The Toronto Raptors learned a lot this season. But with all of that knowledge, they’ll have to answer some questions, and quickly.

Here is my full breakdown of the 5 things they must figure out this summer:

I would highly recommend reading Ian Finlayson’s piece on the Raptors salary cap situation heading into the summer to familiarize yourself with what is and isn’t possible.

Here’s a little excerpt:

Toronto is one of only six teams that are in full control of all of their first round picks (Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons – however there are many other teams with a treasure trove of firsts via other teams including the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz).

When it comes to their cap and tax situation, the Raptors finished $688,734 under the tax and $2,372,662 under the first apron this past season. They after ducked under the tax by trading Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline.

Now, heading into the offseason, they project to be $7,940,004 under the tax and $9,341,795 under the apron. But there are also a number of caveats attached to those numbers, including the player option of Sandro Mamukelashvili that is likely to be declined, the team options on Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo and Trayce-Jackson Davis (they must decide on these options by June 27-29) and the incoming cap hit of their upcoming 19th-overall pick.

Lets examine where Raptors are at financially and what options that leaves available for them when it comes to team building this summer.

The post Five questions the Raptors must answer this offseason first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Forever and for always, fans will partake in an infinite swirl of opinions and arguments and speculation. Why wouldn’t we? We have nothing else to go on but our beliefs.

That said, when we do get that very rare opportunity to actually hear the thoughts and reflections straight from the decision-maker’s mouth, we must listen. Anddddd, then get back to the complaining and commanding and arguing.

Below are a few of the highlights from Bobby Webster’s thoughts on the season past and intentions for what’s to come.

With translation for clarity.

On this season’s expectations:

“A step in the right direction. Doesn’t mean that the next step or the next few steps aren’t going to be even harder. And, I think that was a lot of our messaging the next couple of days to the team…both things can be true: you can sort of be proud of what you did, but also have a hunger and grit this summer to advance beyond that or do more than you did this year.

And so, from a pre-season there’s always that internal expectation to get to the Playoffs and the players were all for leading that and that was a belief they had. And once we got there, the circumstances of the season, some injuries, but I think the fight and grit was representative of that group and this season.”

Translation:

Let’s not rejoice to the Gods with such revelry for merely a Round 1 exit; buttttt, also, fuck everyone because let’s be honest, but for a few pundits [shoutout Michael Pina from the The Ringer], most considered us a plummeting submarine heading to imminent implosion. Suck it.

On how to evaluate this team based on the Regular Season versus the Playoffs:

“I’m not going to over index the Playoffs. It’s very important to see the young players in roles they might not have gotten. That was more illustrative for us. Typically, you don’t get to see first- and second-year players play that many minutes in those types of roles.

We looked at it, we were the youngest team in the Playoffs this season. That speaks to the growth and trajectory of this group can go. We’re excited about it; we’re also not going to sort of say ‘wow, those seven games spoke volumes about the next 3 or 4 years.'”

Translation:

Okay, cool, fun times. But all those guys I paid lots of money to reallly get us where we want to go, weren’t totally, entirely, the ones who did. Sooooo…[Bobby trails off and looks wistfully into a distant alternative future where $110 million is not owed to three guys that did not play or did not play well in the Playoffs.]

On RJ Barrett in the Playoffs and future contract discussions:

“You always knew he was going to play a big, physical style of basketball and that was on full display. Him getting to the paint, getting to the rim. So, ya, I’d say he had a little bit of a tough stretch going through injuries, but he got back to full health and you saw that on full display in the Playoffs.

We’re keeping those conversations [contractual ones] private. I spoke to him at the end of the season. He’s under contract next season and that conversation can be at the end of next season.”

Translation:

Thank God, RJ balled out. Because down in Neeyew Yowk, Owh Jee Anunobee is balling the fuck out while IQ can’t even stay on the floor. It was all starting to look like a total dumpsta fyah. Especially, with RJ regressing to his inefficient self of old. Hooping against primed Playoff defences as a secondary option is a Goddamn blessing for this team and my [Bobby, if you haven’t caught the drift yet] career.

On Scottie Barnes in the Playoffs and building the team around him moving forward:

“We’ve been having this conversation for five years with Scottie [annoyed smirk by Bobby for the question]. Even back to his rookie year, there’s moments where he’s on the ball and orchestrating and directing traffic; he affects the game hugely on the offensive end.

And, there’s probably not one answer to what the final product or version of Scottie, but what you saw was playing with force on both ends. That’s our push for him over the course of 82 games. It’ll be this summer; it’ll be this pre-season. But really playing with that level of force and engagement for the whole season.

Translation:

Is Scottie here? Scottie!? Scottieee!? Are you watching this? That. That was what we’ve been talking to you about every year since you’ve been here. That’s what we’ve been saying. That level of intensity. That seizing of responsibility. That physicality. That meanness. That aggression. That leadership. We want that. ALL. THE. TIME. Please and thank you.

