Toronto Raptors are right to stand pat during transaction window

With the Toronto Raptors disembarked in Florida ahead of the NBA’s relaunch, indications are that the team plans to stand pat at the transaction window.

The Toronto Raptors were the first NBA team to mobilize ahead of the league’s relaunch at the end of July. On Monday they gathered together in Naples, Florida, to begin their own quarantine and optional workouts before training camps begin for real on July 11th in Orlando at Walt Disney World’s Wide World of Sports.

After months of planning and talking and waiting and hoping on the league’s part, this signified the first concrete action, the first push that gets the ball rolling.

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It comes in the midst of a number of other important steps towards relaunching the league’s suspended season. On Tuesday, the NBA’s teams began testing its players for COVID-19 in order to quarantine any who test positive in the hopes they’ll be ready for training camp.

Also on Tuesday, the NBA opened a one-week transaction window which closes on June 30th, allowing teams to sign players in preparation for what they all hope will be a long and fruitful playoff run in Florida. However, according to Rogers SportsNet’s Michael Grange, the Raptors do not plan to utilize the transaction window.

While some of this may be a result of not finding the available free agent class particularly appealing, this is also the sign of a team that is happy with its roster construction, and deservedly so. They entered the NBA’s coronavirus-induced hiatus with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference and a three-game lead over the third-place Boston Celtics.

The defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors also opted to stand pat at the trade deadline in February, deciding that their roster was the one they wanted to take into battle against the Celtics, Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks in the East.

In spite of a rash of injuries to key contributors like Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, the Raptors have persevered. In fact, among this group, Siakam played the most games at just 53 of a possible 64.

The Toronto Raptors have remarkable depth and an organizational ability to transform undrafted and passed-over players into diamonds in the rough like Terence Davis. With the kind of confidence this franchise has in its own development abilities and top-to-bottom chemistry, it’s really no wonder they have decided not to go outside their own camp to bring in extra bodies.

It’s hard to find fault in decisions the Raptors make from their team president Masai Ujiri down through head coach Nick Nurse, and on down the line. The decision to stand pat is the right one, and it’s one the roster is sure to reward.

The path the Raptors will walk in order to defend their 2018-19 title will be a difficult one. They have no Kawhi Leonard and no Danny Green, and the Milwaukee Bucks have only gotten better as Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to take on demigod status. Title defense may not necessarily be in the cards for this team, but they’ll be a tough out no matter who they face as the playoffs go on.