It would sure be nice if the Raptors could find themselves in the offseason category of teams that usually make a huge splash or present a ton of intrigue to free agents as a desirable destination. Unfortunately, I think many Raptors fans can attest that their franchise has long struggled to generate even a slight sense of genuine attraction in free agency or other blockbuster summer transactions. The rumor mill can often cloud our thoughts, though ... just look at all the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade hoopla that circulated a while ago.
Sure, they might not get their hands on a superstar or even fringe stars at that, but that’s not to say Toronto can’t go out and try to find serviceable talent in the offseason nonetheless. In years past, we’ve seen them acquire veterans like Otto Porter Jr. and Dennis Schröder (or heck, even DeMarre Carroll from back in the day), even though their respective Raptors tenures largely fell into obscurity.
The point I’m trying to make is that Toronto has still shown a decent track record of, at the very least, finding complimentary pieces to round out their core. And so, perhaps some fans were a bit surprised to see the initial chaos of NBA free agency result in very little for the Raptors; merely adding some new players through the draft, re-signing respected veteran Garrett Temple, and a sneaky move that I absolutely loved in the Sandro Mamukelashvili pickup.
But Keith Smith, an NBA analyst and salary cap specialist for Spotrac, would highlight the Raptors' motivations behind largely standing pat this offseason in his "Eastern Conference Summer League Notes" piece from July 21.
Raptors stayed quiet this offseason because...
As per an anonymous Raptors front office executive, Smith would note:
"Somewhat by design, to be sure. We did our work last year, when we acquired and then extended Brandon (Ingram). That doesn’t mean we didn’t look at things this summer, but we felt good about the group we had going into the offseason, and nothing came our way to make us think about changing that in any kind of major way. "Anonymous Raptors exec via Keith Smith
Reading this quote certainly makes a ton of sense from the Raptors' perspective; why continue to shake up the core when the Brandon Ingram transaction was largely seen as their major splash? As the anonymous exec would state, they'd done their homework over the summer but concluded that nothing truly stood out to warrant biting the bullet.
Also, as I've highlighted before, the Raptors are at a bit of a crossroads when it comes to roster flexibility — regarding salary and available spots. I think anyone paying close attention to the team could have already sensed that they would ride it out with what they had and see what results could be churned out.