On the team’s Financials and Ownership’s willingness to spend cashola:

“It’s been the same here. We timed it perfect when we won the Title and went into the Tax. But there’s always been that notion, which is: when the time is right, come ask and we will deliver.

But going into this season we realized, this might not be the championship-contending team, so we held off. But going forward, I think it will be a bit more on how does this group grow but also what moves we make over this summer. But we have full support and whenever the time is right, we’ll be ready.”

Translation:

I hate you for asking this. My team is owned by a bunch of soulless, corporatized, profitmaxxing succubusses. Or succubi? Is that Latin or Greek? Or, maybe, it’s Germanic?

Anyway, I don’t know what you want me to say. I dunno, it depends? Is the Strait of Hormuz still open? Cause if not, I feel like, I’m probably going get Tom Dundoned here soon and have to layoff miniature Raptor, or maybe, they’re going to pull a Maple Leafs and hire Vince Carter and Bryan Colangelo to replace me. TBD.

On what this team needs to take that next step:

“Our philosophy here has always been getting two-way players. I said this summer, we’re in talent acquisition. We still need more better players. There will be a time where it feels like, okay, this specific piece will put us over the top. But no, I think this summer will, whether it’s the draft, free agency, or trades, we’ll just be looking at the best two-way players available.”

Translation

If you expected any modicum of spacing or shooting for this team…THINK AGAIN. WE HAVE A PHILOSOPHY. OKAYYY?

What made you think that whoever we draft or sign next will be any different than Stanley Johnson or Pascal Siakam or Bruno Cabocolo or Patrick McCaw or CMB or *insert basically anyone the Raptors have ever acquired here*? If their arms aren’t the span of Doug Ford’s belt [no, not the Green one he stole, the one holding up his pants], then they won’t play here, got it?

On evaluating Jakob Pöltl’s season and the logic on extending him:

“Coming off last year, he had a career year, one of his best years. Really, I think what happened, he got a little bit behind the 8-ball in training camp with his back. Going into the preseason it was already bothering him then. So that didn’t allow him to prepare for the season. But at the same time, I think down the stretch there’s going to be some recency bias, but I think of some of the big games down the stretch against Detroit and Denver…so…

With Jakob, he’s high IQ, high instincts. People know when he’s at his best what he means to this team. Whether it’s walking him on the court or even analytically. But know the message to him was, he needs to get healthy and get back to the Jakob that we know. And we think he’s embracing that challenge. And, we’ll be on him this summer.”

Translation

He’s a Top-15 centre when healthy. He DAMN WELL GET HEALTHY…

On the young guys and evaluating the depth of this team:

“In some ways, yes, [a question on if their success affects offseason decision-making], in other ways, contracts dictate when you make decisions and all those guys are under contract. And, so, there’s a natural growth and development we’ll get to see next year. You’re sort of taking notes and filing it away what some of these guys were able to do in the Playoffs. But we have 12 guys under contract going into next season so…

Really, you’re looking at two approaches which is: do you let it organically grow, did you see enough this year that this group can continue? Or, what I talked about at the trade deadline, when you start to cash in your chips, when you start to consolidate? We have all our first round picks, we have future flexibility, we’re under the tax. A few years we’re really far under the tax. The question will be when those opportunities come around where the price is right and it also fits from a basketball stand point, but also culturally.

That was really unique about this team, they played for each other. They’ve all grown up with us. I always say the telling points of this season were when our backs were against the wall. Whether it was early in the season when we were 1-4. The Houston/New Orleans road trip. We bounced back from those. The Orlando game was big. Those two Miami games. When we were down 2-0. That was a testament to the character of this group.

Translation

Man, what a good problem to have. So, many young, gritty, fun prospects. They’re so goddamn lovable and have so much potential. And, Man, their new gleam shines so bright anyone trying to figure out where Gradey Dick or Jonathan Mogbo or Ron Harper Jr. or Dalano Banton or Christian Koloko are, can’t see shit. Phew.

On Brandon Ingram’s fit and if he is a long-term fit:

“Return to health was a big one. That was a big check. He got back to his All-Star form…By all accounts Brandon fit in him. This is a time for him to continue to improve: shooting, get bigger, get stronger. But, ya, I think have two All-Stars in Brandon and Scottie, it was a great season.

Translation:

Dude’s talented as Hell. And BIG UPs to him being healthy. But he’s got a wayssss to go to prove that I shouldn’t ship him at the first sign of a net-positive return.

On Gradey Dick’s role and his struggles:

“Gradey was good. The conversations throughout the year, he knew what was going on. He was good coming out of training camp and preseason. It’s natural for a player to have ups and downs over the course of their season, especially, for someone at age 22. But talking to him last couple of days, he’s motivated by this. He’s using this as motivation to get better this summer. And, fully expect a great summer from Gradey.

