I know they're not big players in free agency, but at the very least, I’d love to see the Toronto Raptors add some worthwhile veterans — maybe some sneaky shooters to boost their somewhat clunky bench depth. Right now, it mostly feels like another bench mob of young guys, no disrespect to them though.
But then I think about Toronto’s financial situation and realize the Raptors are almost out of options to achieve that big goal I’d like to see them pursue this offseason.
Even if they strike out on a "big fish", adding a player like De'Anthony Melton, Tim Hardaway Jr., Caris LeVert, or Amir Coffey would still excite me about their future. Unfortunately, other rival teams can afford to shell out higher salaries to poach those kinds of talents, and the Raptors are already over the cap.
Raptors will face tough financial hurdles if they want to boost their roster
Additionally, Toronto is only $10.5 million below the first apron, according to Sports Illustrated Raptors reporter Aaron Rose. And that’s before adding any offseason acquisitions, including their 2025 NBA Draft selections. This is a major reason why Toronto has been the focus of numerous trade rumors lately, as they’ll likely be seeking to shed some salary to improve their financial flexibility and become a more attractive destination.
With that comes a myriad of issues, such as deciding which players on their current roster are worth parting ways with, finding the right team suitor, and the potential cost of a return. For a while now, the expendable player in question has largely been RJ Barrett, whose perceived redundancy as a ball-dominant wing makes his departure the most likely among their long-term contracts.
Additionally, Toronto could explore trades for Ochai Agbaji, who proved to be an absolute stud and underrated talent this past season. However, as he’s up for an extension soon, the Raptors might have to accept the possibility of losing him.
However, if Toronto just adds a player with the same or similar salary, it doesn't truly solve their problem. It might improve the roster but still leaves them back at square one financially. A better solution would be if the opposing team involved in the trade sends out future draft assets in return and only absorbs the salaries.
Still, that’s a challenging move for Toronto to pull off, and I don’t think many teams are willing to give up their picks for someone like RJ Barrett, talented as he is. That said, trading Agbaji for a first-rounder seems like a very plausible option.
The costly extension for Immanuel Quickley last summer and the subsequent Brandon Ingram deal have put Toronto in even tighter financial constraints. To be fair, both Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have previously stated that Toronto isn’t too worried about paying the luxury tax if it means competing; however, I’m unsure how high their ceiling will be if they rely solely on the draft or stand pat with their expensive core.
If Toronto were in a more favorable financial situation, I might see their offseason trajectory resembling that of the Detroit Pistons, who added quality bench depth around their star Cade Cunningham.
But the Raptors need to handle a lot of financial housekeeping and carefully allocate salaries if they want to replicate that kind of success. Unfortunately for them, it might be a financial hole too deep to escape.