2020-21: A Lost Season Season
Following the most successful run in franchise history — seven consecutive playoff berths, six division titles and an NBA Championship — the Toronto Raptors find themselves in reset mode.
In last year’s Orlando bubble, the Raptors fell just one game short of a second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance, bowing out to the rival Boston Celtics in seven games.
The Raptors never found their rhythm in 2020-21, which saw them play all of their games south of the border. The Canadian federal government wouldn’t allow the Raptors to play in Toronto, so they had to use the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida as their temporary home.
Toronto finished with a disappointing 27-45 record, 12th overall in the East. Their four Atlantic Division rivals (Boston, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers) all qualified for the postseason.
This marked Toronto’s first losing and non-playoff season since 2012-13. The .375 winning percentage was their worst mark since 2011-12 (.348).
Offseason Recap: Ujiri Extension, Barnes, Trent Jr., Lowry Departs
To say that this was a news-filled offseason for the Raptors would be a massive understatement.
Masai Ujiri, the well-respected and beloved executive, signed a new deal that now gives him the title of “vice chairman” to go along with his role as the team president.
Ujiri, who has been with the Raptors since 2013, is responsible for the Raptors’ rise to the NBA’s elite. He made bold trades for Serge Ibaka (2017) Kawhi Leonar (2018), Danny Green (2018) and Marc Gasol (2019) that fueled the 2019 championship run.
He made the gutsy decision to fire Dwane Casey in 2018 despite the latter winning Coach of the Year honors. Casey was replaced with Nick Nurse, who led the Raptors to a title in his first season on the job.
Ujiri also hit home runs with the draft selections of Pascal Siakam (27th overall in 2016) and OG Anunoby (23rd overall in 2017). The championship season likely doesn’t happen without Fred VanVleet, who signed as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
The track record of Ujiri, simply put, shows that the Raptors’ future is in good hands. Few executives can match his overall success at the draft table or in the trade and free agent markets.
News of Ujiri’s extension came a week after the Raptors used the No. 4 draft selection on Florida State forward Scottie Barnes. Toronto passed on Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs, a consensus top-four prospect in the class.
It remains to be seen if Barnes will be a starter, and how much action he’ll see as a rookie. Nurse has a good problem here: Too many options in regards to constructing his starting five.
The Raptors re-signed guard Gary Trent Jr., acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Norman Powell trade, to a three-year deal worth $54 million. It’s been widely viewed as an overpay, but Trent Jr. flourished in a 17-game audition with averages of 16.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Retaining Trent was a necessity because the Raptors bid farewell to franchise icon and All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, who left for the Miami Heat in free agency (a three-year deal worth $85 million).
Trent isn’t going to replace Lowry’s leadership, playmaking abilities or reliable scoring ways. But he will reduce some of the damage of Lowry’s departure.
2021-22 Season Predictions
The hope and expectation is that the Raptors will be granted permission to return to Scotiabank Arena for their 2021-22 home games, but nothing has been formally announced.
The Raptors have enjoyed one of the greatest home advantages in the Ujiri era. And it’s safe to say that Toronto would have fared much better last season if they got to play their home games at Scotiabank Arena in front of a boisterous sellout crowd.
On one hand, improvement feels inevitable — especially if the Raptors return to Toronto this season. But the problem is that their division features four likely playoff teams and two bonafide championship contenders, Brooklyn and Philadelphia according to the odds on 888sport Canada.
The Bucks, Heat and Atlanta Hawks feel like playoff locks. The Celtics and Knicks improved their respective rosters and should be in the running again. The Chicago Bulls added Lonzo Ball and former Raptor DeMar DeRozan. The up-and-coming Charlotte Hornets, who earned a play-in berth last year, should be better as the young core continues to grow.
Add it all up, and the best-case scenario for the Raptors is probably a play-in berth. Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Miami, Atlanta and New York will almost certainly finish higher in the standings.
Theoretically speaking, this would leave the Raptors, Celtics, Bulls, Hornets and the always pesky Indiana Pacers in the mix for the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds plus the two play-in berths.
The early prediction is that the Celtics and Hornets claim the final two seeds, while the revamped Bulls and well-coached Pacers find their ways into the two play-in spots. This will be another non-playoff year in Toronto as Ujiri slowly tries to build a new contender. Short-term pain is required.
Prediction: Raptors Finish 35-47, 11th In Eastern Conference