I thought he had a good second year. He had a development with us. He played 76 games this year. It might be a bit more recency bias. What we’ve seen in the Playoffs and heard Darko say: that level of defensive intensity and focus was on full display in the Playoffs and we’ve seen that with a number of players who have come through here and through our number of Playoff runs. I would say that’s the one, he’s gotta be able to defend when he’s on the court.”

Translation:

Big year for, ya, Bucko.

On areas of improvement:

“We were a Top 5 defence and, probably, an average offence. In this league, you need to be a Top 10 in both to be a contender and Top 5 in both to be a real contender. The challenge is how do you improve one with out taking away from the other. That is probably the big picture as opposed to specific skillsets.

The foundation of this team is on defence. You play if you play defence. Darko set that in very early. And, so that was on display. At the same time, the reality of the NBA is that having a good offence and defence is what succeeds.

There’s a lot more of iterations to go. We’ve had a lot of stings in the past. I don’t get too caught up on what is the team look like from a year from now or two years from now. We need to incrementally get better. We need to win all of our trades. We need to pick the right player. Getting caught up in ‘what the final team is’ isn’t super helpful.”

Translation:

I wonder if Masai still loves Brandon Ingram as much as he said he did before he deserted me?

On building around Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles:

“Clearly, the defensive ability of those two is special. Whether it’s switching or them being disruptive and guarding multiple positions, what do you surround that with? You could surround it with more defence. You could put more elite defenders around that and figure out the offensive end. But I think we’re gonna focus on the strength of those two. Which is a defensive pairing and how are you making that Top 5 defence into an even better defence.”

Translation:

Everyone else, better get to it!

On evaluating Darko Rajaković and contract extensions:

“Darko did a great job. The first two years we always said he’s a great communicator, great energy, great development. But 30 wins to 46 wins is a huge improvement. To make the adjustments in the Playoffs when some of our main guys were down. Darko had a great year.

No comment on financial situations here…

Translation:

Why the fuck do I get three questions every press conference about stuff I one-thousand percent cannot and will never disclose? Does my low-tenor-Dad’s-disappointed mumble and side-eye not clue them in?

On Sandro Mamukelashvili and how his skillset fits here:

“Very rarely does it fit like you play in the summer. And even from Darko’s perspective, whether it was from on the court or off the court, great personality, loved this city, he fit in really well here. We knew the financial realities of signing the contract, but that was sort of one of the reasons he picked us was because of the fit. Even thought it wasn’t as much money as other places. But no we’ve been looking for a stretch big for years and to see it with the bench but also with the starters was nice to see. And, this summer, we’ll talk to his reps and Mamu. He obviously wants to be here. There’s financial realities of the NBA but we’ll do everything we can to retain him.”

Translation:

But also, is he a two-way guy? Cause, like, he’s gotta be a two-way. I said it above. If they’re not a two-way, they’re not a Raptor. I didn’t say toupee, Mamu, I said two-way.

On the Draft:

“This was always going to be a good draft. We identified that a couple of years ago. At 19, we’ve had a pick in this range for a number of years. And it’s a testament to all the scouting we do this season. Guys are in the back watching film right now. We’re confident we’ll get a player at 19, but it’s too early to say these are the 5 or 6 guys we’re focused on.”

Translation:

If I stare straight forward and just think “two-way”, “two-way”, “two-way”, “two-way”, do you think they’ll quit asking me obvious answers I can’t disclose/they already know!?

On Masai Ujiri and Dallas Mavericks “trade chats”:

“We know all the players he likes, he knows all the players we like. It’s sometimes tough to do deals.”

Translation:

YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER.

On Trade Discussions and confidence on making a significant trade:

“Can you make a bigger step with one of those deals? We’re always going to be opportunistic in any trade market. It’s the reason why we’ve kept all of our first round picks. Financially we’re well-positioned to take on money if we have to. But it gets back to what the profile of this team is. So, if you want to double-down on defence or the offence needs help, it would have to materially move us ahead from a contender-standpoint.”

Translation:

Mostly just waitin’ for Jaylen Brown to demand a trade. T-Minus number of Twitch streams until Joe Mazulla knocks on his front door and lectures him about the self-entitlement of his younger generation [they’re the same generation, but not in Joe’s mind, they’re not] and challenges him to a seven-day hunger strike…

On Garrett Temple’s Free Agency:

“Garrett is probably one of the guys I talk most with. He’s similar age. He cares about the right things for the team. That’s great to have him. To see his relatioship with Scottie, but to see him with Collin, but you’ve probably watched, players are looking to him on the bench, players are talking to him at half-time. That’s invaluable. But there’s only 15 roster spots; he knows that. We’ve been fortunate to have one for him every year and we’d love to have him back, but we’ll have to see how summer plays out.”

Translation:

Time to put the suit on, [player development] Coach.

Full coverage here:

The post Highlights and Translations from the Bobby Webster Year-End Press Conference first appeared on Raptors Republic.

