Well, here we are, everyone.
The 2024-2025 season kicks off for the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday when they play host to Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While some of you may be excited for the season to start and to see if this young group has what it takes to make a play-in or, dare I say, playoff push, others might not be so optimistic and are just waiting until those little white balls decide the Raptors’ draft position.
Whatever way you feel about the Dinos heading into the year, it could be because of the trends and storylines that have emerged from the Raps’ training camp in Montreal and subsequent preseason games.
So, on the eve of the brand-spanking new year, here are the five biggest storylines heading into the season.
What’s the goal?
Each team enters a season with a goal. Typically, that goal is to win the Larry O’Brien trophy or to at least make the playoffs to make a push. Others’ goals can be the complete opposite, aiming for the worst possible record to improve their lottery odds.
Toronto’s goal is up in the air, at least, that was the case until media day when centre Jakob Poeltl alluded to the fact that the Raps, too, might be playing for those ping pong balls.
To further support this notion, Raptors president Masai Ujiri used the word “rebuild” throughout his media day press conference, something he hasn’t done before. He also was recently spotted at Rutgers and St.John’s exhibition game, presumably to watch projected top-five picks Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.
If this is the case, trades of veterans remaining on Toronto’s roster, like Poeltl, Chris Boucher, and Bruce Brown Jr. could be on the move, similar to how Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Dennis Schroder, and Thaddeus Young were shipped out last season.
The Raptors’ win total is set at 28.5 wins per FanDuel, as Vegas isn’t that high on Toronto either, with the sixth-lowest projected total in the association.
Injury bug biting early
Unfortunately, one of the biggest storylines throughout camp and preseason has been the amount of injuries the team has suffered.
We have already seen the likes of Brown (knee), Boucher (knee), RJ Barrett (shoulder), Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder), Immanuel Quickley (thumb), Kelly Olynyk (back), and Garrett Temple (hamstring) miss time with various injuries, with Barrett, Walter, and Brown’s availability for tomorrow in question.
It’s definitely not what the Raptors brass and fans alike wanted to see happen so early in the year, especially after a season where Toronto saw 30 different players suit up for the club, the most in franchise history.
The youth movement is in full effect
If you have paid attention to the Raptors preseason, you might have noticed there are a lot of fresh, young legs running up and down the court.
13 out of 18 players on the squad are 26 years old or younger, with 10 of them being 24 years old or younger.
This is largely because the Dinos went out and selected four players in the 2024 NBA Draft and signed another undrafted free agent, Jamison Battle, to a two-way contract. This will only be the second time ever (2019-20) the Raptors will begin a season with at least five first-year players on the opening night roster.
The addition of two-way contracts and then an eventual third two-way slot last season has certainly played a factor in the greater volume of rookies in recent years, but it is still indicative of the Raptors’ shift of direction.
It will be interesting to see how much run these rookies get. Only seven out of 23 first-round picks in franchise history have started over half a season’s worth of games, and only three out of the 18 second-round picks in franchise history (Dalano Banton, Christian Koloko, Jimmy King) have played more than 30 total games with the big club in their rookie years.
How good can the “BBQ” be?
Part of Masai Ujiri and co.’s goal this offseason was to lock up the Raptors’ core, which included Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes, two-thirds of “BBQ.”
Starting with Barnes, who agreed to a five-year deal that could be worth as much as $270-million if he earns an All-NBA nod, wins Defensive Player of the Year, or earns MVP this season. If the face of the franchise was to make another jump, this would be the year to do it.
Without the incentives, Barnes’ contract is closer to a five-year, $224.9-million deal that would give him an average annual value of nearly $45-million per season.
Quickley, on the other hand, signed a five-year, $162-million contract with the Dinos with an average annual salary of $32.5-million.
There are no escalators in the Kentucky products contract like Barnes’, but a jump from Quickley as well would be needed to make the contract more digestible.
RJ Barrett, on the other hand, isn’t eligible to be extended quite yet, but he’s coming into this season after putting together one of the best stretches of his career once he joined the Raptors last year.
| Stats | New York Knicks | Toronto Raptors |
| Points | 18.2 | 21.8 |
| Rebounds | 4.3 | 6.4 |
| Assists | 2.4 | 4.1 |
| 3-Point Percentage | 33.1% | 39.2% |
| Field Goal Percentage | 42.3% | 55.3% |
Barrett saw an uptick in nearly every statistical category when he returned to his hometown, and he continued his stellar run of play with Canada at the Olympics. The Mississauga, Ont. native averaged 19.8 points (fifth in the tournament), 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists across the competition.
Across 439 minutes last season, the three-man lineup of Quickley, Barrett, and Barnes won their minutes with a 2.9 net rating. That was the sixth-best net rating out of three-man lineups on Toronto that played 300-plus minutes last season. “BBQ” playing more minutes together this season and ultimately seeing how well they play together will determine the ceiling for this Raptors team in 2024-2025.
Defence, defence, and more defence
While the implementation of Darko Rajakovic’s “0.5” offence was the main focus in year one, the defensive side of the ball has seemingly been the theme throughout the preseason in year two.
Improving the defence has clearly been top of mind for the Raptors front office all offseason, with the acquisition of “Off-night” Davion Mitchell and the draft pick of the 2023-2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, Jamal Shead.
Between those pesky guards, Barnes, Poeltl, and Ochai Agbaji, Toronto has solid defenders and will surely hope to improve on their 118.1 defensive rating from last season, the fifth-worst in the association.
