The Toronto Raptors, Moving on post Kawhi And Doing Just Fine.

The Toronto Raptors, The reigning NBA Champions. What else would you want to see as a fan? The Raptors had a great year where the team came together in the playoffs for a run to remember. They rose the trophy high for all the NBA and Canada to see. That was then, a month ago. This is the NBA, in the offseason things move fast, players change teams, free agents find homes. One of the biggest free agents to find a new home was Kawhi Leonard. If you listen to some of the so-called “experts”, or Clippers fans, Toronto is done! So now what do the Raptors do? So, are the Toronto Raptors moving on post-Kawhi?

The Roster is Solid

To be honest they don’t have to do anything and they can compete in the east. They will be in the Eastern Conference Finals, you heard it here! Toronto is one of the few teams out there that has taken the route of building a team the old fashion way, through a draft and smart moves. Putting pieces together that do not pound the salary cap to a point of almost nonrecovery. Truth is they have flexibility with the cap and they have depth at almost all positions. This will prove to be an advantage in the years to come. The roster solid proves the Toronto Raptors moving on just fine.

The roster now is full of players that are well equipt to defend their title. With five-time All-star
 Kyle Lowry, three-time all-defensive team member Serge Ibaka, and Fred VanVleet, who some say is the best back up point in the league. They have the talent, but one, newly crowned NBA Most Improved Player Pascal Siakam, could be the key to defending the title. His performance in the Playoffs and the finals were stellar. In 24 playoff games this year he averaged 19pts, 7 rebounds, but it was more than that, it was the confidence and the way he just made plays. Pair him with Marc Gasol, who will be back for another year and the roster is solid.

THE AFTER KAWHI MOVES

With the cap always in mind, Masai Ujiri President of Operations knows how to build within his means. Getting sharpshooter Matt Thomas was one of Toronto’s additions, he can play the 2, 3 or 4 position and has a needed long-range shot. The addition they think of the most is Stanley Johnson,  strong and versatile defender, a trait the Raptors admire the most. He was not a big offensive threat in Detroit, so they also signed Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Hollis-Jefferson was an all-around offensive player for Brooklyn but in true Raptors style, he is very tough defensively.

The Raptors also signed Thomas Davis and Terence Davis. Thomas a shooting specialist and Terence, a four-year guy from Ole Miss who also can shoot the long ball brings together a good free agent core. With the 59th pick in this year’s draft, the Raptors picked Dewan Hernandez.  He has good size at 6’11” and 235 pounds and has shown his talent in the summer league. Rounding out the roster one can see they still have all the pieces they need to fight Milwaukee for the East.

2019-20 Season

The Toronto Raptors built their team to compete and did it the right way. They did take a big gamble trading away a very popular player in DeMar DeRozan to obtain a rent a guy in Leonard. I don’t think that really mattered, I may be the only one, but I think Kawhi is a bit overrated. They had a team that reached the ECSF and were right on the verge, they did not need to do that trade.

I see Toronto as having a better team now than the 2017-18 team that set new franchise records for total wins in a season with 57. Lowry, Gasol, and Siakam and make for a nice power three. With all the help on the bench, they will have no problem competing in the East. The only regret Toronto fans may have is losing that one player they cared for so much, DeRozan. The Toronto Raptors is moving on post-Kawhi just fine.