The mention of a change in the culture within an organization usually points towards the coaching staff, which paints both the picture of success and inconsistency. Raptors' head coach Dwane Casey has helped turn a struggling Toronto franchise into a top contender in the East, boasting a 50-plus win record within the last two seasons in the process. With this success, one would wonder why any changes would have to be made in terms of the staff.
Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs.
While reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history last season is an accomplishment that should be celebrated, failing to return a second time may be starting to worry Raptors management.
The dark cloud known as the Cavaliers seem to have a stronghold on the Eastern Conference and have eliminated the Raptors for the second year in a row now. While the struggle of getting past the Cavs isn't unique to DeRozen & Co., the peaks of their best players (DeRozen, Lowry, and Ibaka) have more than likely been thrown to the side by the sweep that just took place.
One giant question mark just be placed on Kyle Lowry for a few reasons. Unfortunately for the 31-year-old combo guard, his injuries as well as his age may not only keep him from playing at the high level he has performed at but make him a hard pitch for the Raptors to trade off for any pieces as valuable as he currently is for the team. It's more than likely that he will hit the wall within the next few years, leaving DeMar DeRozen as the sole scorer for Toronto. When looking at his change in performance from the season to the playoffs, this could be very concerning.
During the season, DeMar averaged 27.3 PPG, 3.9 AST, and 5.2 REB while shooting at 46% from the field and leading the league in both made and attempted midrange shots. After arguably coming off of his best season, the playoffs became a game of guessing which DeRozen would show up each night, Going from a 5 point performance to a 37 point performance within a two game stretch in the Cavs series (Similar occurrence took place in the Bucks series) shows that while DeRozen may be an amazing player in this league, he is far from ever being a true leader when the playoffs come around.
His lack of an efficient three point shot hasn't held him back during seasonal play, but playing seven games with coaches and teams that will adjust and attack your weaknesses has shown that advancing in the playoffs in the modern NBA requires a perimeter shot that will stretch the floor. Frankly, DeMar's outstanding midrange touch just doesn't cut it.
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| Stats of DeRozan and Lowry during the Cavs-Raptors match-up during the Eastern Conference semi-finals |
That along with the struggles of both Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka to gather rebounds or defend the paint shows the picture of why the Cavaliers were able to steamroll them in such an efficient manner. The lack of consistency that this team continues to show in their last few playoff runs truly hold them back from being true title contenders, making Ujiri's claims of a "culture reset" as valid as ever for Toronto.
With DeRozan's 5 yr / $139M contract that lasts until the end of the 2020-21 season, the Raptors will have him locked in until he hits 30. The chances of management trading him away are slim to none, making him the building block around the potential changes that may come about during this off-season.
Interest is mainly focused on Lowry and Ibaka, both being unrestricted free agents. With the chance of Chris Paul hitting the market (Assuming he uses his early termination clause), it would make sense to look into investing into a new, experienced point guard such as CP3. Point guards such as Derrick Rose or Jeff Teague are less likely to be viewed by the Raptors since they aren't likely to have the skill set needed to fix the problems the Raptors have from a guard perspective. Seeing as how Jrue Holiday is reportedly going to offered a near max contract by the Pelicans, Lowry or Paul should be the only guards in their projected free agency interests.
Having the ability to resign Ibaka and allow him to become more comfortable with the system would be a good move for the right price, seeing as how DeMarre Carroll's underwhelming contract is currently $14M+ hold on the team's salary for the next two years. Attempts to move Caroll should be looked into this off-season.
Ultimately, it seems that one major piece of the Raptors franchise will no longer be there by the start of next season judging by the comments from management. Whether it's a reset in terms of coaching or one of their best players, this off-season has the potential to be an explosive one for the NBA.
Who do you think will be on the move this upcoming off-season?
Who's the odd man out for the Raptors?
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