The Toronto Raptors enter the summer in a relatively desirable place in terms of their salary cap and asset situation, yet will still have to walk a razor’s edge in order to augment their roster. Such is life in the NBA’s cap environment.

They currently project to come in below the tax line and the first apron – there are 25 teams that line up to be outside of the aprons and 24 outside of the tax – and also own all of their own first-round picks going forward.

Toronto is one of only six teams that are in full control of all of their first round picks (Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons – however there are many other teams with a treasure trove of firsts via other teams including the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz).

When it comes to their cap and tax situation, the Raptors finished $688,734 under the tax and $2,372,662 under the first apron this past season. They after ducked under the tax by trading Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline.

Now, heading into the offseason, they project to be $7,940,004 under the tax and $9,341,795 under the apron. But there are also a number of caveats attached to those numbers, including the player option of Sandro Mamukelashvili that is likely to be declined, the team options on Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo and Trayce-Jackson Davis (they must decide on these options by June 27-29) and the incoming cap hit of their upcoming 19th-overall pick.

Lets examine where Raptors are at financially and what options that leaves available for them when it comes to team building this summer.

Probably the biggest question facing the Raptors’ offseason is are they able to swing a significant trade to jump from their current position as a lower-tier playoff team to a true contender.

Bobby Webster spoke to Toronto’s position in the trade market at his year-end press conference on Wednesday, specifically on the prospect of including draft capital to land a significant addition.

“‘Can you make a bigger step with one of those deals?’ We’re always going to be opportunistic in any trade market, it’s why we kept all of our first-round picks to have that,” Webster said. “I think financially we’re all well-positioned in the future to take on money if we have to.”

He also stated that ownership would be willing to back the team extending its salary into the luxury tax given the right opportunity.

“We timed it perfect when we won the title and went into the tax, but I think there’s always been that notion, which is when the time is right, that ‘come ask, and we’ll deliver,'” Webster said. “I think going into this season we realized this might not be the championship contending team … but we have full support and whenever the time is right, we’ll be ready.”

As far as expiring contracts and avenues for addition outside of trade are concerned this is what the Raptors are looking at:

Garrett Temple and AJ Lawson are both unrestricted free agents while Alijah Martin, Chucky Hepburn and Tyreke Key are all restricted free agents. All five players have cap holds ranging between $2.2-2.5 million. (This essentially acts as a placeholder that prevents teams from using room under the cap to sign free agents before using Bird rights to re-sign their own free agents.)

Meanwhile, they have plenty of exceptions available to them, including the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($15 million) the biannual exception ($5.5 million) and a $6.4-million trade exception acquired via the Agbaji trade.

They also have five players eligible for extension: RJ Barrett (max of $186 million over four years), Jamal Shead, Trayce-Jackson Davis, Jonathan Mogbo and Gradey Dick.

Webster had this to say about the prospect of extending Barrett: “We’re going to keep all of those conversations private. I spoke to him throughout the season and at the end of the season. the good thing is he’s under contract, so that’s also something we can talk about at the end of next season.”

One last note; their tax and apron numbers are so close together despite the tax and initial apron threshold being $8 million apart due to the same reason we went over (along with local cap-ologist Blake Murphy) last offseason. There are “unlikely” incentives built into the contracts of Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl that count towards the cap/aprons but not the tax, unless of course the incentives are improbably earned.

It appears that the upcoming incentives come in at roughly $230,000 more than last season’s based on the information available at Spotrac. They had some of the details available this past season, but don’t so far this year, and I’m not going bug Blake while he’s on a well-deserved vacation, so we’ll ride with that number for now.

For what it’s worth, last season, Barrett had up to $3.4-million in incentives, divided evenly between making All-Star, All-NBA or All-Defence. Quickley and Poeltl’s were listed at $2.5 million and $500,000, respectively. The specifics weren’t publicly available but Murphy reported that Quickley’s were $500,000 each for an MVP, All-NBA, All-Star, third-round appearance, Finals appearance, or championship up to a maximum of $2.5 million. Poeltl’s were $250,000 each for making the second and third rounds. The playoff incentives included a requirement of 65 games played and 20 minutes per game, so even if the Raptors beat the Cavs and moved onto the second round, Poeltl would not have been eligible to cash in.

We can safely assume the incentives are roughly the same this season, although we’ll have to wait until further information comes out to confirm.

Alright, see you back here later in June for further analysis on the Raptors’ financial outlook when we know more heading into free agency.

The post Surveying the Raptors’ financials entering a crucial offseason first appeared on Raptors Republic.

‘Can you make a bigger step with one of those deals?’ We’re always going to be opportunistic in any trade market, it’s why we kept all of our first-round picks to have that. I think financially we’re all well-positioned in the future to take on money if we have to.” stated Bobby when asked about the possibility of an all-in trade including significant picks.

