Toronto Raptors
With them looking to get younger and needing a lot of help in their frontcourt, the Toronto Raptors could absolutely be a team that looks to sign Markkanen in the offseason, especially if they lose veteran guard Kyle Lowry, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
The former 7th overall pick has been a really consistent big man early on in his career and in his limited time this year, he is averaging 17.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and shooting 39.1% from three-point range. Standing just about 7’0”, Lauri Markkanen is the perfect player for the Raptors to add in the offseason in attempts to reload and make another run at the NBA Finals in the Eastern Conference.
With Lowry set to become a free agent and numerous teams looking to pursue him in the offseason, the Raptors will enter the offseason with $12.3M to play around with in cap space, which is why they could look to offer a $15M-$16M per year contract to Markkanen.
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Not only is this an affordable rate for Toronto, but it gives Markkanen the type of deal he is looking to make, especially since he is just higher than a mid-tier frontcourt player, This would be a very generous offer for both sides and wit the opportunity to play 30+ minutes per game for the Raptors, this could be a great opportunity for Lauri Markkanen.
Without Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol this year, there has been a void in the Raptors’ frontcourt that they have been trying to fix since the beginning of the year and have yet to solve. This is why adding Lauri Markkanen in the offseason would be a huge move by the Raptors.
