Ranking Toronto Raptors' Biggest Priorities for 2015 NBA Offseason

A disappointing playoff run—which was over before anyone had a chance to soak in the moment—has forced the Toronto Raptors to stare into the abyss of an offseason that could bring major changes to both the roster and coaching staff. 

Toronto proved in its four-game series sweep at the hands of the lower-seeded Washington Wizards that the team as currently constructed isn't good enough to be anything more than first-or-second round fodder in the postseason. 

The offense is trigger-happy in design, with perimeter players seemingly having the green light to hoist up contested jumpers at will until a hot streak materializes. It's a never-ending cycle of isolation plays with no real synergy between teammates on the hardwood. 

The defense—which allowed 102.4 points per 100 possessions (ninth in NBA) in 2013-14—completely fell off the map. Coach Dwane Casey had the same core to work with as he did in 2013-14, making the drop in defensive efficiency (104.8, 23rd) all the more discouraging. 

It could simply be a personnel issue. Perhaps general manager Masai Ujiri needs to shuffle the deck and find the right players to work in Casey's system. Then again, perhaps Casey caters too much to the bad habits of his team, creating a need for a new voice and system altogether.

One thing is for sure: Ujiri can't bring everyone back and expect things to naturally get better on their own. This group has hit its ceiling. 

Ujiri needs to prioritize the following tasks this summer to ensure a brighter tomorrow for the franchise—one that doesn't involve embarrassing first-round exits. 

5. Sign Lou Williams to Reasonable Deal

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Don't let Lou Williams' recklessness as a shooter or end-of-quarter isolation escapades frustrate you too much. He's still a keeper.

The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year averaged 15.5 points and 2.1 assists in 25.2 minutes, providing the Raptors with another offensive weapon capable of taking over games at a moment's notice.

He mastered the art of getting his defender to leave his feet through pump fakes. Just don't refer to them as fakes to his face, though. “Shot fakes? I don’t pump-fake,” Williams said back in November, via Eric Koreen of the National Post. “Nah, I just create contact.”

He also finished eighth in the NBA in free-throw attempts per minute, according to NBA.com. 

Williams and the Raptors were a match in heaven. Dave Zarum of Sportsnet.ca wrote, "But in Toronto, Williams found himself in a perfect situation, on an ambitious team with a defined role that suits him perfectly (in five words: Go out there and score), and both the team and player have benefited greatly."

Having complete faith in Williams' ability to score on any given night is a test of one's emotional stability, though. It's all about taking the good with the bad, and the bad did rear its ugly head more often than not.

Despite his high scoring output, Williams only managed to shoot 40.4 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from behind the arc. When he wasn't drawing fouls, Williams was taking questionable shots with little regard for where he was on the floor. 

A prime example of this is when he ran down the clock and attempted a game-winner against the Detroit Pistons with his foot on the Pistons' half-court logo on March 24. 

He was second on the team in PER (19.9) and third in win shares (6.6), so it wasn't always gloom and doom. Williams is widely considered to be a one-trick pony with his scoring but showed improvement as a facilitator when Kyle Lowry missed time. 

Williams has expressed a strong interest in staying north of the border, which bodes well for Ujiri's chances of signing him to a new deal, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca:

"

[Staying in Toronto] would be ideal for me. Just the culture that they’re building here, just the identity that this team and this town has, I really want to be a part of it. I look forward to it. I don’t want to say hopefully we get something done, I’m really positive that we will get something done. I don’t see why not, at this point. So I just look forward to the future here.

"

There will be obvious concerns over possible regression heading into next season with Williams coming off a contract year. That shouldn't stop other teams from making a bid and potentially swaying him with a larger role, though. 

A two-year deal with a team option for a third in the $8-10-million-per-year range should suffice. 

4. Acquire a Veteran Presence

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Something the Raptors have sorely lacked since Charles Oakley suited up for the team in the late '90s is a veteran presence who can talk the talk and back it up—someone who can hold younger players on the roster accountable and keep everyone focused behind closed doors.  

