RJ Barrett is the only Raptors starter whose contract is about to run out, and that puts him and the organization in a tricky situation. He is extension-eligible this summer and wants to remain a member of his hometown team. After the playoff run he had—he stepped up big as a scorer when Brandon Ingram struggled and missed a few games and made a clutch 3-pointer to keep the Raptors’ season alive in Game 6–the Raptors would probably like to keep him around.
However, with a ton of money committed to Scottie Barnes, Ingram, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors are limited in what they can offer him. Plus, he is probably their most valuable trade asset player-wise this offseason. So, The Athletic’s Eric Koreen predicted in a recent mailbag article that the Raptors won’t extend Barrett this summer and push off the decision.
“Given how much Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl and Ingram are owed, Barrett is too valuable as a potential trade piece heading into the last year of his contract to extend him now,” Koreen wrote. “And since the Raptors can sign Barrett to an extension right up until the start of the 2027 offseason, which Webster pointed out at his end-of-season availability in May, I am betting that is how they will operate.”
Given how much the Raptors have to figure out this offseason, delaying one of their more difficult decisions looks like a pretty good option.
Delaying the RJ Barrett extension would help the Raptors evaluate his value
RJ Barrett wants to play for the Raptors—he made that very clear in his end-of-season media availability—and the front office can hopefully use that to its advantage. Maybe Barrett will even consider taking a pay cut to stay in Toronto. At the very least, he is unlikely to be disgruntled if the Raptors don’t extend him this summer, if that could give him a better chance at staying where he wants to be.
Not extending Barrett yet would allow the Raptors to retain at least some financial flexibility while they try to figure out who out of Barrett, Ingram, Quickley, and Poeltl should stay in Toronto long-term and who could be headed out in a trade. If the Raptors strike out on a significant trade in the summer, they need to be prepared to make a move before the 2027 trade deadline, so Barrett’s expiring salary would still be a valuable asset after the offseason.
Exploring the trade market as much as possible will give the Raptors a better idea of what it will cost to make an impactful addition, how they can move on from some of their worst contracts, and what they can offer Barrett if they decide he’s a long-term piece for them. It also wouldn’t hurt to see how Barrett plays in the regular season after stepping up in the playoffs before committing long-term money to him—although an outstanding 2026-27 season could drive up his value.
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