NBA Rumors: Toronto Raptors not expected to sign Luol Deng
By Josh Hill
The NBA offseason is finally here and the Toronto Raptors are a team we may see make some moves to ensure that they don’t regress after the success they had this season.
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Once again, it seems that Toronto could be a place that free agents want to play and that hasn’t been the case since the Vince-santiy era back in the early 2000s. But the Raps aren’t a total destination yet and even if they were they lack the funds to make a big signing happen.
According to NBA scribe Chuck Myron, the Raptors may make some moves this offseason but one of them will most certainly not be adding Luol Deng to the roster.
"I don’t think Toronto is at all in play for Deng. The Raptors wouldn’t be able to clear the cap space to go after him unless Lowry signs elsewhere, and all reports seem to point to him returning. I think Deng ends up signing for somewhere around $12MM per year, and possibly a little more if the right team is willing to push the bidding higher."
Deng is one of the top names on the free agent market and he will no doubt be drawing some attention from some real contenders. That’s not to say Toronto themselves aren’t contenders but they aren’t yet the type of team that a free agent like Deng would take less money to play for and their chances of landing him are rather low.