The Wizards had that in Paul Pierce. He got into Toronto's head before the series even began, saying how the Raptors "don't have the 'it' that makes you feel worried," via Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com.

He's earned the right to say whatever he wants, with 152 playoff games under his belt and an NBA championship as a Boston Celtic to top it off. The Truth strengthened his resolve by knocking down clutch three-pointers at the end of games to shatter Toronto's heart, adding to his already cemented legendary career. 

"Basically, we need a Paul Pierce that's gonna talk that trash," said Greivis Vasquez during his year-end interview, via CBS Sports' James Herbert. "You need to have that spiciness. You need to be a little bit of an a-----e like he is."

Experience brings confidence. Confidence breeds character. There's more to acquiring a veteran than just finding the first "old guy" on the waiver wire. It has to be someone with something of value, whether it's as a leader in the locker room or that missing ingredient on the floor.

David West, an unrestricted free agent for the Indiana Pacers, is a perfect example of someone Ujiri should be targeting. He's a savvy post player who can knock down mid-range jumpers, work for rebounds and get physical on the defensive end. West is also battle-tested in the postseason with 73 appearances. 

That's the type of player guys like Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas can look to for guidance and leadership. That's not to say they couldn't find that from someone already on the team, but the respect West has earned over the course of his 12-year career can't be ignored. 

There isn't one player on the Raptors playing consistent minutes for Casey over the age of 30. There's nothing wrong with having a ton of youth, but sprinkling in some age and wisdom could do a lot of good. 

3. Secure an Upgrade at Power Forward

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If management made basketball decisions with its heart instead of its head, Amir Johnson's future as a Raptor wouldn't be up for debate. 

He's one of the most beloved players the franchise has ever had, having forged an unbreakable bond with the people of Toronto during his six seasons with the team. 

"Toronto is a part of me,” he told reporters two years ago during training camp, via Alex Ballingall of the Toronto Star. “The people are very kind. I love it here.”

Johnson was one of the Raptors' few bright spots during the abysmal Washington series, averaging 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds on 69.0 percent shooting. That's a marginal increase from the 9.3 points and 6.1 boards he put up during the regular season. 

At 27 years old and having just completed his 10th year in the league, Johnson has more wear and tear on his body than anyone else at his age. His ankles have been through the grinder and don't seem to be getting any stronger.

He's one of the Raptors' best defenders and is often looked at as the heart and soul of the team, but with his long-term health such a question mark, can Ujiri trust his body not to break down under a new deal?

Johnson's $7 million contract comes off the books this summer, providing a huge chunk of Toronto's $29.6 million in expiring deals, as Steven Loung of Sportsnet.ca points out. Ujiri will have the cap space to send out some decent offers on the open market, but that will come at the cost of losing Johnson. 

The best-case scenario would be for Johnson to return in a reserve role to preserve his wonky ankles. The price would have to be right to avoid overpaying a bench player, though. With this perhaps being the last chance for Johnson to sign a sizable contract, the chances of his taking a discount are slim to none.

Power forward is such a deep position across the NBA that the Raptors are probably better off looking for someone who can offer more production on a regular basis. Johnson's numbers have capped off at roughly 10 points and seven rebounds in recent years, and with a litany of quality 4's hitting free agency, an upgrade can certainly be had.

Greg Monroe of the Detroit Pistons and Paul Millsap of the Atlanta Hawks are two of the more high-profile names Ujiri should have on his shortlist. Some other frontcourt additions who should come at cheaper prices include Brandon Bass of the Boston Celtics, Thaddeus Young of the Brooklyn Nets and former Raptor Ed Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. 

2. Replace Terrence Ross with Consistent 3-and-D Player

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The doomsday clock on Terrence Ross' tenure as a Raptor is slowly making its way to midnight.

His progression has been stagnant. His physical gifts are wasting away on a perimeter game where 53.9 percent of his points come from three-point range. Patience is wearing thinner by the day.

