All Silver Linings From A Disappointing, Rollercoaster Raptors Season

It’s hard to look at a season where a team finished 25-57 as a success. The Toronto Raptors end their year with the 5th-lowest winning percentage in franchise history. They endured the second-longest losing streak in 29 years of existence with 15 straight losses. 30 different players suited up for the Raptors throughout the season, as injuries and tragedy kept their respective young stars out of the lineup. Over the calendar year, they heard trade rumors, and contract discussions and dealt with legitimate questions about the viability of their long-term vision. Questions that resulted in the team saying goodbye to 4 major pillars of the franchise: Nick Nurse, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby — a signal of the incredibly difficult change the franchise has endured in just over 9 months.

Not to mention that they had to deal with a lawsuit, a betting scandal, a pizza party, and an iconic rant by their head coach — anything that could have possibly been on a Raptors BINGO card for the season... happened.

And yet still ... there’s a light at the end of a long, winding tunnel. The organization hit a necessary reset button on their operation. And while the repercussions (mainly draft equity) and challenges from their decisions still loom, fans can take solace in one thing:

A choice was made.

It wasn’t easy and probably came a little later than it should have, but this season was seemingly necessary for the franchise to move in a new direction. It’s like the bad-tasting medicine you must stomach to feel better: it might not taste or feel good at the time, but you know it’s in your best interests.

It can be a challenge to look back on everything that’s changed for the Raptors this season and see a silver lining, but if you look deep enough, you’ll see several. At the same time, if you look even deeper, you’ll find persistent questions that loom for each silver lining. For every potential solution bubbles up another set of questions that must be answered.

Let’s go through some of these silver linings, hear how the players, coaches, and executives feel in their end-of-season exit interviews — and try to contextualize what the future, in the short and long term, might hold for the franchise.

Finding An Identity

The Raptors brought in rookie Head Coach Darko Rajakovic to revamp their identity. It wasn’t without its bumps along the way, but stylistically, they began to morph into a team that bought into Rajakovic’s intended system. The Raptors were 6th in assists this season as Rajakovic harped on establishing a flex/motion offense that empowered players to make plays with the ball in their hands. They finished the year as a low-frequency pick-and-roll team, instead leaning on handoffs and cutting to fuel an offense inspired by the high-post, split-action style of the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.

As the year progressed, and as the roster changed, Rajakovic began to lean into the identity of his team more, adapting to the personnel on the roster. For example, the team leaned more into post-ups to accentuate the strengths of Scottie Barnes. As they incorporated Immanuel Quickley into the offense, the team started to use the pick-and-roll more to create openings for their new point guard.

“I think the trades we had in the season helped Darko’s offensive system work a little more,” said Poeltl in his end-of-season media availability. “It’s not that those other players didn’t buy in but the fresh start with the new guys was just better to buy in to that system.”

With Barnes, Quickley, RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Kelly Olynyk, and Gradey Dick — the Raptors have the personnel to become an elite offensive team as soon as next season.

The key will be improving their defense which finished 26th on the season in points allowed per 100 possessions. With OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Precious Achiuwa, and Christian Koloko gone from the team, the Raptors lack size and versatility on the wings — something they have to try and address in the off-season.

“There’s a lot of things to be excited about,” said Poeltl. “You could see when we had our guys on the court — it felt and looked good. I don’t think those were outliers it was almost like the losses were more the outliers.”

Scottie Barnes All-Star

Barnes’s season didn’t end the way Raptors fans would’ve liked but in totality, it still helped re-affirm something:

He’s a worthy player to build around.

After slumping in his sophomore season, Barnes broke out in year 3, averaging career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and most importantly, 3-point percentage where he shot 34% on 5 attempts a night. Only 4 players in NBA history have put up 20-8-6 while having a true-shooting percentage of 56%: Domantas Sabonis, Magic Johnson, Nikola Jokic... and Scottie Barnes (there were others like LeBron and Larry Bird who did it but on much more points per game).

“I learned while I was on the court this year,” Barnes said about his impressive season. “But I felt like I learned most off the floor. I learned so much from Garrett (Temple) on different ways I'm going to be able to be a leader, and how to help run the organization. And that's what it's all about. Staying positive, being in the moment, and taking every opportunity you can to get better.”

The team is now Scottie’s to lead, both on the floor and off of it, and from his comments, he seems to realize that. How he adjusts and grows into that role in the coming years will determine how far this Raptors team can go and he understands that this is only the beginning.

Gradey Finding His Stride

Gradey Dick’s rookie season proved that he belonged in the NBA. After struggling out the gate, getting sent down to the G-League, and needing to improve physically, Gradey grew into one of the most potent shooters in the second half of the season and showed off his potential as a passer, connector, and rebounder as well.

Gradey showed incredible resilience as he battled through the shooting woes and dealt with the physicality of the NBA to finish the year shooting better than 36% on his threes and 40% since the start of January.

Now, this off-season, it’s about building on that.

“I think the main thing is just being consistent in the work to get my shots,” Gradey said in his end-of-season media availability. “I want to grow with different things: ball handling, if I can handle the ball in different parts of the court. I can always get better at defense but those kind of come with kind of life situations. But just overall improving on everything is my goal.”

RJ Barrett Taking Opportunity By The Horns

The Raptors made a big bet by trading OG Anunoby for RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley this season. Not only was it a bet on Quickley (who we’ll get to), but it was a bet on Barrett to actualize his potential in a new environment.

