Title: Raptors Reset: Key decisions, dates and debates for the offseason ahead
Date: September 14, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I teed up the Raptors offseason by laying out key dates, decisions, and debates they’ll face the next few months.
“We made the biggest impact, check the spreadsheet.” – Nicki Minaj
It is officially the offseason for the Toronto Raptors. And that means it’s just about spreadsheet season for me. It’s one of my top-six favourite seasons along with basketball season, Summer League, the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax, sadboy season and autumn.
As always, there’s plenty to sort through as the Raptors figure out where they’re going next year. A lot of the decisions they’re about to have to make will be coloured by a multi-year lens, too; they are competitive now, but the goal remains maximizing a title contention window at some point, possibly as soon as 2021-22. They’ll have to balance fortifying next year’s roster with keeping their cap sheet lean and flexible, which makes a few free agent decisions a little tougher.
Because it’s been so long since the last offseason and there’s so much uncertainty, I wanted to take today to do a lighter setup of the offseason ahead. What follows are some key dates and decision points for the Raptors, along with links to anything Eric and I wrote about those decisions previously. Tomorrow, I’ll roll out my annual Raptors free agency primer, which will walk you through the team’s cap situation and what will and won’t be options for them. And over the next few weeks and months, Eric and I will break down these key decisions, potential targets and more.
Today, we simply reset.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 