Ross' averages of 9.8 points and 2.8 rebounds on 41 percent shooting from the field and 37.2 percent from behind the arc are all lower than his 2013-14 numbers. Casey was forced to remove Ross from the starting lineup for a stretch in February because of his inconsistencies, shaking Ross' confidence even more. 

His only saving grace was that he kept defenders honest through his long-range shooting. You couldn't leave him open on the perimeter because he'd have spurts where he'd knock down a few in a row. 

That's one of the reasons why James Johnson was never able to leave his mark as a permanent replacement for the topsy-turvy Ross at the 3 spot. He couldn't hit three-pointers (21.6 percent) like Ross, and his defense—in the mind of Casey, anyway—was just as unsettling. 

Ujiri could always feed Ross' name to potential buyers, but with his stock so low, the compensation wouldn't be worth it. He's only 24 years old, so it's not as if he's peaked. It's having to play the waiting game that's bothersome. 

Throwing him to the wolves as a starter isn't the best course of action. Ujiri needs to find a swingman who can provide the scoring touch and perimeter defense that Ross has yet to bring to the forefront. 

Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report believes Wesley Matthews of the Portland Trail Blazers may be the man for the job:

"

Matthews may have to spend this offseason rehabbing his torn Achilles, but he's young enough to recover fully. And if he does, his three-point shooting and lockdown defensive ability would look quite nice next to Lowry and DeRozan, particularly because he and the current 2-guard are both big enough to play the 3 interchangeably.

"

Tobias Harris of the Orlando Magic, just like Matthews, possesses the shooting and defensive skills to be a suitable replacement for Ross. Ujiri may have to reach deep into his pockets to lure him away, though. 

1. Decide the Future of Dwane Casey as Head Coach

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Coaches are always the scapegoats when things go awry. You can't cut everyone on the roster, so it's easier to part ways with a coach and hope that's all it will take to get back on the path to success.

Ujiri said during his end-of-season press conference that he wasn't going to rush his decision-making as it relates to Casey's future on the sideline, via Eric Koreen of the National Post:

"

There’s a process of meetings we’ve set up, honestly, and we’re going to wait. If this was something that was in our head, I think I’d be coming out today and saying, ‘You know what, coach Casey is not going to be our coach.’ I can’t. … To me it’s a process.

But I will say it again: It’s not doomsday. There are a lot of good things. We broke the (franchise) record (for wins in a season) this year, we won our division the last couple of years. Coach Casey has created or helped create a good culture here.

"

It's not outrageous to think Ujiri could part ways with the man behind the two most successful regular-season runs in franchise history. Casey was a Bryan Colangelo hire. If Ujiri wants to put his stamp on the team and hire someone else under his regime, he has every right to do so. 

Casey's reputation as a defensive specialist—which gained a lot of steam during his time as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks—is tarnished. The Raptors finished in the bottom third of the NBA in defensive efficiency, which hurt his cause. His watching the Wizards shoot 48.7 percent in the playoffs and making few (or no) adjustments to stop it is just as bad. 

The massacre that was the Washington series also raises the question of Casey's ability to motivate his players. It appeared as if the team had tuned him out during the all-important 124-95 Game 4 defeat, although a 3-0 series deficit may have been enough of a culprit.

His rotations were always questioned, from Valanciunas' lack of a role in the offense to James Johnson's less prominent role in the second unit. No matter how he juggled minutes, it was never good enough. 

A 37-17 start to the season which turned into a 12-20 finish, as well as Toronto's way-too-early playoff exit, is at the forefront of everyone's mind. Ujiri is playing it smart by not making any snap decisions, but that harsh reality may eventually become to hard to ignore. 

Casey got the Raptors back into the playoff picture. It may take someone else to take the team beyond that point. 

Christopher Walder is a Featured Columnist for the Toronto Raptors at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports. 

All statistics are provided by NBA.com/stats and Basketball-Reference.com.