The Toronto Raptors were in numerous trade rumors during this season, and they were attached to plenty of star players such as Domantas Sabonis and Anthony Davis. They wound up not pulling the trigger on any of these trades, and they kept all their assets while doing so. As Webster stated, they do have all of their first-round picks, as well as a few player assets that could feasibly go in a deal as well.

Every season in the NBA there is a new star that becomes available, and Toronto is usually in the mix when these situations happen. They also have some expiring deals coming up, which are perfect to send out in potential star trade scenarios. Webster didn’t fully commit to saying that Toronto is looking to trade for a star in an “all-in” type of move, but he did leave the door open for Toronto to potentially pursue one.

The post “We’re always going to be opportunistic in any trade market” Bobby Webster on a potential big trade first appeared on Raptors Republic.

“We’re going to keep all of those conversations private. I spoke to him throughout the season and at the end of the season. the good thing is he’s under contract, so that’s also something we can talk about at the end of next season.” stated Webster when asked if there were talks of an extension for Barrett.

Barrett will be in the final season of his four-year contract next season, with him being slated to hit unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the 2026-27 NBA season. Webster affirmed that talks have been had regarding a potential extension, but as can be ascertained by Barrett’s current lack of an extension, these talks haven’t gone very far.

Webster hinted that the Raptors may be content to let Barrett play out the final year of his contract before they lock him into a new contract, a method that risks him leaving town if an extension isn’t agreed upon at the conclusion of next season.

Barrett showed throughout the regular season and playoffs that he is a very valuable member of this team, but with Toronto being so close to the NBA salary cap aprons and likely wanting to avoid being in the luxury tax, it may be tricky for them to come to an agreement on a contract with Barrett sooner than later.

The post “That’s always something we can talk about at the end of next season” Bobby Webster on RJ Barrett’s contract extension first appeared on Raptors Republic.

According to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange, the Raptors’ 2023 first-round pick, Gradey Dick, is “amenable to” being traded, with Grange also suggesting that this is a move that the Raptors will most likely do.

Dick, who was the Raptors’ 13th overall pick in 2023, showed promise within his first two years, shooting at or above 35 per cent from three in both seasons, and averaging 14.4 points per game across 29.4 minutes per game. However, his minutes took a severe hit after the all-star break this season, and as a result, his production tanked. Across only 14.0 minutes per game, Dick averaged 6.0 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 0.7 assists while shooting 30.1 per cent from three, which is a 4.9 per cent drop from last year.

Not only is this one reason Dick’s future with the Raps is shaky, but the other is his salary. As Grange pointed out, moving roughly $6 million could keep the Raps under the tax for next year, especially if they want to bring back Sandro Mamukelashvili and add more shooting in the offseason. With that in mind, Dick makes $7.13 million next year, and would give the Raps about $1 million more in space below the tax if they were to move on from him.

Now, Dick most likely won’t be the only person moved. Grange mentioned several players that could be moved this offseason, throwing out names like RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl. Now, Barrett did say on Monday that he loves it here and wants to stay here for his whole career, but only time will tell what Bobby Webster and the front office decide to do.

The post Report: Gradey Dick “amenable to” trade out of Toronto first appeared on Raptors Republic.

After a hard-fought seven-game series, the franchise affirmed its identity as a top-five defence, unveiled Scottie Barnes’ stardom and hit multiple developmental checkboxes along the way.

Enough to even deem the season a campaign, right?

Nope.

“I don’t know about successful, said Barnes at his end-of-season media availability. “I felt like we went out there every single game and just got better. Found out more about ourselves … we worked really hard and didn’t leave anything on the table.”

Okay, so if a 16-win jump year-over-year and pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to a do-or-die finale aren’t enough to be considered a success, what is?

According to Barnes: “Sticking to our standard, sticking to the way we play, and I felt like we did that.”

Wait, so the season was a success?

Still nope.

“I wouldn’t say it was successful because we felt like we could have done better and went pretty far, further than we went,” Barnes concluded.

The franchise forward’s feelings weren’t exclusive.

Just about every Raptor who spoke on Monday felt a sense of gratitude towards an undoubtedly positive season, many referring to it as a “step in the right direction,” but none felt satisfied by the ending.

Jakob Poeltl said as much: “We felt like we had something, we felt like we had a chance … we could have gone on a run here.”

So did RJ Barrett: “Always the end goal is to win a championship, you know. I think from where we were last year, till now, has been a huge jump for us, so it’s successful in that sense.”

But even in Barrett’s more glass-half-full spieling, the hometown hero couldn’t help but let the competitive edge slip out, recounting Game 5 of the series as “the one that hurts,” as it was a missed opportunity.

Even youngsters, like Jamal Shead, felt like “we could have done a lot more.”

And that may just be it. The subjective line between success and failure is often blurred.

The Raptors, in many ways, were successful. Especially when it came to controlling the “work,” which was head coach Darko Rajakovic’s ultimate message all season.

