Defending champions, the Raptors have come to terms with their status without Kawhi Leonard to the best of their ability, nearly snagging a conference final. They have shown that they still have the ability to compete in the East, and their ambition is not extinguished. Proof with their big priority of the offseason … by keeping a eye on 2021.
Never underestimate the heart of a champion. After the departure of Kawhi Leonard, we generally did not give expensive Raptors skin. For many, the team was now unable to compete with the favorites for the title. And yet they have proven the opposite throughout the season.
Although they failed to hang on to even the conference final, they fell in 7 games to an equally valiant Boston team, and that doesn’t take away from their season. Now, it is a question of continuing this momentum and for that, they have only one goal in mind … or rather two, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN:
The Raptors have two main goals this season: re-signing Fred VanVleet, and doing so without too much encroaching on their 2021 capstone.
A revelation of the Raptors since his team’s run to the title last year, Fred VanVleet is expected during the offseason to renegotiate a new contract that is much more lucrative than before. We had to take out the calculator on the ESPN side:
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, any VanVleet contract of around four years and $ 80 million should keep Toronto in the race for superstars next season. But things get risky if the Raptors start to compete with bigger offers for one of their most important players.
Because in the end, this is the number 1 objective of the Raptors in the medium term: to project themselves on the free agency 2021. The latter will offer very big names on the market, and Giannis Antetokounmpo will be the headliner.
The Greek will play his future in the coming months, and the Bucks are willing to take huge risks for him. If it did not pay off and Giannis decided to leave, several franchises would be on the spot including the Raptors, who no longer even hide their immense interest in the “Summer of Giannis 2021”.
After preventing Antetokounmpo from making it to his first Finals last year, the Raptors would be delighted to help him get there in the next few years. In any case, they want to come up against him next year with good arguments on the table.
