"When Bobby Webster said the Toronto Raptors were built to pivot at last season's trade deadline, he wasn't just blowing smoke. While the nature of team building in the NBA means that rosters are constantly in flux on the margins, Webster, the newly "elevated" Raptors head of basketball operations and general manager made an intriguing statement at his press conference on Friday."
""The likelihood of this team being the same team by the end of the year is probably zero," said Webster. "Put on top of that with one move you can get under the tax. So I don't see that as the urgent piece." All-around, Webster's presser was calm and candid. And really, this isn't too strong of a statement if we take it at face value for what it most likely means."
""The basketball is always the urgent piece," Webster continued. "If we don't come out and we're not competitive, then it forces us to evaluate it. But I don't think it exacerbated by any other outside timeline or financial pressure." Yet the other angle to consider here is that the Raptors upper brass know that this team is "unfinished" and that it's not necessarily a bad thing."
Bobby Webster stated that the Raptors were constructed to pivot at the trade deadline and that roster turnover across a season is normal. The organization acknowledges that the current roster is likely to change and that a single move could bring payroll under the luxury tax, though financial timing is not the primary urgency. On-court performance remains the foremost priority; poor competitiveness would trigger evaluations. The front office regards the team as unfinished but not necessarily negatively, emphasizing accumulated young players and the need to leverage assets through trades rather than relying solely on free-agent additions.
Read at Raptors Republic
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