Predicting the Biggest Changes We'll See from Toronto Raptors Next Season
After a miraculous 48-win season that saw the Toronto Raptors earn their second Atlantic Division crown and first postseason appearance in six years, the last thing general manager Masai Ujiri wanted to do this summer was make any drastic changes and alter his now-proven formula for success.
Rather than blow up the system and start anew, Ujiri made it his mission to bring back important pieces (Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson) and keep together the foundation of a roster that was ready to take that next step in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors organization is all too familiar with change and the cloud of anxiety that's associated with it. In years past, it was difficult to feel secure with the direction the team was headed because nothing ever stayed in place for more than a couple of seasons at a time. It was a revolving door of coaches, role players, lottery picks and broken promises that ultimately didn't amount to anything.
Things feel different now, though. Go ahead and take a whiff of the aroma in the air because it smells of prosperous tomorrows and not like dinosaur dung that's been simmering too long under the sun.
This doesn't mean we won't be seeing some subtle changes sprinkled throughout the course of the year, whether it be through roster enhancement or simply how this team operates during games.
It would be easy to rest on the laurels of 2013-14, but to truly be a contender and avoid the stigma of being a one-year wonder, the Raptors will need to evolve as a unit.
There may need to be some sacrifices along the way, but you'll take it if it means more wins on the board and a deeper playoff run come May and June.
Greg Stiemsma Knocks Chuck Hayes Out of Rotation
This could not come to fruition if the Raptors decide to pass on Greg Stiemsma for the 15th roster spot and sign Jordan Hamilton or Will Cherry instead, although the 29-year-old center is the odds-on favorite at this time.
Something the team has lacked since sending Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings alongside Rudy Gay is a legitimate backup who's tall enough and big enough to play the 5 spot effectively off the bench. While Chuck Hayes is a serviceable veteran at the position, he's still only 6'6".
With Stiemsma, the Raptors would have a 6'11", 260-pound big who could bang down low and go toe-to-toe with larger second-unit guys and the occasional starter and not be pushed around as easily.
Stiemsma even embraced being compared to a player like Gray when Stephen Brotherston of Pro Bball Report talked to the University of Wisconsin alumnus on media day:
"Aaron (Gray) has been in the league for quite a while now, so he has always been able to find a job, find a fit and those are the kind of guys I looked to even before I got here. What are they doing to stick around? What are they doing to keep getting these jobs? It’s find a niche, do something well and stick with that. Don’t try and play outside of what you do real well. For myself, it’s stick to my defense. Try to do some of the little things that help guys win. Be the first guy on the floor, help guys up, all the little stuff that doesn’t always show up on the stats sheet, but the guys that understand the game, know the game really well appreciate those things.
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Coach Dwane Casey hasn't shied away from using Stiemsma in the preseason, bringing him off the bench as his first big with Patterson out battling a hand injury.
Through two games, the third-year pro is averaging 1.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 13.5 minutes of action. Although his numbers aren't awe-inspiring, the little things Stiemsma does that don't show up on the final stat sheet could keep him in the good graces of the coaching staff.
Hayes, who averaged 2.2 points and 3.6 rebounds in 12.8 minutes as a Raptor last season, would be on the outside looking in should Stiemsma rise up the depth chart. Casey could always use a platoon and play matchups, but with the rotation being tightened up to roughly nine or 10 guys, that doesn't seem as likely.
More Offensive Touches for Jonas Valanciunas
Averaging 14.4 points on nearly 70 percent shooting from the field for Lithuania during the FIBA World Cup, Jonas Valanciunas showed basketball purists all over the globe that he can be an absolute beast with the spotlight on at full glare.
Lowry is well aware that the game plan needs some tweaking to include more looks for his up-and-coming 22-year-old compadre, per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun:
“We have to start games off (feeding Valanciunas in the post), we need him, we’re going to put some pressure on him to score the ball for us,” Lowry said. “We can’t just do all guard-oriented types of things. We have to make sure he’s more involved and have to put a little pressure on him to score the ball.”
