After a promising start that had them
flirting with the top seed out East, the Toronto Raptors stumbled on
their way to the playoffs and suffered a first-round exit against the
Washington Wizards.
The team’s make-up is crystal clear, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan was the primary shot creators while Jonas Valanciunas
was supposed to be the inside threat. However, the Raptors weren’t
about to scare any other team defensively anytime soon which prompted GM
Masai Ujiri to pull the trigger on some moves.
They got DeMarre Carroll on board at 15 million a season for the next four years, and signed Luis Scola, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo, and Anthony Bennett
through various and separate deals. They also drafted Norman Powell and
Delon Wright which fits exactly well into the new defense-first
philosophy, at least, roster-wise. Just to get it out there, the team is
8th-worst in the league in terms of defensive efficiency.
Lastly, Amir Johnson and Lou Williams have already left.
Breakout Candidate: Jonas Valanciunas
The Lithuanian big man has been on the
sleeper list for as long fantasyheads remember and one reason he hasn’t
realize his potential yet is because he is not who they’re looking for
on offense most of the time. Valanciunas is a capable low-post operator
who won’t hurt your percentages even when he’s at the charity line
(78.6%).
Williams’ and Greivis Vasquez’ combined
20.4 attempts are gone so at least a half of those going Valanciunas’
way could be the big boost we are looking for.
Bust Candidate: Terrence Ross
- via Raptors Cage
Simply put, Terrence Ross doesn’t fit the
defensive mantra the Raptors are desperately trying to take on. The
former eighth overall pick hasn’t picked up on a solid second year with a
relatively poor showing last season (9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1
assist, 41% FG). Carroll will be there to take over the other wing spot
beside DeRozan and that doesn’t bode well for the University of
Washington product and his fantasy stock.