“We are not focusing on a win, ever,” Rajakovic explained before Game 6 of the Raptors first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Because we don’t control wins. There are so many things that you can control, and then the outcome of the game is win or lose. We cannot think about, ‘oh, we want to win,’ and then get lazy … and we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do. We just have to focus on a very high level … to control everything that’s in our power.

Rajakovic has been consistent in that mindset, going as far back as December, when he told me the same thing: “We always talk about (wanting) to be a winning team, we want to win every single night, we want to compete every single night. But if you put winning as your primary objective and goal, then you’re losing focus on the details that really lead to winning or losing games. You want to have your focus on execution, on preparation, on things that you really control. Winning is not in your control.”

And yet, despite making many strides in establishing “championship habits,” the players are right in feeling that still wasn’t enough to deem their season as successful.

Why? Because the NBA is, above all else, a results-based league.

If it were more about theory and potential, Gradey Dick would’ve been on the court in the playoffs and not Jamison Battle or A.J. Lawson. Them’s the breaks. Results matter, even if it’s a coach’s job to tell players they don’t.

Players are wired to care, and it’s often what pushes them to get better.

Hence why, after just about every Raptor expressed displeasure with how the season ended, they immediately followed it up with mentions of their off-season goals to improve.

Barnes spoke about learning to maintain his aggression, Ja’Kobe Walter referenced strength training and Sandro Mamukelashvili noted his focus on quickness, as a couple of examples.

There’s an appetite for improvement that can’t be satiated by platitudes and feel-good sentimentality. It’ll require winning.

And the hope is that all the accomplishments — and shortcomings — along that path to the top are simply “steps to success,” as a famous Greek once philosophized.

The post Raptors grateful but far from satisfied after overachieving season first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Calgary’s Yvonne Ejim has signed a training camp contract with the Tempo, the team announced on Tuesday.

Ejim, 24, was the 33rd overall pick by the Indiana Fever last season, but was waived in May of 2025. She spent her most recent pro season in Spain, averaging 9.8 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 37.8 per cent from deep for IDK Euskotren in 27 games.

The Canadian forward made her move to the pros after a decorated collegiate career at Gonzaga. She finished as the program’s top scorer and was the first player in WCC history to eclipse 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

She was a two-time WCC Player of the Year, two-time WCC Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-WCC member.

As a senior in 2024-25, Ejim averaged 20.7 points, and 9.3 rebounds, both of which led the WCC, to go with 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals.

Ejim, the younger sister of Canadian senior men’s national team member Melvin Ejim, has also appeared for Canada on the international stage, including an appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

She also took part in the FIBA qualifying tournament with Canada in March, averaging 4.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks through five appearances. Ejim’s top performance was against Turkey, logging 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while shooting 3-of-3 from distance.

As for the Tempo, they now have 16 other players under contract — aside from Mariella Fasoula, who the team signed to a developmental contract on Tuesday.

The final roster for the regular season is due ahead of Friday night’s opener. Teams across the WNBA hold 12 regular roster spots and two developmental slots.

As for how head coach Sandy Brondello is approaching roster building ahead of her first season in Toronto, she said she “just wants to make sure the puzzle fits.”

“Do we have enough playmaking, rebounding, toughness, shooting … we’ve got some tough decisions to make. Every year it gets harder and harder, and the talent level goes up.”

The Tempo’s inaugural season tips off on Friday, when they host the Washington Mystics.

The post Tempo sign Calgary’s Yvonne Ejim to training camp contract first appeared on Raptors Republic.

It’s safe to say that the past season was a smash hit for Darko Rajakovic, but the third-year head coach isn’t resting on his laurels.

“I have already 40 to 50 percent of my first team meeting ready for next year,” Rajakovic said at his season-end debrief with media on Tuesday. “Probably like two-three months ago I already started planning the summer, started planning the next season. Start making a bunch of notes.”

“That’s (an) ongoing process. That never stops,” he added.

Now that this Raptors team has grown together over the course of a couple seasons to ascend from the depths of the Eastern Conference and begin making a name for themselves, continued improvement both via development and in the standings gets more granular.

But while this was Rajakovic’s first time as a head coach in the playoffs, he doesn’t act like a rookie. Instead of acknowledging the precarious position Toronto sits in between the contenders and pretenders, Rajakovic instead pointed to their continuity as an advantage.

“The difference is continuity of the team, right,” he said. “Having players that are with the team for a stretch of time, so majority of the guys, they already know what the summer looks like for us, what that work looks like.

“We’re going to have a plan for each player, what they need to work on, what they need to improve over the next five-and-a-half months.”

For Scottie Barnes, the Raptors’ superhuman multi-tool that improvement could come in myriad ways. That’s a mind boggling prospect considering he’s fresh off averaging 24.1 points on 60.2 percent true shooting to go along with 6.1 boards 8.6 assists and 2.8 stocks all while taking on taxing defensive assignments in Toronto’s seven-game series against the Cavs.

