It’s more about HOW the Toronto Raptors lost Christian Koloko

Don’t be upset about losing Christian Koloko to the Lakers, be upset about how we lost Koloko to the Lakers.

Christian Koloko was supposed to be the next ”diamond in the rough” find for this Toronto Raptors front office. Still, an unexpected illness derailed his Raptors tenure, leading to the team’s tough decision to move on from the young centre.

With the news of Koloko’s return, the Raptors’ fanbase was understandably upset. The young Cameroonian big was supposed to be part of this team’s future, showing flashes that he could potentially develop into a decent modern-day big man. It may not sound like a big deal, but the Raptors’ “Run it back” core’s “compete window” couldn’t stay open long enough due to the inability of the front office to find a decent starting centre.

Looking back at Koloko’s rookie season, it was mostly up-and-down, as he’s alternated flashes of potential and things that could make a Raptor fan mumble, “Two years away...” Still, he showed enough flashes to make the fanbase salivate at what he can be, and he looked like he could be significantly better than any centre that the front office brought since losing Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka.

Then, the unfortunate happened. The news of Koloko being out indefinitely broke before training camp even started. The Raptors were supposed to reinvent themselves under an energetic new coach, Darko Rajakovic, and the fanbase expected Koloko to get the backup C minutes. This step was supposed to be a crucial part of his development, and just like that, the plan was shelved indefinitely.

A multi-team midseason trade that the Raptors pulled off put the front office in a pickle where they had to waive someone, and that someone was Koloko.

We shouldn’t be upset at Christian Koloko and his agent for choosing the Lakers. I’m pretty sure the Klutch agent made the best decision for his client. Right? Despite several teams showing interest, they felt that the Lakers’ Two-Way contract offer was the best situation for Koloko. The LA Clippers and the San Antonio Spurs have Two-Way contract spots available, while the Raptors and the Lakers don’t. In his situation, getting a standard contract is a long shot, but if someone offered him a spot, his agent would be crazy not to take it. We don’t know if the Raptors, Clippers, or Spurs offered Koloko at least a Two-Way contract, so it’s good for him to take the Lakers’ offer if that’s the only offer on the table.

Koloko’s signing resembles NFL teams signing players into the practice squad; he’ll need to show the Lakers that he’s closer to his pre-illness form and better. He can’t come back looking like the raw 22-year-old rookie at age 24. Still, it’s great to see that he could be back on the floor soon, and we’ll be rooting for his development to get back on track.

Now, let’s look at the Raptors Front Office.

It’s fair to be upset with how the Raptors FO dropped the ball. In fact, they have been mishandling things for a while. If one would look at the Pascal Siakam trade, the other smaller trades, and the non-trades, it’s frustrating how this front office managed these situations (However, all of those things should be a topic for another day).

Returning to the trade that led to Koloko’s departure, the Raptors got Bruce Brown, Kira Lewis, Jordan Nwora, and a couple of picks. At the time, the Raptors need to waive a player. Does that player need to be Koloko?

Looking at the roster at the time, they had options:

Waive Kira Lewis Jr. immediately. The former lottery pick failed to live up to expectations in New Orleans for several seasons, and judging his play, there’s no indication that he’s a much better point guard than Malachi Flynn.

Waive Otto Porter Jr. Sure, Porter Jr. led to the Kelly Olynyk trade, but Olynyk’s at the twilight of his career, and we could have used the 1st round pick that we added as a sweetener just to get Olynyk and Agbaji. They could’ve used the 2024 NBA Draft 29th or 31st picks to get more assets instead.

Waive Jalen McDaniels. By the time of the trade, it’s clear that the front office had a swing-and-a-miss with McDaniels.

Waive Garrett Temple. By the time of the trade, it might have been better for the Raptors to waive Temple, fire their coach, and make Temple the interim coach.

There’s no other team that should have had a better read of Christian Koloko’s medical situation than the Raptors. They have access to his medical records and doctors and should have done much more thorough research on his condition and future outlook. Instead, they waived him as if they have a stacked young roster like the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What’s worse, the Raptors had Koloko under contract for this coming season, and it’s not like the doctors just recently discovered the procedure that Koloko underwent a few months ago, which allowed him a chance to return to the NBA.

Sourgraping aside, the fanbase shouldn’t be too upset about losing Koloko. Our new Koloko/Caboclo hybrid in Ulrich Chomche is six years younger and has a higher potential than Koloko. Let’s hope that this Raptors front office learned their lesson not just on the deals they have made but on how their actions affect relationships between the team, players, and agents. If they didn’t, then the Raptors are being run by the wrong people.