The Toronto Raptors are a franchise on the rise and the team is not looking to trade names like DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross or Kyle Lowry after those names came up in rumors last season, but if the team takes a step back and gets to their losing ways again, Masai Ujiri likely will get some offers and a GM like him will have no choice but to listen.
The Raptors are not expecting a losing season in 2014-15 and expectations now are very high after the team won the division and made it into the playoffs last year. According to ESPN.com writes Marc Stein, last season the Raptors came close to making deals with DeRozan and Lowry, but the team pulled back when they saw how well the team was performing under Dwane Casey. That is one reason why Ujiri opted to bring back Casey and also why he went so hard after Lowry, as he was a major target on the free agent market.
The Raptors obviously aren't looking to trade those players and we are not saying they are, but Masai has shown in the past that he is willing to make moves and if things go a different way here, he could do it again. Ujiri received praise for the package he brought over for Carmelo Anthony with the Nuggets, as that sparked a 50 win season for the team. Ujiri also made a very wise trade with Rudy Gay this past season and the Raptors improved after dealing him to the Kings, bringing over some strong players back, including Patterson.
The Raptors have been active this offseason making moves and they re-signed Patterson to a three year deal and also Kyle Lowry on a four year deal. Lowry had interest from a number of other teams, but he opted to sign back with the Raptors on a $48 million deal over four years. Lowry had a great season in 2013-14 and averaged 17 points along with seven assists and those were career numbers for the point guard. The team also signed back restricted free-agent guard Greivis Vasquez and he also came in that previously mentioned trade and has been a solid addition.
The team also pulled off a trade with the Hawks for Lou Williams for John Salmons and that move had to do with a bit of salary cap work. The Hawks also sent over the rights to Brazilian player Lucas Nogueira and he moved in the deal as well. The Raptors also had some house cleaning moves, as they released Dwight Buycks and Diante Garrett after they played in the summer league. Buycks played well with the team last season and he averaged 19.7 points and 4.3 assists while playing in Vegas this past summer.
Last season the Raptors won a franchise record 48 games last season and now they come in looking to battle with the Nets and the Knicks in the division this year. The team ranked in the top 10 in points allowed last season and they were also in the top half of the league in scoring.
