Raptors Still Waiting, Still Spending

Six weeks since the Leonard trade was announced, and the NBA investigation into the Clippers' salary-cap practices remains unresolved. Commissioner Silver said resolution would come before the regular season. That's still the expectation. In the meantime, Toronto is doing what organizations do: filling out a roster around a centerpiece they don't officially have yet.

The two recent signings — centre Trey Jemison on a two-way deal and guard Andre Jackson Jr. — are modest moves, the kind of depth-chart maintenance that happens every August. Neither changes the structural picture. Poeltl is still the only proven big man on the roster, and the picks that could have addressed that through the draft are gone to Los Angeles as part of the Leonard package. The front office knows the center situation is fragile. Jemison is an acknowledgment of that, not a solution.

What's worth noting is the organizational posture here: they are building in earnest around a trade that hasn't been cleared. Rajakovic has his extension. The secondary core of Barnes, Quickley, and Barrett is intact. The pieces are being arranged. They're just waiting on the league to tell them whether the centerpiece is actually theirs to build around.

Silver said before the season. That window is still open, but it won't be for much longer.