Like most of us, the Toronto Raptors have been through a lot since January. The new year brought new faces and a new dynamic to the team that some fans weren’t ready for, and the team continues to change with each game. Oh, who am I kidding, it’s basketball, and right now there’s nothing romantic about the Raptors.
It’s been a while since last Raptors Wrap-Up, and so much, but so little, happened with the team. The Raptors are still out of a playoff spot, about four games behind the 10th seed in the Play-In Tournament. Normally, seeing your team out of a playoff position is disheartening, but fans (and secretly, team executives) should hope to see them fall even further in the standings. This feeling becomes more and more true when we remember that the Raptors lose their 2024 first-round pick to the Spurs if they don’t make the top six spots in the draft. I think they can do it, and by that I mean a last place finish.
Things only got worse when the star player Scottie Barnes suffered a broken hand that required surgery and will cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
The Raptors only strengthened their chances of finishing in the basement when, on trade deadline day, they traded Dennis Schröder And Thad Young to the Nets for Spencer Dinwiddie then waived Dinwiddie the same day. To sum it all up for you, they traded a great guard in Schroder and a decent depth defender in Young for basically nothing. Yes, looking at it like that it looks terrible, but that’s what it takes to ensure a few more losses and a low finish.
Prior to this deal, the Raptors opened their trade deadline in trade Kira Lewis Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and a 2024 first-round pick for the Canadian Center Kelly Olynykand young guard Ochai Agbaji Jazz. Some people were unhappy with this decision, because why would the Raptors, who are rebuilding, return a first-round pick? The 2024 draft is expected to be short on talent, and they traded the worst of their first three rounds in this deal. The Raptors also gained valuable leadership in Olynyk, who grown up in Toronto and regularly played for the Team Canada basketball team. Agbaji is the most interesting player in this process. He was drafted 14th overall in 2022 and has shown some glimpses of potential throughout his short career. Overall, the Raptors did what they needed to do at the deadline by clearing space and getting worse.
If someone asked me about the 2023-2024 Raptors, the one thing I would be proud to tell them about is the energy surrounding the team. I just wrote two-thirds of this article about how bad the Raptors are — because they’re so bad — but the players have remained positive through it all. They do not dwell on their defeats but learn from their performances. Much of this is due to the head coach Darko Rajakovic, which completely changed the synergy and atmosphere of the team. Recently, the Raptors finally recorded their first three-game winning streak of the season, which means Rajaković will have to deliver on his promises. promise to take the team to dinner.
I couldn’t write about the recent Raptors game without talking about Gradey Dick. Dick has seen more minutes since Schroder left, and he found his rhythm late in the season. He was phenomenal from the three-point line, filming a team-high 51 percent since the February 8 trade deadline.
Suppose you put everything in perspective, even if the results are not good. In this case, the Raptors have a roster with the potential to perform well when they fully develop. For now, the mood is high and the wins are low, but ultimately we should be grateful to still have another month of Raptors basketball to watch.
