Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks. Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls. Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies. Most recently, Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons.
We may just be in the opening stages of what should be an eventful NBA summer, but already, we've seen a decent cycle of under-the-radar moves go down — not to mention the bigger trades like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LaMelo Ball.
While this is simply early traction and there is still a ton of time before further deals and transactions can go down, it doesn't change the fact that a glaring weakness on Toronto's side of their offseason leverage is revealing itself. In all of the lowkey trades mentioned above, they surrounded a relatively cheap player (maybe not Nic Claxton exactly as he's making over $20 million annually) getting dealt to teams that can simply absorb their contracts at the cost of second-round picks or next to nothing in the case of Chicago.
These organizations are fortunate enough to have the flexibility to complete these deals, and the players coming back are definitely not too shabby either. What makes this sting all the more for Toronto in just about all four of those players' cases is that they would've made quality Raptors additions.
Now, there hasn't been official word on whether the Raptors were officially engaged in the same trade talks, but purely looking from a Raptors fan's perspective — you cannot deny their fits or the low-cost ask to acquire them.
Unfortunately for Toronto, this is where some of their previous trespasses when it comes to financial allocation have come back to haunt them, and seeing as this offseason could carry a lot of weight on the Raptors' outlook — it couldn't come at a worse time. The Raptors are trapped in a corner with how much they can engage in similar deals like this, seeing as they have next to no financial leverage on their salary cap and no real mid-sized contracts to send back in order to find upgrades.
Financial constraints will limit Raptors' offseason progress compared to their adversaries
If Toronto engages in an actual deal, it would likely mean they're sending out core pieces of their starting lineup or one of their small-scale youngster salaries on the books.
And adding another layer to this tough ordeal, it's the Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl deals in particular that draw ire.
When you look at what rival guards like Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu got paid in free agency, or a rival center like Mark Williams re-signing at a bargain rate — it only adds to the burn of Toronto's misguided negotiations.
Toronto certainly has the draft capital and large player contracts to execute a big move, like the Kawhi Leonard reunion rumors, but you could argue that the Raptors might not have to do something so drastic to improve their winning prospects.
I, for one, think Toronto could be in a much more favorable position for the interim and long-term if they were able to just complete small, lateral moves that doesn't put a ton of their future at stake. The thorn in that scenario playing out is simply the fact that Toronto can't really take that stance, unless they're engaged in more complex three, four, or even five-team deals.
It wouldn't be logical to completely lose faith yet, seeing as we still have a long offseason road ahead, but I can definitely understand if some fans can't help feeling a bit frustrated watching others improve, while the Raptors are forced to strikeout at a financially-burdened crossroads.
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