Toronto Raptors: 5 reasons to keep the core intact

3. The Kyle Lowry And Jonas Valanciunas Dilemmas

The Toronto Raptors could conceivably let Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, and P.J. Tucker walk in free agency. Masai Ujiri would then be allowing three quality players to leave with no compensation, however, and that alone is a risky proposition.

The question is: what exactly should the Raptors do about the point guard and center who are the source of this confusion?

Lowry recently turned 31 years of age, which could make it difficult to justify a five-year deal. The five-year contract would trust that the next two-to-three seasons would be worth it, however, and that’s an investment worth making.

Lowry has come up short in the playoffs, but that’s only true because he’s being asked to score—and that’s on Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas has shown flashes of brilliance on offense, where he can go to the post, work the pick and roll, and dominate the offensive glass. If he were to become a consistent source of offensive production, Lowry would be able to focus more on facilitating than scoring.

Toronto’s next task: determining whether or not Valanciunas can be trusted to develop into the scoring threat that would complete the formation of a championship contender.