The Toronto Raptors already made their big splash, landing Kawhi Leonard in a blockbuster that sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and several future draft assets out the door. That deal changed the shape of the roster, but it also made the next step a whole lot tougher.
Now the front office has to find a way to improve the team without emptying what little future flexibility is left. Bobby Webster and his staff are working with an expensive core, limited cap room and fewer attractive trade pieces than most teams around them.
The financial squeeze is real. Toronto is sitting on roughly $208 million in team salary for the 2026-27 season, which puts the club above the luxury tax line and with less than $1 million separating it from its first-apron hard cap of around $209 million.
That gap matters. If the Raptors are hovering near the first apron, they can’t simply absorb extra salary in a trade once the numbers push them over. In a lot of cases, that means needing a third team to help move money around - and that usually comes at a cost, with an extra asset attached to grease the wheels.
It’s not just about making trades work on paper, either. Toronto still has to leave itself enough room to handle roster needs and respond if a worthwhile opportunity pops up. With so little breathing room, even small adjustments become complicated unless money goes out first.
The usual trade sweet spot is a contract in the $10 million to $20 million range. Those deals are often the most useful pieces in salary matching, especially if they’re short-term or expiring.
Toronto’s issue is that it doesn’t have a clean, movable contract in that range. Jakob Poeltl’s $19.5 million salary fits the bucket, but his value on the defensive end and the longer-term money attached to the deal make him a difficult player to move. His contract would likely need draft capital attached just to get it off the books.
That leaves the Raptors with a clunky trade setup. Their biggest salaries belong to players who would be hard to replace, while much of the rest of the roster is built around rookie-scale contracts and cheaper deals.
So the challenge isn’t that Toronto can’t trade. It’s that trades are much harder to build when other teams have more flexibility, better matching contracts, or more draft capital to offer.
And even when the Raptors can put together a legal deal, there’s still the issue of convincing another team the return is worth it.
Toronto does have young talent that could draw interest, but the club has to be careful about what it actually puts on the table. Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles are central to the future and are close to untouchable. Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead are also promising young pieces with real roles in the rotation.
Allen Graves, the team’s most recent 1st-round pick, appears to be well liked by the front office as well. That leaves RJ Barrett, who is an impending free agent, and Immanuel Quickly, the starting guard, as the most obvious pieces to discuss in a deal. Even then, both are playing major minutes, and their trade value is not a simple read because of their contract situations.
Draft capital is thinner, too. Toronto already sent out two future first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks in the Leonard deal, which leaves fewer premium picks for the next round of negotiations.
None of that means the Raptors are stuck. They can still work toward deals that reduce salary and improve the roster. But the path is narrower now.
That makes the target list matter even more. Toronto can’t afford to chase every available name. It needs players who fit clear needs and can actually move the needle alongside Leonard, Barnes and the rest of the core, because there’s a strong chance this franchise only has enough ammo for one significant move.
In Other News...
Jakob Poeltl Just Gave Raptors Fans A Reason To Reconsider The Frontcourt
Jakob Poeltls preseason run against the Clippers gave the Raptors something they can always use a little more of up front: signs of life. In Torontos 114-106 win, Poeltl was active for more than 21 minutes and looked sharper than he had in previous outings, with better movement and effort showing up throughout the night as the team tried to sort out its frontcourt rotation.
The bigger takeaway may be what this kind of performance could mean for the rest of the roster. Torontos coaching staff seems open to exploring how Poeltl fits alongside Collin Murray-Boyles this season, rather than treating the two as a strict either-or choice, and that makes Poeltls return to form more than just a preseason footnote. If he can sustain this level, it could give the Raptors a more functional and flexible look inside. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Just Added A Giant With A Real Shot To Stick
Toronto is taking a fresh look at Jamarion Sharp, the free agent center set to join the Raptors and compete for a two-way contract. The move adds another big body to a preseason group that is already at 21 players, so the front office will have to clear a spot before Sharp can officially settle in with the club.
Sharps path has been a winding one, even by the standards of a player chasing an NBA foothold. He previously landed a two-way deal with the Clippers before getting waived, then spent most of his time in the G League, where his defensive work earned notice and kept him on the radar of teams looking for size and rim protection. [Read more 🡒]
RJ Barretts Early Raptors Role Could Create A Real Offensive Problem
With Kawhi Leonard sidelined for Torontos first two preseason games, RJ Barrett has been asked to do a lot more of the organizing and creation than he likely will once the games count. The expanded on-ball responsibilities mirror the version of Barrett the Raptors leaned on in the playoffs, where he was more than just a finisher and had to help drive the offense. It has given Toronto a useful look at how Barrett handles added control, but it also highlights how different this group can look when the roster is whole.
Barretts current role is built around a heavy share of the action, and that can be a tricky thing to unwind when Leonard returns and reclaims the top offensive spot. If Barrett has gotten used to initiating so much of what Toronto does, the adjustment back to a more complementary role could take some time and affect early-season rhythm. The Raptors need Barrett to stay productive, but they also need the offense to settle into a pecking order that works once the lineup is at full strength. [Read more 🡒]