Raptors president Masai Ujiri has been widely praised for his work since he was hired two years ago. His approval rating is very high. But it hasn't been thanks to sweeping maneuvers to the roster, which he has left mostly intact.
Although his biggest moves have been signing Casey and Kyle Lowry to contract extensions, he didn't bring either to Toronto. The most significant player move he has made was trading away Rudy Gay last season. His biggest move this season was trading for Lou Williams, who won the 2014-15 Sixth Man Award. Lowry and Williams helped the team in different ways, but for the most part Ujiri has shown restraint and patience.
Heading into the summer, there are three core players -- Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough and Williams -- who are going to be free agents. Also the Chuck Hayes and Landry Fields contracts expire, leaving the Raptors holding about $18 million in cap space if they don't re-sign their own free agents. Plus, young center Jonas Valanciunas is due for an extension in the fall, and that negotiation could get complex.
If Toronto washes out of this series, it seems rather doubtful the bulk of the roster will return. Ujiri said before the series began that this series would determine how he'd evaluate the team, and so far the returns haven't been good.
This team has major defensive issues and obviously could use a veteran or two who have proven playoff toughness, something they seem to be short on. Wizards leader Paul Pierce, even in a diminished state compared with his younger years, has more moxie in one of his sore joints than the entire Raptors team has showed thus far.
If Toronto is going to break through, it has to find something out on the market. When he was the GM in Denver, Ujiri made several big trades and was not afraid to move centerpieces of his roster. It's possible he could see what he might be able to get for some of the team's leaders, such as DeMar DeRozan and perhaps even Lowry.
we can never get a break
