Toronto Raptors: Major Changes Need To Be Made
The Ideal Fix
There are two paths the Raptors could take to their new impending rebuild: by trading for a superstar or stockpiling draft assets to try and groom one through a more long-term goal. The first path is preferable, but would likely require parting with Lowry.
Trading away the best player on your team generally isn’t a good look in the NBA. Dealing away Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan would signify that the fun core from 2013-14 couldn’t lead to substantial success. It would signal the beginning of another rebuilding process, since it would take a tempting package to lure away a superstar from another team.
But trading Lowry wouldn’t be a panic move just because he had one bad series. Trading Lowry would be Toronto’s best shot at a true rebuild, even with his trade value lower than it was just a few months ago.
To bring in a franchise player, Ujiri might have fleece the roster in the process. It takes assets to net a star, after all. Ujiri has tried building teams with balance, as he always did with the Denver Nuggets post-Carmelo Anthony, but look how far it’s gotten him — first round exits, every time. At least with Melo, the Nuggets made the Western Conference Finals one season.
Perhaps it’s time for Ujiri to take a look at how he wants to build this roster and center it around a superstar. This won’t be a one-year turnaround. This team needs rebounding, it needs defense and it needs a bonafide star who can lead.
It's just hard to come up with scenario where: a) Raptors make roster-altering move in FA; and b) Amir is back. And change seems necessary.
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) March 9, 2015
Re-signing Williams and Johnson to one-year deals seems like a best-case scenario as far as rounding out the roster, but the team’s core needs an upgrade. As happy as the Kyle Lowry-DeMar DeRozan years have been during the regular season, they’re not going to get the job done in the playoffs.
Paul Pierce spent the last two postseasons murdering professional basketball in Canada. But as much as nobody in the Raptors fan base wants to hear it right now, especially after he spent his Sunday trolling the Raptors once again, he may have been right all along:
Say what you want about Pierce, but everything he said about the Raptors was fair, and he backed it up.
— Russillo (@ryenarussillo) April 27, 2015
Another rebuild might seem like a daunting and depressing task, but after everything that Raptors fans have had to endure in this franchise’s history, maybe waiting a few more years wouldn’t be the worst thing.
In fact, it would be preferred. Because if Toronto’s hasty and pathetic first round exit has taught us anything, it’s that major changes are needed for this fan base to get the championship-caliber team it deserves.
Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Was Trading Brandon Knight A Mistake?
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