Keeping the Toronto Raptors together was the right move

The Toronto Raptors had a fantastic season, winning the Atlantic Division and returning to the postseason. That’s why their priority in free agency was re-signing their three key free agents.

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The Raptors decided to take care of their top priority, point guard Kyle Lowry, first, re-signing him to a four-year, $48 million deal. They then re-signed forward Patrick Patterson, who was a restricted free agent. He agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal. After that, Lowry’s backup, Greivis Vasquez received a two-year, $13 million deal.

Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors believes the Raptors made the right move keeping their team together.

"I touched on them earlier when I answered the question about the Hornets, but yes, I think keeping that team together was the best move. Free agents aren’t lining up to go north of the border, so building around a core of young guys like DeRozan, Ross and Valanciunas makes sense. Their deal with Kyle Lowry might prove to be a bit of an overpay, but the rising salary cap will probably mitigate that. The East continues to be LeBron’s team and then everyone else, until Derrick Rose can play a full season, so it makes sense to bring back the group that snagged the No. 3 seed this spring."

Keeping Lowry, who had a fantastic season was obviously the key to their offseason. He drew interested form both the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat before re-upping with the Raptors (in fact the Raptors reportedly feared losing him to the Heat which may be why they gave him a bigger offer than many expected). Lowry averaged 17.9 points, 7.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 42.3% from the field, 38.0% from beyond the arc and 81.3% from the charity stripe last season.

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