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Masai Ujiri says Fred VanVleet is a 'priority', but so is flexibility in 2021

The Toronto Raptors have a busy offseason ahead of them, with decisions and deals to be made with several key free agents.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri fielded questions from reporters for nearly an hour on Thursday, and although he did not explicitly lay out his plans, he definitely left the impression the Raptors have strong interest in bringing back the team that won the second-most games in the NBA this season.

“Fred is a priority. Our bigs are a priority. Serge had an incredible, incredible run. Marc Gasol brings so much to our organization. We have our young players coming up — Chris Boucher, Rondae is a free agent too and he found a niche on our team,” Ujiri said of the impending free agents.

Out of the five players mentioned, the most sought after player will be VanVleet, who just wrapped up a career year averaging 18 points and seven assists while also being one of the league’s best defenders at the point guard position. The 26-year-old is expected to draw interest from a number of teams in addition to the Raptors, although the majority of those rumoured suitors are lottery teams such as the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. VanVleet is roughly expected to receive a deal somewhere in the $20-million range, although finances are murky this season due to the global shutdown.

As for Gasol and Ibaka, they are both older veterans that can still produce. Ibaka made $23 million this season, while Gasol earned $25 million, but it’s likely that both players will see a reduction on their next deal, particularly in the case of Gasol. Ibaka figures to be the more coveted player given that he’s younger and far more capable in terms of scoring, whereas Gasol is a better defender.

However, one additional complicating factor in free agency will be the salary cap, which has yet to be determined. The cap is based on a number of inputs, but most importantly on the revenue earned in this current season and how that projects moving forward. Given that COVID-19 shut down arenas for the foreseeable future, there is too much uncertainty as to where the cap number will ultimately fall.

“There’s a priority for us, there’s a priority with Fred, with our bigs. This has been our signature with our team. We also have to look at the game, and see where the game is going, and we also have to wait on the NBA. We are all waiting on the cap, and seeing where the numbers are going to fall, and that’s going to be interesting to see,” Ujiri said.

The last factor here is future flexibility. The 2021 free agent class features several superstars — namely the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being available — who many teams will be planning for. Ujiri explicitly mentioned next summer as one in which the Raptors are hoping to capitalize.

“But you know how we have dealt with this with our team, we have to look at what is now, we have to look at the short-term future and we have to look at the long-term future. After that, we have to look at the key here which is in 2021 and free agency then. This is where we really have to buckle down, make an assessment of what bubble basketball was, against what real, outside the bubble basketball was,” Ujiri said.

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