Raptors Roster Post Draft

[Scase]

Sign Kevon Looney for the MLE

Can we afford to do that?

Would love Looney as a back up, but I think he will have a ton of interest from contending teams.

He's already agreed on a 2y 16mil with the Pels.

[WuTang_CMB]

So unless I'm missing something, according to spotrac we're only 1.4m away from the first apron as currently constructed?

i think its due to those unlikely incentives for IQ, RJ

[S.W.A.N]

So unless I'm missing something, according to spotrac we're only 1.4m away from the first apron as currently constructed?

i think its due to those unlikely incentives for IQ, RJ

This is correct.

But it not a bad spot to be as long as we don't suck hard

[WuTang_CMB]

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/article/raptors-hoping-affordable-depth-pays-off/

The Toronto Raptors are deeper. In the current NBA, that could very well mean better.

The Raptors completed the bulk of their off-season work in 24 hours after free agency opened on Monday.

Their splashiest move was signing centre Jakob Poeltl to a three-year contract extension that kicks in for the 2027-28 season. It will pay him $84.5 million through the 2029-30 season when Poeltl will be 34 and in his 14th campaign.

But even that move was almost inevitable once the Raptors made clear that even if they were going to make a trade for Kevin Durant, for example, it would be to add him to a competitive roster that included the steady Austrian. They were not going to include Poeltl in a deal for Durant (or anyone other big fish) and then have to find not just one, but two quality bigs in a market with precious few of them.

There was logic to the thinking.

Toronto added some semblance of depth at the centre spot with the addition of Sandro Mamukelashvili, a 26-year-old entering his fifth NBA season who offers a lot the skills that Poeltl doesn’t — the ability to stretch the floor and attack closeouts, mainly. The Raptors hope Jonathan Mogbo can develop these traits over time.

So, with opening night somehow only three months away, the Raptors' potential lineup looks like this (projected starters in bold):

Centre/bigs: Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, Jonathan Mogbo, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Ulrich Chomche (two-way contract), Colin Castleton (non-guaranteed).

Wings: Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamison Battle (contract guaranteed July 10), Garrett Temple, AJ Lawson (non-guaranteed).

Guards: Immanuel Quickley, Jamal Shead, Alijah Martin (not yet signed, but likely on a two-way deal to start the season), Chucky Hepburn (two-way contract),


If we’re optimistic, it’s a more competitive team than the Raptors put on the floor a year ago.

There is at least some depth at the centre spot: Shead has a year of experience under his belt and showed encouraging signs as a competent backup point guard and Ingram — providing he is healthy — should provide a significant injection of overall talent. A season from Quickley that is uninterrupted by thumb sprains, tail-bone bruises and torn elbow ligaments — a triple crown of fluky injuries that ruined the first half of his season — should enable the sixth-year guard to show the five-year, $175-million contract he signed in the summer of 2024 is representative of his worth. Imagine, say, 19 points and seven assists a game while shooting at or close to 40 per cent from three on decent volume? That would be nice.

And getting a year from Barnes where he can better integrate his alphabet soup of skills and continued progress from Barrett would provide more feel-good developments.

Whether it all comes to pass or not, who knows?

But the Raptors do seem to be on board with, or at least slightly ahead of the curve on the new trend in roster building that has proven successful when done right, and may become the norm as the effective hard cap created by the league’s first- and second-apron rules makes it more difficult and unwise to spend your way out of roster problems.

The two recent NBA finalists are proof, as both the Indiana Pacers and eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder relied on rotations that ran 10 deep at different stages during the Finals. Previously, elite teams rarely played more than eight players in the post-season.

It’s both a product and a path to the kind of scrambling, high-pressure defensive style both teams relied on, and which the Raptors used so effectively in the second half of last season, when they posted the NBA’s third-best defensive rating (albeit against a historically weak schedule).

The Raptors are positioned to play that way even though they have some big-ticket players on their roster — Barnes, Ingram and Quickley will combine to earn $119.3 million, which sounds like a boatload of cash to civilian ears, but in NBA math represents about 70 per cent of the salary cap.

[Scase]

So unless I'm missing something, according to spotrac we're only 1.4m away from the first apron as currently constructed?

i think its due to those unlikely incentives for IQ, RJ

For sure, was just trying to make sure I had the number right.

So unless I'm missing something, according to spotrac we're only 1.4m away from the first apron as currently constructed?

i think its due to those unlikely incentives for IQ, RJ

This is correct.

But it not a bad spot to be as long as we don't suck hard

Being 1.4 mil below the first apron and being less than 50 wins is not good lol

[Son Goku 25]

The good thing is no one on our team is actually trash, don't think we could have said that a couple of years ago.

