What happened to the Raptors? They won 59 games this regular season, but as per usual they choked in the playoffs. This is my opinion on what I think the Raptors should do this offseason, following the firing of head coach Dwane Casey.
Coaching Options
Jerry Stackhouse-head coach for Toronto 905 (G-League)
Becky Hammon–San Antonio Spurs assistant coach
Nick Nurse-Raptors assistant coach
The Raptors have a ton of options, but I would prefer Jerry Stackhouse. He has had a ton of success in the G-League. He led his Toronto 905 team to the finals, before eventually losing the best-of-3 series against the Austin Spurs. He is a young coach and has a ton of potential.
Separate Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan
What do we do? They are best friends and it would be so hard for us the fans, and the rest of the team, including President Masai Ujiri to have to split them up. So what do we do? I say we trade Kyle Lowry. He doesn’t seem like he takes the game seriously. He was seen laughing with LeBron James just moments before that huge buzzer beater in game 3.
But who will take his large contract? Yes I know he has two years left of that huge contract, 31 million next year and 33 million the year after that. I think teams that may be interested in Kyle are the Minnesota Timberwolves or the San Antonio Spurs. What can we get in return?
From the Spurs: Patty Mills, Rudy Gay and the 18th overall pick. Why should the Spurs and the Raptors agree to this trade? The Spurs need a point guard for right now. They have Dejounte Murray for the future, but he is only 21 years old. The Spurs can use Kyle Lowry for the next 2 years and try to win another championship with the aging Pau Gasol and Tony Parker, and of course Kawhi Leonard, for the Raptors they get a much-needed draft pick and a couple of veterans. Patty Mills is only 29 years old and has 3 years left on his 12 million dollar contract.
They get Rudy Gay who can return to the 6ix and he can become a mentor for the rookie OG Anunoby and improve that already lethal bench. From the Timberwolves: Jeff Teague, Justin Patton, and the 20th pick. The Timberwolves finally get that point guard who can dish to the likes of Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
They don’t have to rely on Lowry to score; they just need him to be a traditional point guard. The Raptors can use Teague as there point guard for the next two years and maybe he can be a spark. Justin Patton still has 4 years left on his rookie deal so he can play on the bench as another young big man. What do you think the Raptors should do regarding Kyle Lowry and Demar DeRozan?
I don’t think they should completely blow up, they just need to split up our two all-stars. I don’t think they will ever be successful with those two together. Similar to the Portland Trailblazers with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Keilan Dyer is a Writer for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter