3 Former players that have excelled since leaving Toronto
The season is over for the Toronto Raptors, and it is one that the entire fanbase would like to forget as quickly as possible. Scottie Barnes breaking out and Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett joining the core were important, but the unending losing casts a pall over it all.
One implication of the significant roster turnover is that the Raptors have alumni scattered across the league. Some former Raptors are bit players or have struggled since leaving the team, but a few had standout seasons this year. Let’s look at three, including one hasn’t been a Raptor in quite some time.
No. 3: Fred VanVleet
The Toronto Raptors watched Fred VanVleet walk in free agency last summer after the Houston Rockets paid up to add him, and their attempt to replace him with Dennis Schroder fell a little flat, especially when VanVleet proceeded to ball out for the Rockets.
Houston took a major step forward this season, adding a couple of veterans to a young core and leaping from the bottom of the standings to the cusp of the postseason. VanVleet was at the center of it, averaging a career-high in assists and finishing with 8.4 win shares, in the Top-20 in the league.
The Toronto Raptors could go into this offseason ready to be movers and shakers in free agency, tossing around money at free agents to try and improve the roster right now to make a run at the playoffs. With as much as $46 million available to them they could likely overpay for a player or two to bring them on board.
There’s another option available for their cap space, however, and that is taking on salary in trades. Specifically, the Raptors can serve as a landing spot for overpaid players whose teams need to move in order to crack open salary flexibility. For their services, the Raptors could pick up valuable draft capital that they would not be adding if they sign a player.
