STAYING: Bruno Caboclo, DeMarre Carroll, DeMar DeRozan, Cory Joseph, Kyle Lowry, Lucas Nogueira, Patrick Patterson, Norman Powell, Terrence Ross, Jonas Valanciunas and Delon Wright.
ADDED: Drew Crawford (Bnei Herzliya), Yanick Moreira (Murcia), Jakob Poeltl (University of Utah), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), Jared Sullinger (Boston), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) and Fred VanVleet (Wichita State).
GONE: Bismack Biyombo (Orlando), James Johnson (Miami), Luis Scola (Brooklyn) and Jason Thompson.
STRENGTHS: Top-notch backcourt with All-Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan … Both come off perhaps the best seasons of their NBA careers and will enter the 2016-17 in their prime … Same can be said about Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas, an ultra effective center who may end up making the All-Star Game one day … Pretty good backups at most positions … Not hard to picture Cory Joseph starting at point guard for a bunch of clubs, for example … The nucleus of the team has been together for some time … Chemistry should remain pretty good … Terrific athleticism at the wing with DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Norman Powell … Powell had a very promising rookie year … He will be a player to watch out for this season … A healthier version of DeMarre Carroll will help the team, especially on the defensive end … They have added another offensive weapon in Jared Sullinger … Solid three-point shooting … They were No. 5 in shooting percentage from beyond the arc in 2015-16 … Above-average defensive and rebounding team … They have one of the best home-court advantages in the NBA.
WEAKNESSES: Not the most creative offense in the NBA … They often rely a lot on DeRozan and Lowry catching fire … While there’s been some progress there, DeRozan is still not much of a threat from the three-point line … Ball movement will not remind anybody of the Golden State Warriors … They don’t score much on the break … Valanciunas is probably underutilized on the offensive end … Raptors had one of the best center duos in Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo last season … That’s gone with Biyombo now in Orlando … Toronto could miss his intimidation and rebounding … They are now pretty thin at center behind Valanciunas unless Jakob Poeltl delivers right away … Power forward spot could use an upgrade … Could the wear-and-tear of National Team duty affect the performance of the team’s Big Three? … Star power is not up there with Cleveland’s.
PREDICTION: 2nd in the Atlantic Division, 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
SALARIES:
from HoopsHype http://ift.tt/2bz5ePN
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