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To say the Toronto Raptors' season was a disappointment would be an understatement. For a team that finished among the NBA Eastern Conference's top four sides for seven straight years to suddenly fall to 12th place was hugely surprising for their fanbase.
While they struggled with the move to Tampa Bay and had coronavirus ruin their form midseason, the Raptors were still well off the pace. They parted company with too many key pieces and struggled to replace their ruggedness in the paint and scoring depth.
Looking to rebuild for next year, they will have a long offseason ahead of them and could look to offload several players to make way for new assets. The article examines three players unlikely to return for the Toronto Raptors in the 2021-22 NBA campaign.
3 players the Toronto Raptors could move on in the offseason
It's difficult to believe that the Toronto Raptors won their first-ever championship just two years ago in a thrilling playoff run and that Nick Nurse won Coach of the Year last season. Their 2020-21 campaign was so unlike any year the NBA has witnessed and was unlike any in recent Raptors history.
Playing a long way away from Canada, the Raptors won just 16 of 36 games on their temporary 'home' court this season and finished the campaign on a seven-game losing streak.
It's fair to say Nurse and the front office staff have their work cut out for them in the offseason, with three players listed here potentially leaving the franchise.
#3 Rodney Hood
Rodney Hood made little impact after arriving in Toronto as part of a trade that saw Norman Powell join the Portland Trail Blazers. The major reason the Raptors went through with it was to sign Gary Trent Jr., who looks like the star of the future with the franchise.
Hood, though, is not likely to be in the Toronto Raptors' long-term plans, or even short-term. He played in just 17 games off the bench, averaged 3.9 points off 12.7 minutes and struggled with a hip injury. His shooting took a major dip this year, connecting with 36% of field-goal attempts and 30% of three-point efforts over the campaign. He also struggled on defense, with a rating of 116, a factor in his game that has worsened in the last few seasons.
Although the Toronto Raptors may find it difficult to gain suitors for Hood, he can still provide considerable scoring depth for teams if he can re-find his stroke.
#2 Aron Baynes
The Toronto Raptors have had their fair share of issues in the paint this year, ranking in the bottom eight teams for defensive and offensive rebounds allowed. On offense, only 39% of their total points came in the area, the fourth-fewest in the NBA.
Losing Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol proved to be pivotal to the franchise, who only two years earlier had relied so heavily on both in their championship run. Aron Baynes was brought in, however, failing to continue the consistent form he showed in Phoenix last year.
At 34, Baynes is on the wrong side of an NBA athlete's lifespan in the league and the Toronto Raptors would do well to look for a younger, more athletic replacement. The New Zealand native averaged just six points and five rebounds this year and shot at 70% from the free-throw line.
#1 Kyle Lowry
One veteran on the Toronto Raptors team with whom the fanbase will not want to part ways with is Kyle Lowry. The diminutive point guard will go down as one of the, if not the, greatest players in franchise history when he does leave. Since he became a free agent in the summer and there was considerable interest for him at the trade deadline, it seems inevitable that that time has come.
The Raptors will be keen to look to the future of their backcourt with Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. Furthermore, Lowry could still demand another big contract this year, whether it be a one or two-season deal, something they may want to avoid paying.
Nevertheless, the decision is not final and Lowry could stick around in Toronto. He has built a life there, a legacy and has built a great relationship with President Masai Ujiri. Of course, Ujiri's future is also unknown and should he leave it wouldn't be surprising if Lowry followed.
The 35-year-old will garner a lot of interest in the free agency market, though. He has previously stated he wants to play on a championship-chasing side which the Toronto Raptors are not currently. That could pave the way for the Philadelphia 76ers to swoop in or the Miami Heat.
Guess the Lakers players!