“58 percent,” Rajakovic quipped at the mention of Barnes being only 60 percent of what he could become. “It’s going down. I just realized there is more room for growth.

“The way we use Scottie is so unique right. We use him in post ups, we use him in pick n’ roll as a handler, as a screener. He’s amazing in transition. There’s a lot of things that he’s doing; just polishing those things and getting better in those things. And getting in better condition, getting his body in even better shape, it’s just going to help with his overall game.”

It’s clear that the coach has unwavering faith in his superstar’s abilities. He already said he could be a future MVP at multiple points and that was before he was one of the best five players in the first round of the playoffs.

“The experience he’s gaining, the confidence that he’s gaining, it’s going to help him understand that there is more from him to give,” Rajakovic said of Barnes. “This summer specifically we’re going to focus more on his skill development. His ability to come up with a couple of moves off the dribble, to be an even better finisher at the rim.”

Of course the development doesn’t stop at Barnes. Rajakovic spent time discussing the trajectory of plenty of players on the roster on Tuesday, including leading scorer Brandon Ingram, rookie sensation Collin Murray-Boyles, standout sophomore Ja’Kobe Walter, and even depth pieces in Jamison Battle and AJ Lawson.

When it comes to identifying which skills should be focused on in offseason work, Rajakovic says he first considers the team’s style of play before taking into account where they believe the game is going league wide.

“When I talk to coaches, when I talk to players, I always like to say, what does it need to happen for a certain player to fail,” Rajakovic said. “You start right there. Like why is a certain player going to fail next season if he doesn’t do this, this or that. That gives you an answer of what you really need to focus on.”

But with all the talk about how everyone around Rajakovic is going to get better, it’s also worthwhile to consider how he’s going to continue pushing the envelope as the group’s leader.

“Well, I have a lot of plans for myself as well,” Rajakovic said. “I really want to continue my development on mental performance. I have a mental performance coach that I’m working with in Brian Cain who’s helping me a lot. And he’s helping myself, individually, but also in preparation of what kind of leader I need to be for the team.”

The post Raptors’ Rajakovic prepared to keep pushing for more first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Centre Mariella Fasoula was signed to a developmental contract, the team announced on Tuesday.

Fasoula, 28, joins the Tempo after spending training camp with the Golden State Valkyries — making a pre-season appearance last week, when she scored five points (2-of-3 shooting), one rebound and one block in six minutes off the bench.

The native of Greece spent the 2026 off-season playing for JK Istanbul in the Turkish KBSL, averaging 17.6 points per game, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across 19 games. She’s also represented her country as a member of the Greek senior women’s team since 2015.

Fasoula previously spent four seasons playing in the NCAA, split between Boston College and Vanderbilt. As a senior with the Commodores, she started all 30 games and put up team-highs of 399 points, 197 rebounds and 27 blocks.

As for the Tempo, they have 15 other players under contract — aside from Fasoula — after announcing that forward Elizabeth Balogun had been waived last Saturday.

The final roster for the regular season is due ahead of Friday night’s opener. Teams across the WNBA hold 12 regular roster spots and two developmental slots.

Developmental roster spots are a new addition for the league as of the 2026 season.

“We probably all have to get used to it,” Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters when asked about factoring in development spots to roster building. “Because if you cut a player, anyone can pick them up. I think some have already (converted) players to developmental players, we’ve seen that strategy.”

As for how Brondello is approaching roster building as a whole ahead of her first season in Toronto, she said she “just wants to make sure the puzzle fits.”

“Do we have enough playmaking, rebounding, toughness, shooting … we’ve got some tough decisions to make. Every year it gets harder and harder, and the talent level goes up.”

The Tempo’s inaugural season tips off on Friday, when they host the Washington Mystics.

The post Tempo sign centre Mariella Fasoula to developmental contract first appeared on Raptors Republic.

In my own experience, I’ve frequently heard it referred to as overused or inaccurate. The Toronto Tempo’s beginning as a WNBA franchise is exempt from this debate. It is historic. It’s monumental. Insert your preferred synonym here.  

The highest level of professional women’s basketball coming to Canada for the first time is a seismic shift in the country’s hoops landscape. The birth of this franchise will spread roots throughout communities, provide role models for young Canadian girls to aspire to and bring top-tier basketball games to a sizeable market that’s hungry for it. This is the beginning of a landmark endeavour. A cultural touchstone. 

Yet those at the centre of it – the women that make up Canada’s first WNBA team – aren’t stuck relishing the gravity of this moment. They’ll have plenty of time to reflect in the future. They’re focused on playing, and winning, basketball games.  

“Passionate,” said head coach Sandy Brondello, when asked to describe the emotion at training camp. “And there’s really just a focus … they’re locked in, they’re ready to go.”  