And so far — he has. Through 32 games, Barrett averaged nearly 22 points, over 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, all while shooting a career-high 60% on his twos, and 40% on his threes (albeit on the lowest volume of his career). The Raptors' offensive style maximized Barrett’s cutting and finishing ability as he scored on more assisted baskets than he ever did in New York. His skill in transition paired well with the Raptors' pace and space style. It was a match made in heaven for the hometown kid.

“I think I'm a good fit here,” Barrett said in his end-of-season media availability. “I think that's the biggest thing. The way I play, the way I've always played — it works very well with Darko’s system.”

The 23-year-old Barrett has a busy summer ahead of him. He’ll likely compete for Team Canada in the Paris Olympics and look to grow his game as a passer, scorer, and defender heading into his sixth season in the NBA. But there’s no question that the Raptors have put him in a better position to actualize his potential.

“Everyone here has gotten used to watching OG play defense and… while I’m not that… he’s one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen… I want to get better on that side and show myself what I can do.”

Immanuel Quickley Evolving Through The Process

Much Like Barrett, Quickley grew into his own in his 38 games with the Raptors, moving into a full-time role as the starting point guard for a franchise and adjusting to all the little wrinkles and expectations that come with it.

It wasn’t without its pumps in the road but Quickley added a much-needed pull-up shooting punch for the Raptors and his overall shooting gravity off the ball helped Rajakovic become more creative with the way he uses the bursty guard.

The playmaking still needs to improve, even with Quickley averaging a career-high in assists in his time in Toronto, especially as he deals with different defensive coverages.

The 24-year-old guard is headed into an all-important off-season where he’s likely to get a big pay-day from the Raptors, as the team leans on him, Barnes, and Barrett as their trio of the foreseeable future — as long as the ink is dry on that contract.

“Absolutely love Toronto,” Quickley said in his end-of-season media availability. “Since the day I got here, they’ve done nothing but show me love. Love is an action word it’s not just something you throw around. Obviously, my team and agent have to deal with everything there but I love Toronto.”

The Importance of Veterans

A young, rebuilding team always requires veterans who can provide wisdom in times of need. With VanVleet and Siakam gone — Barnes steps into the role as the team's defacto best player — but oftentimes it doesn’t mean he’ll be the leader.

“Scottie’s a natural leader in the sense that he’s a vocal leader for us. He’s got a lot of good things to say and he’s not afraid to say it,” said Poeltl, who’s watched Barnes blossom into a star over the last few seasons. “But it’s a collective effort too.”

He’s right in a sense. While Barnes is growing into his own as a leader, the team has leaned on Garrett Temple, Kelly Olynyk, and Gary Trent Jr. as voices in the locker room.

“When you’re a part of a rebuild, you have to stay together,” said Olynyk in his end-of-season media availability. “You've got to trust the process. Trust that management is doing their job, and the other people below them are doing their job and the coaches are doing theirs. And then you do ours and everybody does their job, possibly, like quicker than expected.

The Stakes of the 2024 NBA Draft

Let’s hope that the 15-game losing streak was worth it. The Raptors nose-dived in the standings in March to lock up the 6th best lottery odds in the league — giving them a 45.8% chance at retaining their 1st round draft pick, which is currently owed to the San Antonio Spurs.

How worthwhile the end-of-season tank was will be determined by if the Raptors can retain that pick and add a lottery-level talent — albeit in a reportedly bad 2024 draft — to this young core.

Outside of that, the Raptors own the Indiana Pacers first-round pick which can fall anywhere from 16th to 19th depending on coin flip between the Pacers, Sixers, Orlando Magic, and Los Angeles Lakers. They also own the 31st pick in the draft, courtesy of the Detroit Pistons.

Either way, it’s likely that, at the very least, the Raptors will add two rookies to this young roster and could even use those picks to go out and add other talent to the team.

Summer Of Flexibility

The futures of Gary Trent Jr. and Bruce Brown as Toronto Raptors are up in the air. Trent Jr. is an unrestricted free agent after picking up his player option last off-season to stay with the club for a 4th season. How courteous will Trent Jr. be this summer after another season where he shot 40% from three, including a stretch post-all-star break where he averaged over 19 points on a depleted team?

That being said — in his four seasons in Toronto, Trent has failed to explore other areas of his game that could make him more valuable than a spot-up shooter. How will that determine his market in free agency? It may work out well for Trent Jr. with teams like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic in need of shooting and with boatloads of cap space this summer.

In the end, it’ll all come down to price. Trent Jr. has proven to be a good veteran presence on this young team and he still is a good shooter who could feast off the ball next to Barnes, Quickley, and Barrett. Do the Raptors view that as replaceable in free agency? Again — that comes down to the dollar amount.

In regards to Brown’s future — that’s more complicated. His unique contract provides the Raptors a level of flexibility, with a team option for next season that doesn’t need to be exercised until after the NBA draft. Could the Raptors use Brown’s contract at the draft to take on salary and move up? Or to get more draft compensation?

The Raptors could also exercise Brown’s team option and use it as salary in a trade for any player who becomes available on the open market. And if all else fails, they could not pick up his option and create cap space that they can use to chase free agents.

Either way — with multiple 2024 picks and Trent Jr. and Brown as expiring contracts, the Raptors have the flexibility needed to make tweaks and additions to the roster — even with Quickley and Barnes set to receive big contracts this summer.

Look — there’s no question that this was a rough season to watch the Toronto Raptors. But if you look deep enough, you’ll find more than enough silver linings to keep you encouraged for the future of this franchise.