By the standards the Toronto Raptors have set since 2014, losing in the first round is a disappointment.
However, considering that only a year ago, Toronto was a displaced franchise in Tampa, Florida, headed to the draft lottery and facing the uncertain future of franchise cornerstone Kyle Lowry, finishing in the top six of the Eastern Conference is a success.
The Raptors now enter the offseason with a focus on shoring up a bench that ranked last in the NBA in many offensive categories.
State of the team
Roster status: A sustainable core
The Raptors have proven with the departure of Kawhi Leonard in 2019 and Lowry last offseason, that the foundation of their roster is not built around one player.
Some teams lose a franchise player to free agency, take a major step back and face years of rebuilding. But Toronto continues to compete at a high level despite the departure of Leonard and Lowry.
The roster sustainability is a result of the Raptors' front office and coaching staff being aligned in two major components: identifying talent and player development.
"All these guys we want to develop in some kind of way and I think we have some sort of good history from doing that," Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri said last August. "I said it when I sat here eight years ago, we are going to develop players and we're going to build on that -- and I'm saying it again. We're going to continue to develop these players and we're going to find a way to win a championship here based on the development of our players."
The exception to that rule is the Leonard trade in 2018 that pushed a good Toronto team to a championship.
The Raptors enter the offseason with a strong core, led by Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. VanVleet and Siakam are All-Stars, Barnes has the upside of a franchise player, and Anunoby is one of the league's better young wings.
But as the first-round loss to Philadelphia confirmed, a good regular season team is different from a team that can compete for a championship.
The timeline on how the Raptors take that next step is unknown because the growth of the roster will have to come from within or from the unlikely scenario that the next disgruntled All-Star gets traded to Toronto.
"I think the development of these players tells us that there's growth, and we want to win," Ujiri said at the trade deadline. "And who are we to stop them from doing that? You put them in the situation to play, and whatever position they find themselves in, they're competing at the highest level, which is ... [hanging with] all these great teams they compete against. That's what we want to do."
The Raptors have wisely bet on their current players taking a big step in their development. But will they need to find help from outside their own roster to take that next step like they did with the Leonard trade?
The resources to build the bench
There is still work to do for the Raptors' front office, despite having the starting five under contract next season.
Because Toronto puts a high premium on minutes played with their starting five, the bench has struggled. Toronto's reserves ranked last in minutes per game, points per game and 3-point field goal percentage this season.
Finding help starts with their own free agents: Thaddeus Young and Chris Boucher.
The Raptors don't have cap space, but Young and Boucher have Bird rights that allow the front office to exceed the $122 million salary cap to sign the two veterans. The Bird rights to Young were a critical component of why the Raptors acquired him from the San Antonio Spurs at the 2022 trade deadline.
"Bringing in a player like Thaddeus Young, we wanted a veteran-type player, Bird rights-type player that can come and help our young guys both in the locker room and on the court," Ujiri said after the trade. "The leadership off the court is significant: Thaddeus brings so much energy, good spirit. I think he will help the young players."
Since the trade deadline, Young and Boucher combined to average 16.4 points per game.
The $10.3 million mid-level exception is available, but the previous offseasons should serve as a warning sign as it relates to building depth via free agency.
In the past three years, Toronto has signed Patrick McCaw, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Aron Baynes, Alex Len and Khem Birch with part of their mid-level exception. Only Birch is still on the roster.
Out of the 15 players on the current team, Birch, Yuta Watanabe, Svi Mykhailiuk, Isaac Bonga and Armoni Brooks were signed as free agents. The five played a total of 24.7 minutes per game in the postseason.
The area of strength for Toronto continues to be identifying talent outside of the lottery.
Outside of Barnes, every player in the starting five was selected outside the top 14 of the draft, including VanVleet who went undrafted.
The Raptors moved out of this year's first round when they traded for Young but acquired an early second that originally belonged to the Houston Rockets.
That pick, along with Bird rights to their own free agents and the $10.3 million mid-level exception, should be enough for the Raptors to improve their bench.
Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam
When the 2019-20 season ended in the Orlando, Florida, bubble, Ujiri described soon-to-be free agent VanVleet as "a big-time priority."
Ujiri held to his word, and hours into free agency both sides reached an agreement on a four-year $85 million contract.
VanVleet is coming off his first All-Star appearance after averaging a career-high 20.3 points per game this season, and put himself in the conversation as one of the NBA's top guards. He ranked second in total deflections, ninth in total steals and forced a league-high 206 turnovers, according to Second Spectrum tracking.
