A 4-team mega-trade involving the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler

Toronto Raptors

For not the first time, the Toronto Raptors came up short in the postseason at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, with James taking his talents out west, this certainly presents an opportunity for a Raptors team that won 59 games last season to lead the Eastern Conference standings.

With that being said, there are some rising teams such as the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers who are bound to be featured among the those vying to replace the Cavaliers as the Eastern Conference champions.

So with a new coach on board in former assistant Nick Nurse, this summer could represent a terrific opportunity for the Raptors to head in a slightly new direction with the makeup of their roster. Once again, the Raptors were led by their All-Star duo in Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

While Lowry was terrific as the floor general in averaging 16.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game, it was DeRozan who was the standout, posting 23.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and a career high 5.2 assists per game. Furthermore, he finished seventh in MVP voting while also being selected to the All-NBA Second Team.

However, there are a few road blocks in making drastic changes to the roster. First there’s Lowry, who is owed $64.3 million over the next two seasons. While he has been named an All-Star the past four seasons, this represents a huge salary for a player now turned 32 with a history of breaking down towards the end of the season.

Another trade candidate is Serge Ibaka, who — while solid in the regular season — performed disastrously in the playoffs. Owed $44.9 million over the coming two seasons, finding a trade partner for Ibaka’s services would take a monumental effort on the part of Raptors’ team president Masai Ujiri.

Additionally, starting center Jonas Valanciunas is another who’s going to be tough to move, with the Lithuanian earning $34.2 million over the next two years. Therefore, while a roster shakeup should be serious consideration, it’s going to be much easier said than done.