Toronto Raptors: 5 reasons to keep the core intact

The only realistic option for the Toronto Raptors is to make the most of the current window of opportunity. A sweep doesn’t change that.

The Toronto Raptors are coming off of a polarizing 2016-17 NBA season. Toronto won at least 50 games for just the second time in franchise history, but it was also unceremoniously swept out of the playoffs by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Knowing that to be true, the Raptors have reached a crossroads—one that has prompted the masses to call for Masai Ujiri to blow up the ship.

The first step in evaluating the current situation is to define Toronto’s core. The common theory is that the core consists of DeMarre Carroll, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Jonas Valanciunas—all of whom have been together for multiple seasons.

Fair a belief as that may be, the core in this scenario consists of Carroll, DeRozan, Serge Ibaka, and Lowry—and we’ll get to Valanciunas.

The truth of the matter is, the Raptors shouldn’t fully commit to keeping the entire core intact—nor should they blow the team up. Instead, Toronto should evaluate every member of the roster and determine who does and doesn’t fit the current vision.

One may be surprised to find out that the current core doesn’t need to be blown up, but instead modified. The Toronto Raptors can salvage this fractured hull.