Through his first two seasons in the league, Valanciunas has seen his role slowly but gradually increase as he grows into his body and adapts to the NBA style of play.
| Season | Minutes | Points | FG | FGA | FG% |
| 2012-13 | 23.9 | 8.9 | 3.3 | 5.9 | 55.7 |
| 2013-14 | 28.2 | 11.3 | 4.4 | 8.3 | 53.1 |
An offseason working under the wing of Hall of Famer and NBA legend Hakeem Olajuwon showed that Valanciunas was ready to put in the extra work and prepare himself to shoulder more of the load in Toronto.
“I worked a lot this summer. I was working out with Hakeem with a running coach, so I think that’s going to help me out a lot, especially in the low post,” Valanciunas told Wolstat. “He’s one of the greatest players. He moves fantastic, so I want to get something from him and I want to use something that he taught me.”
As his back-to-the-basket game develops, so too will his confidence. Olajuwon's tutelage of Valanciunas will certainly help in both areas, but it's on him to use what he's learned and carry that over to the regular season.
His double-double numbers of 16.8 points and 11.0 rebounds with a usage rate of 21.9 (his highest all year) during the month of April is unmitigated proof that good things can happen when Valanciunas gets involved.
It also helps that he's not too shabby from the charity stripe, with a career 77.3 shooting percentage at the line. He's proven capable of knocking down his freebies, adding more fuel to the fire as to why Valanciunas needs the ball under the basket.
Let him draw contact in the post, pick up fouls and exploit the fact that he's not completely useless shooting free throws like some other NBA centers in the East. Here's looking at you, Andre Drummond.
If the trust is there, Valanciunas' numbers should see exponential growth. He'll need to command the ball more and stand on his own two feet, but that shouldn't be a problem.
His teammates know what he's capable of. The combination of that on top of a stronger and more focused Valanciunas should lead to a few more lobs coming his way.
The End of Amir Johnson in a Raptor Uniform?
To even allow the thought of Ujiri trading Amir Johnson to enter your mindset is considered sacrilege in Raptor country and a cardinal sin north of the border.
Lowry and DeMar DeRozan may be the best players on the team, but Johnson remains the heart and soul. Through pain, discomfort and aches galore, Johnson perseveres and sets an example for his teammates by throwing caution to the wind on a nightly basis.
Putting aside all praise and acclaim for a moment, Johnson is still an expiring contract of $7 million who has tremendous value on the open market.
Eric Koreen of the National Post brought up the notion that Ujiri may elect to part ways with the fan favorite in favor of cap room:
"Patterson is under contract for two years beyond this one, and Ujiri might decide giving long-term contracts to both players, similar as they are, is a poor use of resources. The league’s revenues, and thus the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, are likely to continue to rise, but the Raptors might want to remain flexible enough to chase a major star in free agency.
Through his career, Johnson has been a superior rebounder and defender to Patterson. However, anyone who has spent significant time watching the Raptors over the last few years knows that Johnson’s ankles have bothered him tremendously.
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Despite being just 27 years old, Johnson already has nine years of basketball mileage on his body and a pair of ankles that have seen better days.
From a chemistry standpoint, trading Johnson could send a ripple effect down the roster that Ujiri and Casey would like to avoid. He's become that important, especially to DeRozan, per Koreen.
“It’s funny: [Johnson] is family to me,” DeRozan said. “It’s like we don’t even play basketball together.”
Even if Ujiri isn't in a rush to pull the trigger, the least he can do is send out feelers, even at the expense of rubbing some of his players the wrong way.
At the end of the day, it's Ujiri's job to put the best basketball team he can out on the hardwood at the Air Canada Centre so that the Larry O'Brien trophy may one day reach Canadian soil.
There will come a time where Johnson can't muster up the toughness to step out onto the court and compete at less than 100 percent. His mind and heart will tell him one thing, while his body will tell him another.
Then fans may truly realize what needs to be done and the decision that needs to be made. If there was ever a time to make it a reality, it's 2014-15.
If Johnson can play 70-plus games, avoid injury and maintain his offensive and defensive production, perhaps we'll never get to this point.
Ujiri still needs to keep his options open, though. He'd be crazy not to.
There are very few untouchables on the Raptors heading into the season. I doubt Johnson is one of them.
Christopher Walder is considered by many to be the "songbird of his generation" and the greatest center to have never played professional, collegiate, high school, house league or pickup basketball. His work has been published on Bleacher Report, SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, FanSided and several other online outlets. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports.
Unless noted otherwise, all statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com or ESPN.com.
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