Back to square one.
A franchise-record 59 wins has now been met with the disappointment of another early exit in the playoffs for the Toronto Raptors.
Do they need to make big changes to their core, and what would that look like?
Let's look ahead to the free-agency, draft and trade decisions facing Toronto this offseason after agreeing to terms with new head coach Nick Nurse.
More summer focus: Click here for every team so far
At a crossroads with the roster once again
There were two directions the Raptors could have gone last offseason after being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. The rebuilding plan: Let Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka leave as free agents, put DeMar DeRozan on the trade block and build the roster with their former first-round picks. Essentially, this season's bench mob would have been the face of Toronto for years to come.
Instead, they chose to sign Lowry and Ibaka to three-year contracts, keep the roster mostly intact, revamp their style of play on the offensive end and continue to develop their young bench players. The result was an eight-win improvement, the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed and Toronto finding its small forward of the future in first-round pick OG Anunoby.
Despite the continuity of the roster and big money committed to Lowry and Ibaka, Toronto is faced with the same results in the postseason -- swept by Cleveland in the second round.
After bypassing the opening to tear down the roster last July, the Raptors are now met with $100 million committed to Lowry, Ibaka, DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas through 2019-20. President Masai Ujiri and the front office are now left with four complicated options.
Bring back the same crew
Was the Cleveland series more about the superhuman performance of LeBron James -- including two games decided by a total of three points -- or a Toronto team that is built for the regular season but not postseason? That is the first question the front office needs to evaluate.
If James alone is the primary obstacle, Toronto should bring back the roster that includes 11 guaranteed contracts, sign restricted free agent Fred VanVleet and use the bitter taste of the second-round loss as a learning tool (sound familiar?).
Despite the past postseason failures, the window for this team is still open, with depth at each position under contract for the foreseeable future. However, there's a cost to continuity.
Already at $126.5 million in guaranteed contracts ($3.5 million over the tax), Toronto will be a luxury tax team for only the third time (2002-03 and 03-04) in franchise history once VanVleet is signed, barring a trade.
After getting the green light from ownership a year ago to keep the core together, can Ujiri do it again but at a higher cost? There is no guarantee that this $170 million roster won't end up in the same place.
Shed salary to offset VanVleet
If there is an odd man out on the roster it would be Norman Powell.
Signed to a four-year, $42 million extension last September, Powell has been a bystander during the playoffs after going through an inconsistent third season despite appearing in 70 regular-season games.
With Anunoby entrenched at small forward, C.J. Miles coming off the bench and the combination of Delon Wright and VanVleet in the backcourt, Powell has turned into an expensive end-of-the bench player -- an unlikely scenario after the former second-round pick started half of the Raptors' playoff games in 2016-17.
If there is mandate to slash salary to offset a new VanVleet deal Toronto will have to identify teams with cap space that would have targeted Powell had he been a free agent this summer. Finding a new home for Powell without taking back salary would save the Raptors $20 million in taxes this season and give the team future flexibility when Delon Wright is a restricted free agent in 2019.
Breaking up the core four
Toronto will be faced with challenges if it starts entertaining offers for Lowry, DeRozan, Valanciunas and Ibaka.
Despite back-to-back All-Star appearances, the 32-year-old Lowry is owed $60 million over the next two seasons and his contract would be too rich alone for a team to take back in a salary dump. Besides, Toronto would likely have to attach one of its bench players as an enticement.
A team such as Charlotte that risks losing Kemba Walker in 2019 would be hesitant to take back Lowry's bloated salary, even with the additional security of another season under contract.
Ibaka has $40 million left on his deal and is now trending toward the category held by the Rockets' Ryan Anderson -- under a salary that seemed manageable at the time because of past production but now looks untradable.
Despite being only 25 years old and a consistent presence at center, Valanciunas still has $34 million left on his contract. The market for a center with annual cap hits of $16.5 million and $17.6 million is remote, and Valanciunas would also require a sweetener in any deal.
That leads us to DeRozan. There are always teams in the offseason that either think they are one player away from competing for a championship or are faced with pressure to end a playoff drought (think Phoenix and Sacramento). DeRozan could make sense for such a deal. However, despite a lackluster second round, DeRozan should be off the table for Toronto unless a trade involves a good young player or lottery pick.
The restricted free agent: Fred VanVleet
The undrafted guard, one of the leading candidates for most improved and a staple of the Toronto bench, is now eligible for a new deal after signing a two-year, $2.1 million non-guaranteed contract in 2016. The Raptors were not permitted to sign VanVleet for more than two seasons because they used the non-tax midlevel to sign Jared Sullinger.
Because VanVleet has early Bird rights, Toronto can offer a contract up to $8.7 million (105 percent of the average player salary).
Things could get interesting if a team with cap space tries to backload a contract in years three and four. Though the Raptors have the ability to match such a deal, it would come at a significant financial cost.
They would not be permitted to average out VanVleet's contract to $10 million because they are over the salary cap. But by letting VanVleet go the Raptors would have only the minimum available to replace him.
One thing that VanVleet will need to avoid is signing a two-year contract in Toronto with a player option in 2019-20. The guard would be a restricted free agent once again in 2019 if he declined his option and the Raptors would have the ability to match another deal.
Summer cap breakdown
Assuming that VanVleet comes back at a salary of $8.6 million and the remaining roster spots are filled with minimum contracts, Toronto will have a luxury tax bill of $30 million.
Though the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception is available, using the full amount would cost an additional $16 million in tax penalties.
The Raptors also have $11.8, $6.1 and $2.4 million trade exceptions.
Dates to watch
VanVleet will receive a $1.7 million qualifying offer by June 30 that will put the restricted tag on the guard.
Toronto has until July 20 to guarantee the $1.4 million contract of Alfonzo McKinnie. Waiving McKinnie would not save the Raptors from the tax since his spot would need to be replaced. The forward spent most of the season in the G League and guaranteeing his contract would leave Toronto with three spots available.
Extension eligible candidates
One player impacted by the Raptors' strong player development has been former first-round pick Delon Wright. The point guard has evolved from an emergency option to part of the rotation this season. Now entering the last year of his rookie contract, Wright is extension eligible up until Oct. 15.
While the 26-year-old merits extension talks, don't be surprised if Toronto holds off until 2019 when he becomes a restricted free agent. Waiting another year would allow Toronto to get its finances in order.
The Raptors' payroll in 2019-20 projects to be $131 million, right at the luxury tax without factoring in VanVleet.
Center Jonas Valanciunas is also eligible.
The draft assets
The cost of falling under the luxury tax last offseason now has Toronto heading into the draft without a first-rounder. Trading the 29th pick to Brooklyn saved the Raptors a projected $55 million by shedding the annual $14.8 million and $15.4 million salary of DeMarre Carroll.
In addition, the Raptors' 2018 second was traded to Phoenix as part of the PJ Tucker 2017 trade deadline acquisition.
Toronto owns all of its future first-round picks and is eligible to trade its 2019 first-rounder the night of the draft.