For better or worse, we’re hiring kids
Yesterday we offered thoughts about those Toronto Raptors players who are without a contract for next season, or otherwise on the bubble. Today, we’ll examine the contract status of those we believe are the team’s backbone players for the next few seasons.
Our heftiest contract used to belong to Pascal Siakam, now of the Indiana Pacers. The top wage-earner is now RJ Barrett, who is completing the first of a four-year deal worth $100 million. By the insane valuations of today’s top players, that’s fair value.
Jakob Poeltl is also under salary control; he signed a four-year $80 million contract this past summer. Chris Boucher is next at nearly $11 million, but his deal only has next season to run. Given Coach Darko Rajakovic’s disdain for our skinny sort-of center, I doubt Chris will make it past next year’s trade deadline. For now, he’s here.
Jalen McDaniels is now the unanimous choice for Most Overpaid Player (Raptors edition). He’s around for one more season at $4.7 million. He must have a great agent.
Cheap, but not for long
Then we come to the franchise’s future, starting with Scottie Barnes. His contract has a team option at $10 million for next season, but I doubt that situation will stand. Expect to see Masai Ujiri tear up his current deal in favour of a four-year, $120 million transaction, to be signed in a splashy fashion this summer.
Gradey Dick has another season on his $9 million rookie deal, which I doubt will be renegotiated. His progress has been dramatic of late, though he won’t be a Rookie of the Year candidate. Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren will split all the votes.
The rest of the way
Where are we after all this tedious stuff? This year’s Raptors are a write-off. I expect to see promotions from the 905, a process which has already started with Justice Winslow and Mouhamdou Gueye.
More signs of a roster in full turnover mode: the baptism by fire of unknowns, such as D.J. Carton, who scored his first NBA bucket against the directionless Brooklyn Nets. Expect to see more “who’s he?” guys on our bench.
There’s a long way to go before the Raptors become respectable once again, let alone championship contenders. Let’s hope our core group of kids shows marked improvement by the end of this playoff-free season.
- Tags: Toronto Raptors
