Raptors Share Optimism About the Future as Home Season Comes to Disappointing End

The Toronto Raptors are hopeful the future will be better as the organization lost its 27th home game to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night

Apr 9, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Javon Freeman-Liberty (0) dribbles the / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

It will get better.

It has to, right? This won’t go down as the worst season in Toronto Raptors history, but it’ll be awfully close. This group will probably end the season with the fifth-worst record in franchise history and what’s been the most disappointing is how it has fared at home.

Toronto somehow managed to finish the season with the seventh-best average reported attendance in the league. Night after night, Raptors fans showed up, packing Scotiabank Arena to see something special.

“We have the best fans in the league,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Tuesday ahead of Toronto’s final home game of the year. “The amount of support and love that we’re receiving night in, and night out is unmatched.”

Far too often, though, those fans left disappointed.

A 140-123 loss to the Indiana Pacers was Toronto’s 27th home loss of the season, the most in over a quarter-century for the organization.

But at least Toronto picked a direction.

Only two players who played on opening night for the Raptors appeared for Toronto on Tuesday. Poetically, Pascal Siakam did take the court for Toronto’s home finale, just this time as a member of the Pacers having been dealt in early January as the organization finalized its seemingly inevitable teardown.

In the last six months, this organization and its fans have seen more change than almost anyone else in the league. Thirty different players have appeared for the Raptors this season and that’s excluding Justise Winslow who never actually touched the court as a member of the organization.

It hasn’t been pretty whatsoever, but it was necessary.

The Raptors are now configured around Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Gradey Dick, a surplus of future first-round picks, and ideally a top-six pick in this year’s draft should the draft lottery go the organization’s way. They’re building toward a future without having Siakam and OG Anunoby’s contract situations looming over the offseason.

“It's been a difficult season,” Rajaković said. “I know one thing, that everybody in this organization is working really really hard to turn this around. They're all excited by the summer opportunities that we have ahead of us.”

There are some reasons to be too.

Barnes took the kind of step forward the organization was hoping for. He proved to be an All-Star player this year and finished the season averaging just a hair under 20 points per game while leading the team in total points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

Dick bounced back from a disastrous start to his rookie season and has been really impressive for most of the past three months. If not for a groin injury that sidelined him Tuesday, he would have finished the season having appeared in every game from late January onward.

Quickley appears set up to be the point guard of the future for the organization and has looked every bit the part lately. It took him some time to find his footing in a bigger role with the Raptors, but he’s been exceptional in Barnes’ absence.

Barrett’s emergence as an efficient offensive player has the potential to be a game-changer for the organization too. There was a sense when Toronto acquired him from New York that he was a net-neutral or potentially negative asset considering his contract situation. He’s been much, much better than that in Toronto and led the Raptors with 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting against Indiana..

After that, though, there are plenty of questions.

Kelly Olynyk and Jakob Poeltl will man the frontcourt next season, but the bench looks pretty barren right now.

Gary Trent Jr. is on an expiring contract. He’s played well enough to earn another one with the organization but that’s no sure thing. Bruce Brown’s future with the team looks even less uncertain. Ochai Agbaji and McDaniels are under contract for next year but shouldn’t be guaranteed rotation spots, let alone roster spots in McDaniels’ case.

Javon Freeman-Liberty had the kind of game Tuesday that showed he can have an impact on NBA game, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and finishing the night with a season’s best 20 in 33 minutes. But he’s on a partially guaranteed deal for next season with a roster spot very much not guaranteed.

There’s no guarantee Toronto will be a lot better next year. If the lottery doesn’t go the organization’s way, there’s a reasonable chance that this Raptors roster looks pretty similar next year. Health should help, but considering how good the NBA is right now it's probably unreasonable to expect anything better than a play-in berth at best.

But at least it’ll make more sense with a rebuild underway and a target date for real competitive basketball coming down the road.

“We are at the start of a new process. It takes some time,” Rajaković said. “I appreciate the love and support and all the support that we’re getting from the fans, and we promise we're gonna be better and we're gonna get this right.”

Up Next: Brooklyn Nets

The Raptors will have a quick turnaround with the Brooklyn Nets awaiting at home Wednesday night as Toronto opens its final road trip of the year at 7:30 p.m. ET.