Top 3 Priorities for Toronto Raptors During 2026 NBA Offseason
Props to the Toronto Raptors for pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to the edges of an(other) existential crisis. Their first-round efforts are a good stepping stone to what comes next: turning themselves into more than a win-one-series contender.
This progression is never as easy as it sounds. It is even more complicated for the Raptors, who are a standout brew of good-not-great, deeply flawed and already expensive.
Fortunately, Toronto is not without avenues for improvement. It controls all of its own draft picks moving forward, with the exception of its 2031 and 2032 seconds. The front office also has plenty of matching salaries with which to work.
Whether many of those salaries and assets are desirable is debatable. The Raptors' top priorities for this offseason, frankly, are not.
3. Retain Sandro Mamukelashvili (Player Option)
1 of 3
A broader "Have at least one playable floor-spacing big on the roster" suffices here, but Sandro Mamukelashvili is already in town. Why look elsewhere, particularly when the Raptors don't have a ton of money to spend, and the market for playable floor-spacing bigs isn't what you'd call frothy AF.
Mamu put down his threes this season at a 38.9 percent clip, proving once and for all he can operably stretch defenses as a regular part of the rotation. His threat level rose even further thanks to his work putting the ball on the floor.
Among 212 players who finished at least as many drives as Mamu, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, Tyler Herro, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell were the only ones to shoot 58 percent or better out of these plays.
Not surprisingly, the soon-to-be 27-year-old seems likely to decline his player option. He signed for the minimum last summer and has proved to be worth more. Toronto should, of course, have a walk-away point, but it's otherwise not in a position to sneeze at reasonably priced spacing.
If anything, shooting on the frontline is more urgent knowing Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles are clearly the future. While the Raptors have not explored it too often, Mamu at least allows for the possibility of playing both alongside another big. Jakob Poeltl does not.
2. Add More Knockdown Shooters. Plural.
2 of 3
The Raptors cannot afford to skimp on this priority. They were just 25th in three-point attempt rate and 18th in overall efficiency. They were also 28th in accuracy on wide-open triples and somehow, someway, laid even more bricks during the playoffs.
Toronto's spacing is too reliant on question marks. Immanuel Quickley and Brandon Ingram were the only players on the roster to shoot better than league average from three while getting up at least four attempts per game.
Every other semi-dependable option is either lower volume (Sandro Mamukelashvili, Ja'Kobe Walter) or something of an unknown (Jamison Battle). Even if the plan is to ratchet up Battle's role in 2026-27, the Raptors still need more dudes they're comfortable playing who can torch twine from deep.
Being projected $7.9 million below the luxury-tax line, they will have access to the larger mid-level exception ($15 million) if they're willing to go past that line. If not, they'd better hope they can find cheaper solutions on the open market or via trade or figure out how to shed enough salary to use the full MLE (Grady Dick dump, anyone?)
Names Toronto should kick around entering free agency include Collin Gillespie, Rui Hachimura, Luke Kennard and Landry Shamet. Non-star trade targets (stay tuned for actual star-trade targets) include Sam Merrill, Max Strus, Isaiah Joe, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Sam Hauser, Corey Kispert and Klay Thompson.
1. Trade for Another Offensive Lead
3 of 3
Scottie Barnes validated his star-cornerstone status at both ends this year and has shown he's got plenty of from-scratch tricks in his armory. Until proven across an entire season or more, though, he is at his most efficient as a playmaker and play-finisher.
This is why the Raptors have Brandon Ingram—who, as the team now knows, isn't the answer. The offense needs someone who can at least co-run the half-court machine alongside Barnes. And that someone needs to be better than Peak Immanuel Quickley.
Toronto shouldn't be stingy on the trade market. It has picks. It has immediate expectations. It has matchable salary. Aggression should be the default.
All of the big names with obvious or semi-feasible paths to the chopping block should be on the radar. Donovan Mitchell could become available if the Cleveland Cavaliers don't do anything after beating the Raptors. Are things with the Denver Nuggets tenuous enough for them to consider moving Jamal Murray? Would the Los Angeles Lakers listen to Austin Reaves sign-and-trade pitches? Would Toronto have interest in Kyrie Irving? Perhaps the Los Angeles Clippers are willing to talk shop on Darius Garland.
Asset outlay for Toronto could be steep. With the exception of RJ Barrett's expiring contract, rival teams could see players like Quickley, Ingram and, of course, Jakob Poeltl as having net-negative deals. Trade partners might demand extra compensation for taking one of them on.
Short of moving Barnes, everyone else should be on the table. Collin Murray-Boyles can (and should) be added to the no-fly zone if the Raptors are prepared to shower sellers with first-round picks for taking on less-wanted money.
In the event Toronto punts on shopping in the Marquee Name section, second- and third-tier alternatives along the lines of Cam Spencer, Tyler Herro, Reed Sheppard, Ty Jerome and Ryan Rollins should be on the table. And if the Raptors don't want a primary-ball-handler-type but are willing to swing on deadeye threats from deep circling fringe stardom, Trey Murphy III and Michael Porter Jr. each deserve a look.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
