Toronto Raptors: 2017-18 NBA season preview

Roster

OG Anunoby, SF
Lorenzo Brown, SF
Bruno Caboclo, SF
DeMar DeRozan, SG
Serge Ibaka, PF
Kyle Lowry, PG
K.J. McDaniels, SF
Alfonzo McKinnie, PF
C.J. Miles, SF
Malcolm Miller, SF
Lucas Nogueira, C
Jakob Poeltl, C
Norman Powell, SG
Pascal Siakam, PF
Jonas Valanciunas, C
Fred VanVleet, PG
Delon Wright, PG

Offseason Additions

C.J. Miles (free agent, Indiana Pacers), K.J. McDaniels (free agent, Brooklyn Nets), OG Anunoby (No. 23 overall pick, Indiana), Alfonzo McKinnie (training camp contract), Lorenzo Brown (two-way contract), Malcolm Miller (two-way contract)

Offseason Subtractions

P.J. Tucker (free agent, Houston Rockets), Patrick Patterson (free agent, Oklahoma City Thunder), Cory Joseph (trade, Indiana Pacers), Jared Sullinger (free agent, China), DeMarre Carroll (trade, Brooklyn Nets)

Quick Thoughts

The general consensus is that Toronto got worse this offseason. Name for name, they did.

Miles and Anunoby are nowhere close to as good as Patterson, Tucker, Carroll and Joseph. But this is not an accurate picture of what happened.

Tucker appeared in 24 games for Toronto. His impact on last year’s record was minimal. Ibaka, meanwhile, played in only 23 games. He should be a better over 59 potential additional games than Patterson was in 65 games last year.

Carroll will be replaced by a combination of Miles and more Powell minutes. After two unproductive, injury-hampered seasons from Carroll, this too should be an upgrade.

The Joseph loss hurts. Lowry missed 22 games last year, and doesn’t figure to get any more durable at age 31. If he misses significant time again, the Raps will struggle with Wright starting at point.

Whether the team got better or worse is up for debate. That debate, however, should be framed as a comparison between Miles, Anunoby, 10 extra Powell minutes and up to 59 additional Ibaka games versus 24 Tucker games, 65 Patterson games, Joseph and a shell of Carroll.