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Toronto Raptors: The 2018 NBA offseason summary and recap

By Brandon Osborne

SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on from the bench against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on October 27, 2016 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - OCTOBER 27: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on from the bench against the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on October 27, 2016 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Looking back at what the Toronto Raptors did right and wrong during the 2018 NBA offseason, including free agency and the draft

The Toronto Raptors entered the 2018 offseason with several questions about what direction the team should go in.

Should they look to trade one of their All-Stars in DeMar DeRozan or Kyle Lowry, should they keep the roster together for another shot at the NBA Finals, or should they blow up the team and start a rebuild?

The Raptors appeared to be going in the direction of keeping the team together and just changing the direction as Toronto fired NBA Coach of the Year Dwane Casey and promoted Nick Nurse to head coach.

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That’s when one of the biggest moves of the 2018 offseason occurred. The Toronto Raptors were trading DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a protected first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.

The team also re-signed Fred VanVleet who was a key reason for the Raptors regular season success as well as signing former Boston Celtic Greg Monroe. VanVleet was injured for most of the playoffs which contributed to the teams struggles in the playoffs. A healthy VanVleet should resume his role of sixth-man.

The Raptors went from being a contender in the Eastern Conference to the front-runner with the trade for Leonard. However, the move does come with significant risk as the Raptors have no indication that Leonard will re-sign with the team next summer as well as not knowing what kind of condition Leonard is in after missing all but nine games last season.

Toronto enters the 2018-19 season as one of the favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, but much of that is based on Leonard looking like the player he was before injury.

Related Story. NBA: Predicting the Eastern Conference playoff picture for 2018-19. light

Should his quad issue continue to bother him, Toronto could find itself in trouble after trading away its leading scorer who was coming off his best season in his career. At the very least the Raptors should have one of the leagues top defensive units with Leonard, Green and Lowry leading the way.

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