Webster willing to cut contract with Barrett

TORONTO – Bobby Webster is willing to wait to re-sign Canadian star guard RJ Barrett.

The Toronto Raptors general manager held his postseason press conference Wednesday afternoon at the OVO Athletic Centre, the team’s NBA practice facility. One of the first questions Webster was asked was whether he would be open to signing a contract extension with Barrett this summer as he enters the final year of his current deal.

“We will keep all those conversations private,” Webster said. “I talked to RJ at the end of the season and I talked to him all season.

“I think the best part is he’s under contract, so that decision might as well be at the end of the season.”

Barrett, of Mississauga, Ont., is under contract through 2026-27 after he completes a four-year, $107 million extension signed with the New York Knicks in 2022. Toronto traded for him and Immanuel Quickley in December 2023.

Webster’s problem isn’t so much that he doesn’t want Barrett to play for the Raptors next season — it’s that he might not be able to afford it.

If Toronto doesn’t find a way to shed significant contracts this summer, it will be over the salary cap when the next NBA season begins in October. The Raptors’ payroll will be roughly $193 million against a projected cap hit of $165 million, meaning they will have to pay the NBA’s luxury tax.

Toronto is already committed to paying six players over $159 million in 2027-28, when Barrett’s contract expires, including All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, as well as fellow starters Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl.

Barrett is making $29.6 million this upcoming season and would expect to make more in a new deal. Signing him to an extension would put the Raptors deep into the luxury tax range for the 2027-28 season with just seven players under contract, well short of the 15 needed to fill an NBA roster.

“I think there’s always been that notion that when the time is right, come ask (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the Raptors’ owners) and we’ll give it,” Webster said, noting that Toronto’s 2019 championship team paid a luxury tax. “Going into this season, I realized this might not be a championship contending team, and so we stopped.

“But going forward, I think it’s going to be a little bit more about how does this group grow? But also, what moves do we make over the summer. We have full support (from MLSE) and I think whenever the time is right, we’ll be ready.”

Barrett averaged 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in the regular season, as the Raptors struggled to a 6-9 record when he was injured in late November and into December.

The 25-year-old was one of Toronto’s most reliable players in its first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 24.1 points, seven rebounds, four assists, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks in the seven-game series. Most memorably, he sank a 29-foot 3-pointer in the final seconds of the Raptors’ 112-110 overtime win in Game 6.

“I think you always knew he was going to play a big, physical style of basketball,” Webster said. “That was in full view, he got to the paint, he got to the rim. He had a little bit of a rough stretch, going through some injuries.

“I think he came back to full health and you saw that in the playoffs.”

When Barrett spoke at his end-of-season press conference on Monday, he was clear that he wants to stay with his hometown team.

“I think that’s the easiest question for me to answer because I’m from here and who doesn’t want to play at home?” said Barrett, who said it’s out of his control at this point. “So, of course, I’m trying to stay here. I understand the business, but I want to stay here. I have no problem saying that. I want to be here. I want to be here for the rest of my career.

“I never want to leave, as I have no problem saying that openly.”

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Barrett had impressed him all season, but especially in the playoffs, when the 6-foot-6 player was tasked with guarding 6-foot star center Evan Mobley.

“I think he made great strides since he joined us here, he’s showing more and more every month, every year that he’s more of a two-way player,” Rajakovic said on Tuesday. “I was really impressed with the defense he played there against Cleveland. He’s a player who likes a challenge and he responds very well when we put a challenge in front of him and ask him to do some things to improve his game.

“He did a really good job as a leader as well. … His confidence is growing that he can be an elite two-way player and his voice is growing with the team as well.”

Toronto will pick 19th and 50th overall in the June 23 NBA Draft. Webster said he’s still in a frame of mind, even though the Raptors had the youngest roster in this postseason.

“Our philosophy here has always been to get two-way players,” Webster said. “We still need more top players. There will be a time when it feels like, ‘OK, this specific part is what puts us over the top.’

“I think this summer, whether it’s the draft, free agency or trade, we’re just going to look at the best two-way players available.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on May 6, 2026.

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