2017 Toronto Raptors

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, David Kay and Peter Christian of the The Sports Bank. Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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Toronto Raptors (Last Year: 51-31)

2017-18 Projected Depth Chart:

C: Jonas Valanciunas/Lucas Nogueira/Jakob Poeltl

PF: Pascal Siakam

SF: DeMarre Carroll/Bruno Caboclo

SG: DeMar DeRozan/Norman Powell

PG: Cory Joseph/Delon Wright/Fred VanVleet

NBA Free Agents:

PG-Kyle Lowry (UFA)

PF-Serge Ibaka (UFA)

SF-P.J. Tucker (UFA)

PF-Patrick Patterson (UFA)

2017-18 Team Salary: Approximately $77.4 million

NBA Offseason Team Needs:

1. Re-sign Lowry: Kyle Lowry has been a bargain for Toronto the past few years as he only made $12 million last season. He is going to cash in this summer though, and the Raptors need to decide if Lowry is worth a max deal that would reach $30+ million per year. If Toronto chooses to move on, the club will need to find a replacement in a thin free agent point guard market.

2. Power Forward: The Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka prior to the trade deadline knowing he was becoming a free agent. Like Lowry, Ibaka will be seeking a big-time deal that could approach $20 million per year. Ibaka is not nearly as effective on both ends of the floor as he once was, so Toronto could look elsewhere for a starting power forward.

3. Wing Depth: With P.J. Tucker a free agent and Terrence Ross being dealt in the Ibaka trade, the Raptors could use some depth on the wing and a capable scorer to bring off the bench.