got ahead of this summer's free agency by moving on from Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby via trade earlier in the season, and they locked up Kelly Olynyk on a contract extension shortly after trading for him. That means they have fewer free agents to handle this summer, but they will still need to make difficult decisions on who to bring back, who to let walk, and how to negotiate new deals with players who likely want a premium for sticking around a team that completely fell apart last season.
Let's walk through the five full-contract free agents on the roster and rank them by their likelihood of returning to the team next season.
No. 5: Immanuel Quickley is likely coming back
That means we begin with Immanuel Quickley, the young point guard who was the centerpiece of the OG Anunoby trade return. Having finished his fourth season in the league as a former first-round pick, Quickley will be a restricted free agent this summer. That means not only can the Raptors negotiate a new contract with Quickley, but they can also match any contract he signs with another team.
That gives Toronto a lot of leverage in the negotiations. Often teams are loath to use that leverage, instead being generous with contract offers to set a good relationship with the player. That sometimes results in overpays in restricted free agency, but there are certainly stories of it going in the wrong direction, such as when teams lowballed Gordon Hayward or Kevin Love and damaged the relationship to the point of a breakup a few years later.
Quickley hasn't proven himself worthy of a maximum contract, but he and his representation likely negotiate something close to it on a long-term deal. Given what the Raptors gave up to add Quickley and the realities of restricted free agency, he will almost certainly be back in Toronto next season.