Five free agents the Raptors can target

The latest intel coming out of Toronto, per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, is that they are expected to quickly agree to new deals with both Thaddeus Young ($10M over two years) and Fred VanVleet ($110M over four years), however there has been no word regarding the looming unrestricted free agency of Chris Boucher, or the extension-eligible Pascal Siakam. That is certainly not to say that they won’t also be priorities for the Raptors front office once the clock strikes 6:00pm on Thursday.

Another bit of information that Fischer shared is that the Raptors front office is continuing to closely monitor the availability of several marquee centers, including DeAndre Ayton, and Rudy Gobert. For salary purposes, it would be both difficult and illogical to piece together a package to land the Frenchman out of Utah, however Ayton’s situation – given his free agency, age, and drying pool of suitors – presents a more compelling situation. He would still have to be landed via a sign-and-trade, with the package heading back to Phoenix likely being centered around OG Anunoby or Gary Trent Jr., however the recent addition of Christian Koloko may slightly quell Toronto’s despondence for a seven-footer.

In order to fill out their roster (aside from using the bird rights on Young, VanVleet, Boucher, Siakam, and Bonga to go over the soft cap), the Raptors will have a $10.3M mid-level, $4.3M bi-annual, and $5.3M and $3.1M trade exceptions available to them.

Below is a list of five players – excluding the (still) unlikely scenario of swinging for Ayton, whom the Raptors can pursue in this summer’s free agent market.

1. Bobby Portis

Portis has thoroughly outplayed the valuation of his $4.3M deal in Milwaukee, indicating that he plans to opt out of his player option for the 2022-2023 season. Across 59 starts and 72 appearances with the Bucks last season, Portis recorded north of 14 points and 9 rebounds per game. Fischer’s latest intel suggests that Portis plans to re-up with the Bucks on a long-term deal in excess of $40M, which the Raptors would be unable to match, as the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions cannot be combined. Still, if Portis is seeking a larger role – especially if Boucher walks – then the Raptors could have a strong value proposition for him.

2. Nicolas Claxton

It was reported at the 2022 trade deadline that the Raptors were close to swinging a deal for Nicolas Claxton, but…