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As the Toronto Raptors look to rebound from a rare bad season, these three players won’t be back next year.
The Toronto Raptors won the NBA title two years ago, but that seems far away now. The shortened 2020-21 season became one where tanking was a better plan, as they lost 10 of their last 11 games to finish 27-45.
For the first time since 2012, the Raptors own a lottery pick of their own. It’s been five years since they drafted in the lottery when they took Jakob Poeltl ninth overall with a pick that came to them from the New York Knicks. So it feels important to get the pick right, with a 31.9 percent chance to land in the top-four (according to Tankathon).
An interesting tentacle to the Raptors’ offseason is the status of general manager Masai Ujiri. His contract is up this offseason. The direction ownership wants to go, a rebuild or a quick reset, will have a lot to say in the matter. Ujiri may choose to explore other opportunities if he’s not already doing so.
No matter the direction the Raptors go, these three players won’t be back next season.
3. Stanley Johnson won’t be back with the Toronto Raptors next season
Johnson was the poster boy for the Raptors tanking at the end of the season. The former top-10 overall pick started seven of the last eight games, and he played at least 29 minutes in each of those seven. Over the last three games, he took 56 shots. There were some good moments, including a career-high 35 points against the Chicago Bulls on May 13. But it’s artificial production, for a team that had nothing to gain by winning.
Johnson has never developed a competent offensive game, and while he’s still only 25 years old that ship has sailed. He’ll be a free agent this offseason, and the Raptors will let him explore the market.