Ingram signed a three-year cope with Toronto for $120M, with the third 12 months being a participant possibility. That is lower than the utmost contract Ingram may have obtained in free company, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an enormous wage — plus a deal that offers Ingram all of the upside. Both he outperforms the deal and turns into a free agent in two seasons, or he disappoints, and the Raptors are caught with him for an costly third 12 months.
It additionally locks the Raptors right into a younger core that is not low-cost by any means. Since July, Toronto has signed 23-year-old Scottie Barnes to a five-year extension that may very well be price as much as $270M, 25-year-old Immanuel Quickley to a five-year, $175M deal. Now the 27-year-old Ingram joins them, together with 25-year-old R.J. Barrett, signed for over $57M for 2025-27.
They will be paying that quartet $144M within the 2026-27 season, that means that the Raptors, at present 17-37, will probably be pushing in opposition to the posh tax as early as subsequent season. They’ve guess massive on some gamers who actually have not accomplished a lot this season.
Quickley’s accidents have restricted him to 14 video games this season. Ingram has performed in solely 18, and has missed 118 video games (and counting) within the final 4 seasons — virtually 30 per 12 months. Barnes missed 14 video games this season and 20 in 2023-24. Barrett missed 13 video games this season and 24 final season.
Whereas the Raptors have been turning over their roster the previous two seasons, transport out longtime gamers Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, they’ve had a bottom-six protection within the NBA. The workforce makes the second-fewest three-pointers within the league. Ingram may assist that, however he is solely a 36.3 % shooter for his profession. Quickley shoots 37.4 %, whereas Barrett’s below 35 % and Barnes barely cracks 30 %.
All of it provides as much as an odd resolution to surrender a first-round choose and an enormous contract so as to add Ingram, notably as a result of this workforce does not appear one participant away from rivalry. Maybe the Raptors are relying on touchdown a stud on this 12 months’s draft (they’ve the fifth-best lottery odds), however general, it seems to be like workforce president Masai Ujiri acquired sick of dropping and determined to go all-in.
For a squad that appears like a marginal playoff workforce even when they’re wholesome. With this Ingram transfer, the Raptors could have gotten themselves nearer to a different sell-off of costly gamers — and no nearer to rivalry.
