Grading the 2019 NBA offseason for all 30 franchises

Toronto Raptors

When teams lose a superstar-level talent in free agency, there’s usually at least one aspect people can cite within the relationship to better understand why it struggled. Sometimes it’s the way an organization treated a player.

More often than not, it’s due to the lack of on-court success. Whatever’s to blame is usually pretty obvious.

In regards to the pairing of Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors, that just wasn’t the case. The franchise knew what they were getting into bringing in an impending free agent.

Yet they wound up putting together the greatest year-long recruiting pitch of all time with a championship and an ideal load-management plan.

In the end, Toronto and its fans can take solace in knowing there was literally nothing left to be done. Leonard wanted to go home to Southern California and not even basketball’s ultimate prize backed by an entire country could change his mind.

Having waited out Kawhi’s decision, there wasn’t much the Raptors could do given how many of the top free agents were already off the market. They wounded up losing Danny Green as well, a key 3-and-D wing whose presence on the perimeter is sure to be missed at both ends.

Masai Ujiri opted for potential, re-signing Patrick McCaw and bringing in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson and Cameron Payne.

None have seen their careers turn out quite as hoped, but given how well Toronto’s developed guys like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, maybe north of the border is the place to be reborn.

All hope is not lost for the Raptors. Siakam is a future star while the roster is composed of several expiring contracts that open up the chance for more moves down the line.

Even at their most optimistic, however, the franchise still can’t help but feel a certain way as their chances to repeat and compete beyond next season have been significantly diminished.

Grade: C