VanVleet won't be a free agent this offseason, but he is eligible to sign an extension because it will be the second anniversary of when his original contract was signed (the anniversary date was moved up to July 8 because of the shortened 2020 offseason).
Because VanVleet has a $22.8 million player option in 2023-24, there are two different extension options that both sides can explore:
The first would be for VanVleet to opt into his salary and sign a three-year $88.7 million extension that starts in 2024-25. The total contract would equal $111.5 million, including the option year.
The second is for VanVleet to decline the option and sign a four-year $114.2 million extension. He would receive a $2.7 million raise in 2023-24.
Considering that his salary in 2022-23 ranks 19th among all NBA point guards, it's likely VanVleet would decline his $22.8 million option in 2023 and explore free agency if an extension is not reached.
From Toronto's perspective, there is the wear-and-tear factor when considering signing VanVleet to four additional seasons. In the past three seasons, he has averaged 36.8 minutes per game (second overall to James Harden) and has missed a total of 55 games due to various injuries.
Siakam's four-year $136.9 million max extension was at one time trending in the wrong direction. Siakam had a poor showing in Toronto's 2020 second-round loss to the Boston Celtics, averaging 14.8 points, 38.2% shooting from the field and 12.5% from deep.
"For me, at that point when I started becoming that person, I just felt like there wasn't that much level of communication, to be honest," Siakam told the New York Times in September. "And that was the only thing really that I felt. It was like, 'We got you the max contract, but are you the guy?' I think that's something that I was struggling with."
This season, Siakam justified the contract Toronto signed him to in 2019 and put together an All-NBA type season. After the All-Star break, he averaged 24.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 49.2% shooting from the field.
Starting on Oct. 1, 2022 up until the last day before the start of next season, the Raptors are eligible to tack on three additional years and up to $128.9 million to Siakam's contract.
Unlike VanVleet, who can become a free agent in 2023 because of his player option, Siakam can't become a free agent until 2024.
Offseason cap breakdown
Team needs
Bench depth
Resources to build the roster
Draft: Early second-round pick (No. 33)
Own free agents: Young and Boucher
Exceptions: $10.3M midlevel and $4.1M biannual
Trade exceptions: $5.3M and $3.1M
Cash: $6.3 million to send or receive in a trade
Dates to watch
June 22: Mykhailiuk has a $1.9 million player option for 2022-23. He averaged 4.5 points in 56 games this season. It is unlikely Mykhailiuk will get a fully guaranteed contract as a free agent if he declines his player option.
June 29: Both of Toronto's two-way players -- Justin Champagnie ($50K) and David Johnson ($50K) -- are eligible to receive a qualifying offer. Champagnie scored a career-high 14 points in an early-January win over San Antonio and had 10 games with at least 10 minutes played. Johnson spent the majority of 2021-22 in the G League.
July 4: Dalano Banton's $1.6 million contract has $150K in protection that increases to $300K if he is not waived. The remaining amount is not guaranteed until the first day of the 2022-23 regular season. The likelihood is Banton is on the roster past July 4 and Toronto uses summer league to evaluate the guard. Banton averaged 10.9 minutes in 64 games this season and had six games of double-digit points with at least four assists.
Restrictions
Toronto cannot trade its 2023 first-round pick until June 23, the night of the draft.
Mykhailiuk cannot be traded until his option is exercised.
For trade purposes, Banton counts as $150K (the guaranteed amount) in salary.
The draft
The Raptors sent San Antonio their 2022 first-round pick as part of the deal for Young and have an early second-round pick from Detroit that was acquired in a prior trade.
Here's how ESPN's Mike Schmitz has Toronto selecting in June:
No. 33 (via Detroit): Ismael Kamagate | C | Paris
Watching Kamagate go through an individual pregame workout, it's easy to see the long-term intrigue given his huge hands, massive reach, ability to handle the ball and natural touch, splashing step-back midrange jumpers with ease.
He looks like he's dunking on a Nerf hoop in warm-ups, which he also translated to live action with a poster dunk in the second half. Kamagate has dunked on several players over several helpless defenders this season and is one of the draft's best finishers, converting 72.4% of his shots at the rim.
He's a jet in the open court when he decides to run hard, and in addition to the rim runs and hard rolls, he's comfortable using touch shots or creating off the bounce in short-roll situations.