NBA free agency begins today at 6 p.m. ET.
It should be another quiet free agency for the Toronto Raptors as they did most of their heavy lifting over the last few days.
The Raptors added six players during the 2024 NBA Draft. Four draft picks in Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and Ulrich Chomche. They added two more in a trade with the Sacramento Kings. Toronto acquired Davion Mitchell, Sasha Vezenkov, the draft rights to Shead and a 2025 second-round pick (via the Portland Trail Blazers) from the Kings in exchange for Jalen McDaniels.
Following the draft the Raptors agreed to an Exhibit-10 deal with Illinois Fighting Illini guard Quincy Guerrier and signed Utah Utes center Branden Carlson to a two-way deal.
Toronto then locked up Immanuel Quickley to a five-year $175 million deal. They also picked up Bruce Brown’s $23 million team option. Picking up Brown’s option now limits what the Raptors can do in free agency, notably bringing back Gary Trent Jr. who’s set to hit unrestricted free agency.
Toronto has access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign free agents this summer. This would allow the Raptors to sign one or more players to contracts that total up to $12.9 million for next season, per Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose.
The Raptors likely won’t be able to use the full mid-level exception without dipping into the luxury tax. The Raptors are likely not going to pay into the luxury for a team that’s not going to contend next season.
Therefore, since Toronto is unlikely to use the full mid-level exception this summer, it would be surprising if Trent Jr. re-signed with the Raptors. The Raptors won’t be able to offer Trent Jr. a contract close to the $18.6 million he made last season without dipping into the luxury tax.
Even if Trent Jr. takes a pay cut he would still be a lot for Toronto to take on. Therefore, Trent Jr. is likely to sign elsewhere once free agency begins.
He could be a useful pickup for a contender looking to add bench depth to its roster.
Bruce Brown reacts to Raptors picking up $23 million team option
Bruce Brown is staying with the Toronto Raptors for the time being.
The Raptors are picking up the $23 million option on his contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Brown appeared on his Instagram Live and reacted to the news.
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