In the very recent words of P.J. Tucker, “hindsight is a mother.”

As the Raptors lick their wounds from a second-round playoff sweep at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the focus will soon have to turn from what went wrong to what’s next.

And what’s next is a little bit hazy right now.

The Raptors in their current incarnation are at a crossroads and the team that takes the court next fall might look quite a bit different than the team that got swept away on home court on Sunday evening. Team president Masai Ujiri and general manager Jeff Weltman must now suss out the offseason landscape that includes a number of key contributors hitting free agency.

Is now the time to stay the course or turn the page on this Raptors team?

We can start with the big one. Three-time All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry announced on Monday of his intention to opt out of the final year of his deal and become an unrestricted free agent. This was by no means a blind side by Lowry. The 31-year-old Philadelphia native was widely expected to choose to hit the market.

For his part, though, Lowry says he hasn’t thought about anything past opting out.

“Honestly, I haven’t thought about the criteria,” Lowry said on Monday. “I haven’t thought about any of that. I will be opting out, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten. We lost yesterday. I still have to get my ankle healthy, get treatment and get to talk point.”

The Raptors certainly have thought about it, though. As per the CBA, the Raptors can offer Lowry the most money to the tune of five years and roughly $200 million. Another team can only go as long as four years at $35 mill. Per season.

But does Lowry want to come back?

He’s going to have no shortage of suitors. And consider what he told The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday about the inevitability of LeBron James.

“Nobody’s closing the gap on him,” Lowry said.  “I mean, that’s it right there: They’ve got LeBron James and nobody’s closing the gap on him.”

Does that mean Lowry would prefer a move to the Western Conference?

He says all he wants is a ring and he can do that “anywhere.”

 

Yet how does that jibe with his comments on the inexorableness of LeBron? Does anywhere mean his hometown with up-and-coming Sixers, who could use a point guard?

Maybe you just stick with the devil you know in Toronto.

Though much has been made of the relationship between Lowry and coach Dwane Casey, each was effusive with praise of the other on Monday.

Lowry praised Casey as being instrumental in his growth as a player.

“Our relationship is solid, together,” Casey said. “We think the same way…I enjoy our relationship.”

And then there’s Lowry’s close friendship with DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan says he’ll be happy with whatever Lowry decides to do, but surely the man Lowry calls family would prefer for his friend to stay with him in The 6ix.

Though Lowry’s future might be the most pressing issue, there are also the likes of Serge Ibaka, P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson to consider.  All three men are impending free agents and all three are saying the right things for now.

“I like it of course here,” Ibaka told Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. “But like I said, everything is not in my power right now and I’m going to think about it (later). Just going to focus on trying to enjoy time with my daughter and then we are going to see what happens.”

Patterson, acquired from the Sacramento Kings in 2013, also wants to stay. But Patterson, who struggled mightily in the series against the Cavs, is being realistic about it.

“Of course, but at the end of the day guys have said ‘I want to be a Raptor,’ ‘I want to be back’ and at the end of the day they don’t, they go elsewhere,” Patterson said. “So, me saying yes right now really doesn’t matter so we’ll see what happens.”

Tucker offered a simple “Of course” upon being asked if he’d like his second spell with the Raptors to continue.

As all well and good as it is that this quartet of free agents is amenable to the idea of staying in Toronto, the likelihood of all four remaining in Raptors colours isn’t exactly high.

Firstly, there’s the issue of getting everybody under the cap – the cap will go up to $101 million next season.

Then there is the matter of wanting to keep this team together.  As Lowry said, in the Eastern Conference, running into the buzzsaw that is LeBron James and the Cavs is as automatic as death and taxes. The Raptors saw this firsthand last season in the Eastern Conference Finals and learned it again this past week even with the additions of “LeBron Stoppers” Tucker and Ibaka. Simply put, is it time to try something else?

In a time of uncertainty for the team, one thing is for sure – this summer will be an eventful one for the Raptors.