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Josh Lewenberg: Asked Bobby Webster if they're open to talking contract extension with RJ Barrett this summer (he has 1 year left on his deal). He said they keep that stuff private but they've had good (general) communication. "He's under contract so that decision can also be at the end of the season"
Josh Lewenberg: Webster on Barnes and CMB and building around defence: "Clearly the defensive ability of those two is special... What do you surround them with?... We're going to focus on the strength of those two."
Josh Lewenberg: Webster says Poeltl was behind the 8-ball with the back injury in camp. Message to him going into summer was to get healthy & get back to last season's form. "He's high IQ, high instincts, people know what he means to this team when he's at his best...We'll be on him this summer"
Now, Raptors general manager Bobby Webster says Temple has been a key mentor for their young players. “He’s invaluable,” Webster said. “Three years ago, when we met him in Vegas, we didn’t have a great personal relationship with him. There is nobody on the team I trust more about the pulse of the team, what I need to watch and what messaging you can help us with, especially in today’s NBA with so many young kids coming in. “He’s been [mentoring] Scottie [Barnes] for a couple years; we have this young kid Collin Murray-Boyles. He’s a huge mentor and invaluable to us.”
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It puts RJ Barrett on shaky ground in Toronto. “Can we perfectly time this, where every year we have a $25 million expiring (contract)? No,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster told The Athletic earlier this month when asked about the franchise’s flexibility. “That was maybe the one we didn’t have this year.” Webster was not speaking about Barrett when he said that. However, it was clear at the trade deadline that teams don’t see value in taking on long-term contracts such as the ones Immanuel Quickley and Poeltl have, even if Quickley is quietly making his look better. Ingram’s contract could be expiring next year, but he has a $41.9 million player option for 2027-28. Barrett is owed $29.6 million next year and then will become an unrestricted free agent. His contract would go a long way toward helping the Raptors upgrade, given that most trades in the NBA require approximately the same amount of annual salary switching sides.
Most importantly, the Raptors are 32-22 with just one game left before the break. They are fighting for playoff seeding after two years of chasing lottery balls. Webster must be having fun. “I try to find my moments,” said Bobby Webster, who retained his title of general manager despite effectively rising a level in the organizational chart when Ujiri was fired last June, adding that the Raptors haven’t accomplished much yet. “What do they say? It’s better than the alternative, right?”
After the deadline, you said you would put your chips in for a bigger deal at some point. What do you have to see from the team to do that? And how much does what’s happening around you in the conference, even the league, impact the timing of that? Bobby Webster: It all matters. What is the main driver? Seven different champions in the last seven years suggests there isn’t a huge dynasty in the current NBA. You want to be mindful of that. You have to stick to your guns on some of it as far as not overpaying, not chasing it. That’s sort of what I alluded to: We’ve kept our draft picks for a number of years on purpose. When you do go for it, is it a three- or four-pick trade, or do we peel them off one at a time? That’s what we did last time (with the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka and Kawhi Leonard).
And timing matters as well. The Raptors took a look at more ambitious deals — “We had some fun,” said Webster — but ultimately decided that this was not the time to let it rip. “I think, at this point, with this group, we didn’t want to chase,” said Webster. “We didn’t want to be in a situation where you felt like you were overpaying. We’re still on the upward climb ... we’ve had a pretty positive start; the group is coming together. There will be a time where we’re gonna push in and consolidate and add some picks, but we just felt the prices at this point were a little high for us.”
Josh Lewenberg: In Bobby Webster’s 12 years with the team, the Raptors have never traded multiple 1st-round picks in the same deal. They weren’t willing to do it for Anthony Davis and it’s hard to see them doing it for Sabonis. Unless the price comes down, expect a quiet deadline day in Toronto:
In Bobby Webster’s 12 years with the team, the Raptors have never traded multiple 1st-round picks in the same deal. They weren’t willing to do it for Anthony Davis and it’s hard to see them doing it for Sabonis. Unless the price comes down, expect a quiet deadline day in Toronto: pic.twitter.com/uJ9kDRLRG3
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) February 5, 2026
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But that’s the Ujiri playbook. Sources within MLSE insist that Webster has full autonomy and is under no pressure to take a big swing in his first at-bat. But in declining to elevate him to the president’s role and dangling the title over his head like a carrot, this was always going to be a make-or-break season for Toronto’s GM, as well as several others on his staff and in the organization.
They’ve already checked in on another Mavericks centre, Daniel Gafford, per a source, while Orlando’s Goga Bitadze and Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe are other names to monitor. That way, they could see how this group holds up in meaningful games during the spring before reassessing in the off-season, when it’s easier to make significant change. But that’s the Ujiri playbook. Sources within MLSE insist that Webster has full autonomy and is under no pressure to take a big swing in his first at-bat. But in declining to elevate him to the president’s role and dangling the title over his head like a carrot, this was always going to be a make-or-break season for Toronto’s GM, as well as several others on his staff and in the organization.
New Toronto Raptors head of basketball operations Bobby Webster put his Brandon Ingram description succinctly in calling him a “hooper’s hooper.” Asked about the potential fit with Scottie Barnes, Webster simply stated Barnes likes to pass the ball while Ingram likes to shoot the ball. Plainly, the Raptors traded for Ingram, who was acquired in February but has yet to suit up for Toronto, to see him do what he does best. “I want Brandon to be himself, to be comfortable in his own skin,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He’s 27 years old and he’s now entering his prime.”