In terms of how much they make you can make a case of some being overpaid but that's not my problem. Time will tell and I think this season will really showcase who's overrated and who's not in terms of their pay.

I'd give this team a chance to be 6 to 8 seed.

[WuTang_CMB]

Guaranteed (Total is 15) , + 3 x 2-ways

IQ - Shead
RJ - JKW - Temple
BI - Dick - Ochai - Battle
Scottie - CMB - Mogbo
Poeltl - Mamu
/14



Chomche - 2 way
Chucky - 2 way


Alijah Martin #39 ... either will get a 2 way or a guaranteed spot



Castleton - non guaranteed
Aj Lawson - non guraranteed

Raps have a 2-way spot open and a guaranteed spot open before summer league. Good flexibility

IQ - Shead - Chucky*
RJ - JKW - Martin* - Temple
BI - Dick - Ochai - Battle
Scottie - CMB - Mogbo
Poeltl - Mamu - Chomche*
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
14 Guaranteed
3 x 2ways


Martin gets the 2-way.
They could keep Lawson as 15th guy and wait to waive him by January https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/74329/aj-lawson

[manjusaka]

Guaranteed (Total is 15) , + 3 x 2-ways

IQ - Shead
RJ - JKW - Temple
BI - Dick - Ochai - Battle
Scottie - CMB - Mogbo
Poeltl - Mamu
/14



Chomche - 2 way
Chucky - 2 way


Alijah Martin #39 ... either will get a 2 way or a guaranteed spot



Castleton - non guaranteed
Aj Lawson - non guraranteed

Raps have a 2-way spot open and a guaranteed spot open before summer league. Good flexibility

IQ - Shead - Chucky*
RJ - JKW - Martin* - Temple
BI - Dick - Ochai - Battle
Scottie - CMB - Mogbo
Poeltl - Mamu - Chomche*
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
14 Guaranteed
3 x 2ways


Martin gets the 2-way.
They could keep Lawson as 15th guy and wait to waive him by January https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/74329/aj-lawson

I can’t find the source but his wiki page says he is already got the two ways.

Alijah Randall Edwin Martin (born December 26, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Florida Gators.

[WuTang_CMB]

Raps have a 2-way spot open and a guaranteed spot open before summer league. Good flexibility

IQ - Shead - Chucky*
RJ - JKW - Martin* - Temple
BI - Dick - Ochai - Battle
Scottie - CMB - Mogbo
Poeltl - Mamu - Chomche*
━━━━━━━━━━━━━
14 Guaranteed
3 x 2ways


Martin gets the 2-way.
They could keep Lawson as 15th guy and wait to waive him by January https://www.spotrac.com/nba/player/_/id/74329/aj-lawson

I can’t find the source but his wiki page says he is already got the two ways.

Alijah Randall Edwin Martin (born December 26, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Florida Gators.

yup. confirmed

[WuTang_CMB]

Read on Twitter

[bluerap23]

Read on Twitter

Makes sense in theory but if the Raptors really want to have defence first mentality the SL won't last long. RJ as 6th man makes most sense.

[YogurtProducer]

Read on Twitter

Makes sense in theory but if the Raptors really want to have defence first mentality the SL won't last long. RJ as 6th man makes most sense.

Or at least give him the yank early in the 1st and have him come back early.

But then again, Ingram running ISO with a bunch of dog defenders in the bench could be great to (like Lowry + bench was years ago).

[bluerap23]

Read on Twitter

Makes sense in theory but if the Raptors really want to have defence first mentality the SL won't last long. RJ as 6th man makes most sense.

Or at least give him the yank early in the 1st and have him come back early.

But then again, Ingram running ISO with a bunch of dog defenders in the bench could be great to (like Lowry + bench was years ago).

Yeah I feel like we can put together some really nice balanced lineups without the top 5 together.

Shead, RJ, Ingram, CMB and Mamu

IQ, Walter, Gradey, Scottie, Yak

[StopitLeo]

Makes sense in theory but if the Raptors really want to have defence first mentality the SL won't last long. RJ as 6th man makes most sense.[/quote]

I agree about RJ. He had to adjust his role on offense when he got here with Barnes being the #1 on the team and I actually think that helped his game. RJ is going to drop further in the pecking order with the addition of Ingram, which if anything will make him less effective simple because his usage will be lower.

I think it would be best to have RJ as 6th man with a 3+D guy like Ochai in the starting unit who better balances Ingram's offense and can hit corner 3s at a high clip. RJ is a skilled scorer and he would be a problem for opposing bench units, especially if you play him with a few defensive hounds. I think RJ could easily be a 6MOY candidate if he embraced that role.

