Toronto Raptors: Ranking The Priorities For The 2014 Offseason

(Flickr.com photo by Matthew Addie)

We haven’t even began training camp for the 2013-14 NBA season, so it may be a bit premature to look at 2014 free agency for a number of teams, but it never hurts to look ahead.

The 2014 free agent class will be headlined by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce. While all of those names are going to garner the most attention, the Toronto Raptors likely won’t be able to land any of them. While they will likely miss out on the big names, there are a number of more realistic options for the Raptors to target next summer.

Here we’ll take a look at the biggest priorities for the Toronto Raptors in the great free agency race of 2014.

Priority No.1: Rudy Gay

Gay is going to be an unrestricted free agent after the season as well, adding another lucrative name to the pool of talented players available to the highest bidder. Ultimately this will come down to whether the Raptors feel they can pay Gay and put a contending team on the court at the same time. His play, and the team’s overall play, will help decide Rudy Gay’s future in Toronto.

Priority No.2: A Starting Power Forward

Amir Johnson is currently slotted as the Raptors’ starting power forward. Johnson is a solid role player, but he’s not the answer if Toronto wants to fight for an NBA championship.

There are a number of options in the power forward market this summer. Nowitzki comes to mind, but if he ends up leaving Dallas at all, his price tag will likely be too high to put him in a Raptors uniform. Zach Randolph is a possibility considering the past relationship he has with Gay as members of the Memphis Grizzlies, but like Nowitzki, Randolph has a high price tag attached to him.

Someone that could be a distinct possibility is Amar’e Stoudemire. Yes, Stoudemire also has a high contract, but his value has dramatically gone down since the days where he earned that big of a contract. He’s going to have to settle for whatever a team is willing to pay him. Johnson currently makes $6.5 million per year from Toronto and it’s not unreasonable to think Stoudemire would accept that sort of contract.

Some other possibilities include Patrick Patterson, Channing Frye and Derrick Favors. Favors is currently scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer.

Priority No.3: Bench Help

The one weakness the Raptors have in their current roster is their bench, especially in the post. Aaron Gray is their backup center. He’s not exactly intimidating opposing defenses. They need some help off their bench.

Darrell Arthur would be a nice option here. He’s not the biggest of guys, but he plays tough defense and can finesse his way to the rim for easy buckets. DeJuan Blair would help provide some energy both on the floor and while he’s on the bench. Don’t underestimate the value of a player providing energy to a team.

A solid option for Toronto’s backcourt would be Nate Robinson. Like Blair, Robinson provided an abundance of energy to every team he has been on. Nate also proved that he can be a leader on floor last season when he was relied upon to be the catalyst for the Chicago Bulls in the absence of Derrick Rose.

Overall Thoughts:

The 2014 free agency period is going to be a complete crapshoot. With so many big names on the market and a number of teams have only a few players under contract beyond this season, we’re all in for a wild ride. The Toronto Raptors are just one team in this crazy offseason we have approaching, but they have a shot at making themselves legitimate championship contenders if they make the right moves.

[slider_pro id=”28″]