The Toronto Raptors enjoyed a thrilling run to the Eastern Conference finals this season, where the fun was finally ended by those killjoys from Cleveland, the Cavaliers. Any team in the NBA’s final four has arrived as a serious championship contender. Toronto’s run was not a fluke, and expectations for next season’s Raptors are very high, as well they should.
After too many years of turmoil and player turnover, the Raptors have a young yet battle-hardened core. Which players constitute that core, and which ones could be allowed to move on with minimal damage?
I should make my biases clear.