So the dust has finally settled on the Toronto Raptors 2022-23 season and it’s time to weigh the good and the bad and try and determine where they go from here.
Finishing at 41-41, the Raptors were not good enough to actually make the playoffs but too good to get a decent lottery pick in a deep draft year. A treadmill season almost by definition. A nothing year, let’s take a look at the positives:
None. There were no positives this year.
Okay, now the negatives. Everything.
Front Office
2022 Offseason Moves. No major moves, no mid-level moves and none of the low level offseason moves made last year panned out at all. Bo Cruz is gone after giving the team nothing, Otto Porter, no longer with the club. The Raptors paid him $8 million dollars for 8 games, 44 points and half a handful of stats.
Once again, the Raptors starters played an inordinate amount of minutes, wearing them out for absolutely no reason whatsoever. No playoffs, no decent lotto pick. It made no sense.
No new trade deadline signings. The Raptors did nothing this year to make the team better. They did nothing at the trade deadline which means either Masai wasn’t bright enough to make a move or none of the other 29 teams felt the Raptors had value to offer. And that last note is chilling when thinking about this season’s potential moves.
The shine is off Ujiri’s apple. This year we discovered how many good players he missed out on and how fallible he can be. Okay, sure we learned he’s human but he was soundly out matched by Rob Pelinka at the trade deadline and looked foolish.
The shine is also off Nick Nurse’s apple and he potentially will be coaching for another team next year. There was clearly a split in thinking between him and Bobby/ Masai, whether it was the minutes someone wanted the starters to play or some plateau someone needed for a bonus. They were not on the same page for the first time since they’ve been together.
The Players
Pascal Siakam: After the Raptors’ championship 4 years ago, Pascal wondered how much better he could be. Wonder no more Pascal.
Fred VanVleet: I love you Fred but you’re not NBA starting point guard calibur often enough. You’re simply too inconsistent to be a starter. You looked great behind Kyle and maybe you still would but you shouldn’t be starting.
OG Anunoby: Another Raptor that I love but OG has a secret that stops him from being the very best that he can be. When will that secret be revealed? When OG is ready.
Scotty Barnes: SCOTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. A rather large and frightening regression from your first year. Now we don’t know what you are. Who shows up next year? First year Scotty? Second year Scotty? Or a Scotty we haven’t seen before. Terrifying.
Gary Trent Jr. See Fred. Too inconsistent. Capable of putting up a 30 point night and then disappearing for 2 weeks. Not good value for the money when things are averaged out.
Precious Achiuwa. Can he? Maybe? Will he? Perhaps. Still so many unknowns with Precious but he’s still a young player on a great deal so we’ve got a couple of years yet to evaluate and develop him before any serious decisions have to be made.
Jakob Poeltl: Jakob’s $10 million dollar contract runs out at the end of the year. I’d keep him. He’s an intriguing 7 footer who has great foot speed, a soft touch and high IQ.
Wrap Up
A nothing year and not much on the immediate horizon. What needs to happen to make this team flourish. Talent, an influx of talent. But how do you get that without a decent chance at a high lottery pick? Masai, I’m open to your suggestions. If you don’t want to fix it through the draft, then your move – let’s see what you can do this offseason.