The start of something new is often reflected on fondly. Myriad books and documentaries have been released in recent years looking back at the inaugural season of the Toronto Raptors, now over 30 years in the past. That moment for the Tempo is now. They’re discovering the city for the first time and it’s discovering them. They’re breaking new ground, writing the first chapter.  

Of course this is a “unique opportunity,” as Brondello put it. Of course they’ll “always be the first.”  

“I’ll always be the first head coach of this expansion team; they’ll always be the first players,” she said. “We got the first million-dollar player. You know all those kinds of things make it special, because it is something new.” 

But in the moment, as they prepare to test their abilities on the biggest stage in women’s basketball, running through drills and schemes and film and shuttling back and forth from their practice facility to home – Brondello said she works, goes home, goes to bed and does it again  – the weight of this historic beginning isn’t exactly front of mind.  

That was evident when first-year forward Teonni Key was asked to describe the feelings evoked by the lead up to Toronto’s inaugural season. She spent a moment searching for her words before settling on: “I think, defence.”  

Not exactly an emotion. Or is it?  

How does it feel to defend? Focus is needed. One must feel confident, courageous, and determined. 

As Brondello said, locked in.  

While it’s difficult to gauge what to expect from the on-court product in the first year of an expansion franchise, there are undoubtedly plenty of eyes on the Tempo. Their court reveal and home preseason game were packed out. Walk around the Toronto and you’re sure to see fans adorned in Tempo bordeaux and blue. Most of the players have spoken about being recognized with adoration on the streets of the city.  

That pressure is a privilege, and one that the Tempo are rising to meet with enthusiasm.  

“Everybody’s so excited,” said Nyara Sabally. “The beginning of training camp was really good, energy was really high.”  

“The fans have been so welcoming too, and so excited, and that excitement kind of carries to yourself, because you’re like ‘oh OK, this is really exciting, and this is really cool to be a part of history.’” Sabally added.  

Even if there’s been plenty of practice, press and preseason to distract from the history they’re making, each member of the team is still acutely aware of their responsibilities. They’ve been handed a blank slate and are tasked with filling it up, and what’s left will be the foundation that defines Tempo basketball.  

“I would honestly say it’s an incredible opportunity,” said Kiki Rice on media day. “It’s not very often that you get to be a part of the first team in an organization, the first WNBA team in a country, so I think we’re really excited about that. You can feel the energy in the city. We’ve received a lot of excitement; a lot of people are telling us how excited they are for us to be out there and be on the court.”

It all comes back to the court. That’s where it gets real. That tangible moment when the ball goes up, and we’re no longer talking about the historic moment; history is being made.  

For Brondello, one of those moments came when she first laid eyes on the Tempo’s locker room at Coca-Cola Coliseum. An instant when all the ideas, planning, and work to make them real actually crossed over into reality.  

A subtle smile emerged on Brondello’s face as she considered that experience and said: “We’re making history here, aren’t we?” 

The ball will go up just after 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Coca-Cola Coliseum and set the wheels in motion.  

The post Tempo are ‘locked in’ on basketball amid historic start to first season first appeared on Raptors Republic.

When the Toronto Raptors selected him ninth overall out of South Carolina in the NBA Draft, the reaction was mixed at best. Some labelled him a reach, while others questioned how an undersized big with limited shooting range would translate to the NBA.

Well, for those who had concerns, Murray-Boyles heard them all and let his game do the talking.

“I feel like having five months to just get better… that’s going to be a lot of time to work on a lot of things,” Murray-Boyles said when asked about his entering his first full NBA offseason. “Just trying to get as good as possible for next season.” That mindset showed long before the offseason even arrived.

During the regular season, Murray-Boyles quietly carved out a role on the team, averaging 8.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting an efficient 57.9 percent from the field. He started 22 of 57 games, battling through injuries but consistently proving his value on both ends of the floor and delivering some incredible moments.

Come playoff time, he was able to step it up even further, breaking out on the NBA’s biggest stage.

During Round 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a seven-game series, Murray-Boyles elevated his game across the board. He averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, adding defensive impact with 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, all while shooting a remarkable 65.6 percent. He delivered when the Raptors needed him most.

With two of the Raptors’ five starters, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley, sidelined due to injury, Murray-Boyles stepped into a larger role without hesitation. His defensive presence, energy, and efficiency helped push the series to a deciding Game 7, a scenario few expected Toronto to reach.

And yet, even after outperforming expectations, Murray-Boyles isn’t focused on proving people wrong. He’s focused on what comes next. “It’ll do tremendous wonders for me,” he said of the offseason. “That’s going to be a lot of time to work.”

For a player once defined by questions about size, about shooting, about fit, that answer says everything. The conversation around Murray-Boyles has already started to change, and for good reason.

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The post Collin Murray-Boyles knows what is next to come and he’s ready first appeared on Raptors Republic.