2019-20 Finish: 49-33

Season Highlight:

The season highlight for the Raptors is bringing in Kyle Lowry, with the price they paid they got a steal. They added a third star alongside Aldridge and Beal and for not too high of a price. Lowry came in and averaged 19.8 ppg, 7.3 apg, while shooting 41% from 3. Once Lowry got to Toronto he took over the role as PG and teamed up with Bradley Beal.

Season Lowlight:

The season lowlight for Toronto was losing Aldridge for the playoffs, which resulted in being swept by the 76ers. The Raptors had a chance to compete in the series, but once their leading scorer went down with the shoulder injury, the team did not have much of a chance.

Best Trade:

The Sacramento Kings send Kyle Lowry and Derrick Jones Jr. to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send James Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Monte Morris and Ty Jerome to the Sacramento Kings.

The Toronto Raptors send a 1st-Rounder (Tor) to the Sacramento Kings.

The trade made a lot of sense for both of the teams, with one team being in rebuild mode and a team being in win-now mode. Lowry is a very good get and so is Jones Jr. the assets they gave away were alright but, did not provide the type of production that Lowry brings in. Getting a star without giving up a star is always a win.

Worst Trade:

The Philadelphia 76ers send Louis Williams to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Kris Dunn and Nassir Little to the Philadelphia 76ers.

This trade is not abysmal, but the Raptors trading away Little before he developed and Dunn when he is an RFA this offseason, hurts their future a lot. Although Williams is a good player, the players moved are still young and Little has lots of untapped potential. With Lou Williams having only one year left on his contract, and him being a UFA then could make it become a very bad trade. This definitely makes it hard for me to not put this as the worst trade.

Other Notable Trades:

The Oklahoma City Thunder send Joe Ingles to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Wayne Ellington to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Oklahoma City Thunder send a 2021 1st-Rounder (OKC) to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send a 2021 1st-Rounder (Tor) and 2021 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I really like this trade and it was some competition for the Lowry trade. The only reasons it was not the best is because Jalen McDaniels was also a part of it and the team was spending nearly 4 million more with Ingles than Ellington. Ellington was also a non-guaranteed contract making the cost of Ingles in cap space a lot more. The swap of picks is not bad but the money they are taking on is the problem. If the Raptors can find a way to be at a reasonable cap, my opinion may change, but they are already above the luxury tax before FA which they have 2 players that signed over 9 million dollar contracts.

The Philadelphia 76ers send Mike Muscala to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Dragan Bender to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Toronto Raptors send a 2nd-Rounder (Tor) to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The trade included a 2^nd rounder which did not end up being that good, but it still is a young prospect. Muscala is not a guy who makes an extreme difference to the team either, but the risk involved was not a lot.

Star:

LaMarcus Aldridge - F

The star of this team was none other than LaMarcus Aldridge, he led the team in points and was second in rebounds. He lead the team to the playoffs as the 7 seed, and the playoffs showed just how valuable Aldridge was for them. He got hurt and had to have shoulder surgery making the championship near impossible for Toronto. Toronto will look to Aldridge this next year to lead the team, and most likely lead them the playoffs yet again.

Goat:

Derrick Jones Jr.

Once Jones Jr. came in from Sacramento and had the lowest PER on the team besides Haslem. He shot poorly from 3, at 33% and disappeared in the playoffs having the worst +/- on the team by far. Jones Jr.’s play was not awful all around and there are many other people who likely played worse.

Draft Grades:

Reggie Perry- B+

With the amount of guards they have on their roster this is a good pick, and since this was pick 57 it was good value. I am unsure if Perry will turn out to be anything, but the pick did not hurt. Perry could be turned into a two-way contract, and with him being 20 years old the pick provides potential which is all you can really ask for at pick 57.

Free Agents:

Derrick Jones Jr.- Toronto will most likely need to spend gm points to retain Jones as he is available to teams with an MLE.

Jae Crowder- Crowder also signed for the MLE making it hard for the team to retain both, since they will both be targets for many teams.

Emmanuel Mudiay- Mudiay has not signed a contract with an NBA team yet, making the future with the Raptors bleak.

Udonis Haslem- The Raptors have the chance to retain Haslem if they want to, and there won’t be much in the way for them here.

Future:

The team is not a championship team as of right now, but it is possible for them to be with a few moves being made. Having the core of LaMarcus Aldridge, Bradley Beal, Kyle Lowry, Mitchell Robinson, and Lou Williams gives the Raptors a very good chance at the playoffs and the opportunity to compete. The future of the team depends on the depth added, and the player they put into the SF spot, Toronto had Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr. this past season, but need to improve there. The one thing that would be best for this team is to try and trade for a superstar to put them over the edge, since the depth is there, and the superstar talent is about the only part of the team that is lacking. The team has lots of building blocks to work with and I am interested in the moves they will make.