[DreamTeam09]

You guys put too much faith in fit & roles. Ochai n Walter are better defenders therefore they should be starting. Or you can put the bigger better offensive player out there & have the opposing team defender actually have to play some defense. You guys acting like RJ is Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford, he doesn't get hunted on defense & offensively he's way better than his counterparts on the team

[Badonkadonk]

Makes sense in theory but if the Raptors really want to have defence first mentality the SL won't last long. RJ as 6th man makes most sense.

Or at least give him the yank early in the 1st and have him come back early.

But then again, Ingram running ISO with a bunch of dog defenders in the bench could be great to (like Lowry + bench was years ago).

Yeah I feel like we can put together some really nice balanced lineups without the top 5 together.

Shead, RJ, Ingram, CMB and Mamu

IQ, Walter, Gradey, Scottie, Yak

Really excited about the mix/match potential this season, especially in Darko's hands.

Need to put a lid on the basket for several mins to stunt a run? Run out Shead, Walter, CMB, Scottie and Yak for a bit.

Is the other team sagging off long range shooters? Put in IQ, Gradey, BI, Battle and Mamu to force them to adjust.

I also think the projected starting lineup is better rounded than it has been in years. There's a bit of everything, and BI being an actual 3 level scorer directly addresses perhaps the biggest weakness. There's great front court D, multiple guys who are comfortable driving (Scottie/RJ bully drives, BI uses more craft), and great passing all around. I hope Darko isn't married to a set rotation off the bench, as there are answers sitting there depending on matchup and game context.

[ConSarnit]

You guys put too much faith in fit & roles. Ochai n Walter are better defenders therefore they should be starting. Or you can put the bigger better offensive player out there & have the opposing team defender actually have to play some defense. You guys acting like RJ is Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford, he doesn't get hunted on defense & offensively he's way better than his counterparts on the team

What about RJ possibly getting squeezed in terms of touches? We’re going to be adding a #1 option in Ingram and that’s going to move everyone down the pecking order. Of all the starters RJ is the least portable because of his shooting and middling defense. This doesn’t mean RJ is a bad player but he’s most likely to get squeezed for touches and he doesn’t provide the skillset you’d want in a supplementary player (3pt shooting and defense). The fewer touches RJ gets the less effective he becomes.

I’m not saying have him come off the bench but he should be the first sub out because we could use his scoring and creation off the bench (I don’t really trust any of our bench guys with creating good offense for themselves of others). You give RJ more minutes with someone like Sandro and against backup bigs and his drive game could really be effective as a key bench weapon. More minutes with the bench for RJ could be a way to optimize what he’s good at. With the starters he risks getting marginalized considering Ingram is likely absorbing a lot of his on-ball touches.

[Raptorfan2012]

Im still hoping we move one of RJ or Ochai for maybe a back up big/pg. This will help both financially and our roster clutter.

[DreamTeam09]

You guys put too much faith in fit & roles. Ochai n Walter are better defenders therefore they should be starting. Or you can put the bigger better offensive player out there & have the opposing team defender actually have to play some defense. You guys acting like RJ is Lou Williams or Jamal Crawford, he doesn't get hunted on defense & offensively he's way better than his counterparts on the team

What about RJ possibly getting squeezed in terms of touches? We’re going to be adding a #1 option in Ingram and that’s going to move everyone down the pecking order. Of all the starters RJ is the least portable because of his shooting and middling defense. This doesn’t mean RJ is a bad player but he’s most likely to get squeezed for touches and he doesn’t provide the skillset you’d want in a supplementary player (3pt shooting and defense). The fewer touches RJ gets the less effective he becomes.

I’m not saying have him come off the bench but he should be the first sub out because we could use his scoring and creation off the bench (I don’t really trust any of our bench guys with creating good offense for themselves of others). You give RJ more minutes with someone like Sandro and against backup bigs and his drive game could really be effective as a key bench weapon. More minutes with the bench for RJ could be a way to optimize what he’s good at. With the starters he risks getting marginalized considering Ingram is likely absorbing a lot of his on-ball touches.

Our offense relays on cutting and movement and sharing the ball, there's plenty of touches for everyone and the better the offense is the better the individual results will be for everyone. We were setting records for most starters above 15ppg ect. Plus it's not like RJ needs a lot of touches to get his game off, he's a drive and finish catch and drive catch & shoot player. Less is more for RJ as evident when he first got here

Edit, sorry I didn't really read the entirety of your post, not even really sure if I was countering your post to begin with, as far as subbing early, sure that makes sense.

[webeye]

I wish I had some faith in IQ. He doesn't really strike me as being significantly better than Dennis Schroder; both are more "guy out there hoopin'" than "floor general."

If you had to rank the team in terms of court vision, where would IQ land? And shouldn't it be first if he's your starting PG and you don't have Jokic?