The future of the Toronto Raptors is beginning to look especially bright. Continuity is a key factor in developing a championship roster, and general manager Bobby Webster has done an excellent job of locking up the team for the foreseeable future. With seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard and backup point guard Jamal Shead both receiving contract extensions, the entire core of this roster is under contract for at least the next three seasons, except RJ Barrett (unrestricted free agent in 2027) and Ja’Kobe Walter (restricted free agent in 2028). 

In all likelihood, Walter will swiftly re-sign with the Raptors in two years. At just 22 years old, the former No. 19 pick in the 2024 NBA draft has proven to be one of the most promising young 3-and-D players in the league. After the All-Star break last season, the former Baylor Bear shot 47.6% from three, good enough for second place in the NBA among players who made two or more three-pointers per game (via StatMuse). 

Currently, he is the backup to 26-year-old Barrett, who, through seven years in the NBA, may not become the star he was once thought to be. Selected with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the former Duke Blue Devil was expected to be a perennial All-Star. Coming out of high school at Montverde Academy, he was the No. 1-ranked player ahead of college teammates Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish, along with other future NBA players like Tyler Herro, Coby White, and more. 

That’s not to say that Barrett has been a bust by any stretch of the imagination. He currently is the leader in total points of any player from his draft class, and has averaged at least 19 points per game in each of the last five seasons. He simply lacks the individual accolades to insinuate that he is one of the top players in the league, and with minimal statistical progression over the last half-decade, it doesn’t appear he will reach the level many thought he would get to. 

Unfortunately, the problem for Toronto is that he is already being paid like a top player. He signed a 4-year, $107 million rookie extension with the New York Knicks because the organization believed there was still plenty of time for him to develop into the alpha star that they needed at the time. Clearly, they realized quickly that they didn’t feel confident in their decision, as he and Immanuel Quickley were traded to the Raptors together just over a year later. 

Heading into next summer, Barrett and the Raptors are in a rather unfavorable situation. It seems both sides want to keep the Toronto native with his hometown team, but the money simply isn’t there to make it happen without taking a significant pay cut. The person who really could make or break this extension isn’t the general manager, though. The man with the most influence on whether or not this deal gets done may actually be his positional competition, Walter. 

While it would be very difficult to argue that Walter is a better player than Barrett, it may not come down to overall skill moving forward. The Raptors are going to have a chance to contend for a championship for the next few years, but Barrett really isn’t a needle-mover as a primary scorer playing next to Leonard and Scottie Barnes. Walter, on the other hand, fits the system much better because of his extreme ability to play off the ball, space the floor, and defend on the perimeter. 

There isn’t much of a scenario where he starts over Barrett at any point this season, simply because it’s difficult to justify having a $29.6 million contract on the bench; the same goes for Collin Murray-Boyles and Jakob Poeltl. However, at the end of a close game, the politics get thrown out the window. The best players need to and will play, and that means whoever fits best around Barnes and Leonard will be on the floor. If Walter continues to improve as many expect him to, there may not be a point in retaining Barrett at all beyond this season. 

This is a substantial leap to a conclusion that is far from set in stone. But if Walter can develop more confidence and assertiveness with the ball in his hands, he may just be the dream role player for Toronto’s future. With an unjustifiable amount of money being given to Quickley and Poeltl already, Webster needs to be extremely careful with how he continues to maneuver through the salary cap. Shead, Walter, and Murray-Boyles look like perfect role players on budget contracts, so unless Barrett has a career year in 2027, they may need to be prioritized instead of a player who specializes in tertiary scoring.