NBA: Looking back at 8 of the best/worst offseason moves from the summer

Toronto refusing to rebuild

When a superstar like Kawhi Leonard leaves your franchise, it’s hard to repeat the same level of team success.

With a Lowry on the wrong side of 30 and given the playoff disappointments Toronto repeatedly faced prior to Kawhi’s arrival (the Lowry and DeRozan era), Ujiri choosing to finally embrace a roster reset didn’t sound like that much of an insane proposition back in July.

Yet, Ujiri looked at Brooklyn and the Clippers and noticed that during free agency, stars tend to look at teams that are competitive and well run. In his mind, if the Raptors managed to at least remain respectable, they could at least have a good shot at signing a star free agent when the time was right.

Well, there is no doubt that the Raptors have been better than expected this season and Pascal Siakam has swiftly been able to transition from a sidekick to the best player on a winning team, which is giving him a solid chance to become the first NBA player to win the Most Improved Player award in back to back years.

Toronto’s weather and location are still two obstacles that will always deter a handful of free agents, but if player x’s priority is winning, then Toronto will be in pretty good shape when that time comes.