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5 Playoff Teams That Won’t Win An NBA Championship Right Now

By Ryan Blackburn

May 27, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guards Kyle Lowry (7) and DeMar DeRozan (10) sit together on the bench during a time out against Cleveland Cavaliers in game six of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre.The Cavaliers won 113-87. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 27, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guards Kyle Lowry (7) and DeMar DeRozan (10) sit together on the bench during a time out against Cleveland Cavaliers in game six of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre.The Cavaliers won 113-87. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 23, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) tries to dribble the ball past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye (9) in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) tries to dribble the ball past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Channing Frye (9) in game four of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

Toronto Raptors

Nobody north of the border wants to hear this, but the Toronto Raptors aren’t good enough.

After stealing two games from the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving flexed their muscles and eliminated Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Now, DeRozan is a free agent who will command a max contract and once he does, the Raptors will be up against the cap.

The Raptors will have $70.2 million committed once DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo decline their respective player options. Both players are in line to receive a ton of cash.

If DeRozan commands $25 million per year, while Biyombo earns $16 million, the payroll will be at $111.2 million, which the Raptors are unlikely to pay.

Not only will one of the two (likely Biyombo) be gone, but once DeRozan signs, there will be no more room to make the necessary additions to the team. With the ninth and 27th overall selections in the draft, the Raptors have the ability to add cheap contributors.

They may not want to wait and risk hoping for rookies to have an impact though, so maybe the right course of action is to trade a draft pick and a current member of the team for another asset.

As a team looking for a power forward, Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets would be an interesting target.

That said, if the Raptors don’t make major changes to their roster, then they will have no real chance at competing for a championship next season.

Next: Core Not Getting It Done