Title: How would a Giannis Antetokounmpo extension alter the Raptors’ plans?
Date: October 8, 2020
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about how a marquee 2021 free agent coming off the market could change the Raptors’ plans.
The Toronto Raptors have kept their cap sheet lean, their roster well-stocked and flexible and their reputation sterling. It’s the 2021 offseason, and for the first time since the pursuit of DeMarre Carroll, Masai Ujiri & Co. have meaningful cap space to work with.
Have the Raptors reached the status of a free-agent destination? And, if not, what is the backup-plan for continuing to develop the current group into a contender once again?
The Plan B question is one of the most common questions we’ve been asked in response to just about all of our offseason prep content so far. And that makes perfect sense – as Ujiri himself laid out, most of the Raptors’ decision-making here in the 2020 offseason will keep 2021 flexibility in mind. That’s not to say the Raptors intend to take a step back, necessarily, but that every opportunity to improve their 2020-21 chances will be weighed against how it might affect the 2021-22 outlook.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 