Raptors aim to rebuild around core

But is that a core worth rebuilding around?

We got swept in the playoffs, and that means we can only get better

This is the giddiest time of the NBA season. The two weeks that contain the NBA Draft and the bulk of the free-agent signings represents a sharp uptick in hope for most teams, and that does not merely include those with a top-three pick or those in the running for superstar free agents. Nearly every one of the 30 teams can talk itself into meaningful improvement in late June and early July.

Every team is talking itself into a draft-day steal — either a no-doubt future star or a player that will be able to turn himself into a viable rotation player, despite the fact that so many picks go bust every year. And every team thinks, at the very least, it will address key needs while not paying an unreasonable price to do so. Yet, every season produces its share of unwise contracts.

So it is for the Toronto Raptors as they head into free agency, which opens on Wednesday (although contracts cannot go through officially until July 9). They chose Delon Wright with the 20th pick last week, and now the Raptors will hope that his defensive and playmaking skills will turn him into a useful part rather quickly. Also, the trade that moved Greivis Vasquez out of town — a very nifty bit of deal making from general manager Masai Ujiri that also landed the Raptors a future first-round pick — could result in huge flexibility in free agency for the team.

They will likely not be in play for Marc Gasol, Kevin Love, Jimmy Butler or LaMarcus Aldridge (although RealGM.com’s Shams Charania reported on Monday that Aldridge will at least meet with Toronto), but the Raptors could have more than US$22 million of space under the salary cap. For a team with obvious holes at the wing and power forward, that money could help remake the Raptors without a complete revamp. A massive makeover has already been ruled out by Ujiri.

“Maybe we’ll make a couple changes here and there. I think our core still remains the same,” Ujiri said last week. “We’ll still give these guys an opportunity to grow. That being said, we’re open-minded and open for business. That’s the nature of the NBA. We’re trying to get better. We got swept in the playoffs, and that means we can only get better.”

That core, to be clear, consists of three players: Kyle Lowry, with two more years guaranteed on his contract, DeMar DeRozan, who can hit free agency after next season if he chooses, and Jonas Valanciunas, who is eligible to sign a contract extension with the Raptors before Oct. 31. Otherwise, he could become a restricted free agent after next year.

And no matter what happens in the next few weeks, the question will still be relevant: Is that a core worth building around?

Lowry’s ascent from solid but mercurial to excellent mirrors the Raptors’ calendar year as a burgeoning league darling. However, when his play dropped off, so did the team’s. Lowry has a history of injury and conditioning issues, and he turns 30 in March. And he is the relatively simple choice of the three. At his best, Lowry is a star, if not a top-10 player. You do not toss those players away unless you have to.

Despite many positive attributes that often get overlooked, DeRozan is a player who has always struggled with the three-point shot in a league that is shooting more and more of them. He will likely want a huge raise whenever he hits free agency — and, again, 2016 is likely — and paying DeRozan 30 per cent of the salary cap is a lot different than paying him about half of that, as they are now.

As for Jonas Valanciunas, the potential issues with doubling down on him have been well documented. The league is moving away from post scoring, especially when players who operate inside cannot pass effectively and decisively, as well. Additionally, his lack of quickness makes him a potential defensive liability in the increasingly guard-oriented NBA.

That is not to say a team with those players at its centre cannot succeed — we have already seen advice to the contrary. Atlanta power forward Paul Millsap would make a ton of sense in the Raptors’ starting lineup. Wing players like Khris Middleton and Tobias Harris (both restricted), Wes Matthews (still recovering from a torn Achilles) and Danny Green could also slide into the starting group, bumping the infuriatingly inconsistent Terrence Ross. All of those additions could allow Lowry, DeRozan and Valanciunas to be more than they were at the end of last season.

Still, with anything short of the addition of superstars — sign Aldridge! Trade for DeMarcus Cousins! — it seems inevitable that we are coming back to questions about Lowry, DeRozan and Valanciunas as individuals, and as the core of a team. All the Raptors can do is hope that those queries have not been definitively answered already.