2017-18 Finish: 37-45

Season Highlight: Winning 13 more games than the previous season, and flirting with the playoffs a bit last season.  GM Carl came back with a vengeance and really made an impact on a Toronto team that didn’t look to have a lot of talent when he took over.  This team looks like a competitive team now with veterans and young guys all around the roster.

Season Lowlight: Hard to find much here, but a 4-game losing streak to end the season kept them out of the playoffs.  No guarantee they would have made it, but that’s not a solid way to end the year. 

Best Trade: Toronto gets: Bradley Beal for Mirza Teletovic, Gorgui Dieng, and a 2017 1^st rounder.

This trade happened last offseason before the draft, so it’s a bit buried, but giving up two salary monsters who nobody wants now and a 1^st rounder for one of the best shooting guards in the league is an awesome deal.  Beal went on to average 25 ppg.  Now hidden here is that the 1^st rounder ended up being Jayson Tatum, but there was no way of knowing how good Tatum would be, and one good playoff a player does not make.

Worst Trade: Toronto gets: Dwight Powell for Bojan Bogdanovic

I get what the idea was here, they had a shooting guard and small forward already and needed some depth at forward and center.  The problem is, they gave up a dude that had a career year and looks to be better than Crowder for a career backup center.  Not the worst deal I’ve ever seen, but feels like they gave up the wrong small forward.

Other Notable Trades:

Toronto gets: Lonzo Ball, Iman Shumpert 2^nd rounder for Solomon Hill, Marshon Brooks and a 2020 1^st.

I don’t think anything else was involved here, and if not, getting rid of Solomon Hill alone makes this a good trade.  The 2020 1^st may come back to bite them in the ass, but for now, Lonzo is a year removed from all the hype, and playing with LeBron can only make him better.

Toronto gets: Marcin Gortat for Tyson Chandler

Kind of a meh trade, both aging centers that still play well in 2k.  I don’t know if this is an upgrade or a downgrade.

Toronto gets: James Johnson for Marco Belinelli, Anthony Tolliver and (2) 2^ndrounders

I like James Johnson, and him being locked up on a multi-year contract really made this deal attractive for the Raptors.  Giving up two 2nds is hard to do, but Johnson is a solid forward that can be a rotation player for a few years.

Free Agency:

Last season, Toronto grabbed Rajon Rondo, and that was a coveted free agent.  This year it will be hard to keep him around as they have both Lonzo Ball and Kris Dunn on the roster.  My bet is that they let Rondo walk and look elsewhere for some roster help.  Luckily Toronto is in a great position of having every position filled 1-10 on the roster.  They can sit back and try to poach the best player they can.  On the other hand, maybe they just spend the GM points and keep Rondo, looking to trade him to another team somewhere.  Not a ton of decisions to make, the front office set themselves up well for this offseason.

Star:

Bradley Beal- He’s one of the top 5 players at his position, and made the most three-pointers in the league last season.  He’s still 25 and locked up on a longer contract.  Look for him to try to make an all-star team this year and maybe get the Raptors to the playoffs.  His play can only improve with a guy like Lonzo playing next to him.  Beal is a foundational player, and hopefully the Toronto front office holds on to him.

Goat:

Rajon Rondo- Rondo didn’t start the entire season, and shot abysmally from everywhere on the court.  He shot 39% from the field, 32% from downtown, and 56% from the free throw line.  That player is a liability if he’s on the court.  He still managed to get 7 assists per game, but don’t be surprised to see him in a different uniform next season.

Draft Grades (from Insider):

#23 (from Utah) - C Mitchell Robinson

Toronto were rumored to have acquired a starting quality big man in Marcin Gortat for the 25th pick, and have Willy Hernangomez, Kelly Olynyk and Dwight Powell already, but that didn’t stop them reaching down on another young big. I suppose you could argue they’re actually very well covered in all positions for a team that didn’t make the playoffs, so they could afford an upside swing here. Mitch is that. He’s had off court issues, but he was a top talent out of high school and has the time to develop behind the plethora of bigs in Toronto. Grade: B

#44 - SF Kevin Hervey, Texas Arlington senior 

Hervey was a 1st round talent before injuries to both his knees left red flags all over the shop, but for pick 44 he’s probably worth the gamble. A stretch forward, he can shoot with the best of them and as long as he accepts his role, he’ll have a shot in this league. Grade: B

The Future-

Just analyzing the East, it’s going to be hard to crack the playoffs, but I think a 40-win season isn’t out of the question.  The Raptors barring injury have a solid team that could push for a low playoffs spot depending on how the other teams turn out above them.  Just counting teams, 9^th looks like a solid spot for them which would be another upgrade from where they are at.  Setting themselves up for free agency next season will be important as it’s possible they will lose most of their big men to free agency.  I love the way they have developed the lineup with guys that can contribute everywhere.