Raptors Mailbag: Future Title Hopes, Tanking Talk, & Expectations for Toronto

The Toronto Raptors have had plenty to be excited about this season with so many players outperforming expectations despite a 3-12 start to the year

Nov 10, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks to Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji (30) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors got back in the win column Monday night and now — for better or for worse — have climbed out from the very bottom of the NBA standings. They're still well on their way to a top pick in the draft this summer, but the Raptors are showing they're more competent than expected considering all the injuries they've dealt with this season.

There seems to be some excitement surrounding this team and it's clear the fanbase is ready to build toward an intriguing future potentially with another blue-chip prospect leading the way alongside Scottie Barnes.

Without further ado, here's the weekly mailbag with questions from Instagram. As always, if you have a question for a future mailbag article feel free to direct message me or respond to a story on Instagram @aaronbenrose.

This feels like the greatest 3-12 team ever. How do you feel when we are healthy? - @not_owen._

The Raptors have certainly been more competitive than I expected and way more fun than I would have thought before the season began. That said, I don't see this team making a run and vying for a playoff spot this season. Toronto is probably too good when everyone is healthy to be among the league's very worst teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Raptors let up on the reins late in the year and try to slide down the lottery standings into a spot closer to the top of the draft.

Had Toronto been healthy all season and not had such a lopsided schedule, this team looks like it has the makings of a play-in tournament team. The middle of the East has been pretty disappointing so far this year and the Raptors seem like they'd be in that mix if they were healthy. It's just a little hard to really know because we haven't seen them at full strength this year.

Who should be traded at the deadline if you were to make one? - @david.pammenter

I'd start with Bruce Brown and Chris Boucher. Those probably aren't the exciting answers you were looking for, but they're the obvious veteran players who are both in the final year of their current contracts and would be better suited to be on playoff-caliber teams.

The only other player worth monitoring is Jakob Poeltl who certainly looks like he'd be able to help some pretty good teams this season. It would have to be a Godfather offer for Toronto to part ways with the 7-foot center who is exactly the kind of player the Raptors will be looking for next season if they do indeed move Poeltl this February.

Who do you think is the most underperforming player so far this season? - @titasasstraupas

Is there a player who is underperforming? RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl are both having career years so far. Gradey Dick and Ochai Agbaji have both been better than I expected this season. Davion Mitchell and Chris Boucher have both been solid. Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo, and Jamison Battle are rookies who have outperformed expectations early. I had no expectations of Bruno Fernando coming into the year. It's hard to judge any of the injures players and deem them underperformers considering they've hardly played.

I think the fact that nobody has underperformed so far is part of what has made this season so fun for Toronto. This team is outperforming expectations and it's created some excitement around this group.

Do you see them being contenders in a couple of years? - @bilal.c11

I could certainly see the Raptors being playoff contenders in a couple of years. Ideally, they add a top player in the draft this year and begin their ascent back to the playoffs next season. Maybe they're in the play-in tournament next year and then a legitimate playoff team that can win a round the year after.

As for title contenders, I think it'll take more than a couple of years for Toronto to be in that tier of the league. I could see the Raptors really vying for another championship toward the final year or two of Scottie Barnes' next contract when he's reaching his prime and Toronto's top prospect from this year's draft is ideally in his third or fourth year with the team. That's when I think the Raptors should be good enough to contend among the league's best teams again.

Do you think they're getting Cooper Flagg? - @virs743

Mathematically speaking, the answer to this question has to be no. Even the team with the worst record in the NBA only has a 14% chance to land the No. 1 pick. I also wouldn't expect the Raptors to have the very worst record in the league this year. I do think Toronto will be among the league's worst teams in terms of record this year, but I don't think the Raptors will be bad enough to be at the very bottom. Fortunately for Toronto, that should still give the Raptors at least a 10% chance to land Flagg if they remain one of the league's five worst teams this year.

Can Flagg and Barnes play together? - @j_wad82

I knew this question was going to come eventually. It's way too early to be doing this.

That said, if Toronto lands the No. 1 pick and thinks Flagg is the best player in this year's draft, the Raptors should take him and not think twice. I'm not sure Tim Duncan and David Robinson were an ideal fit together, but the San Antonio Spurs seemed to do OK when they took Duncan with the No. 1 pick in 1998. The right strategy is always to take the best player and figure out the rest later. If Barnes and Flagg can't play together, you can always trade one of them.