Takeaways From Raptors Media Day as Season 30 Nears

The Toronto Raptors are focusing on rebuilding and developing their defense as their 30th season in the NBA gets set to tip off

Sep 30, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Toronto Raptors vice chairman and team president Masai Ujiri talks to the media during media day at Scotiabank Area. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

It's that time of year again.

The nights are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and basketball is right around the corner. For the Toronto Raptors, it's a season of celebration. Though the on-court product may leave something to be desired, there'll be plenty of festivities this season as the organization honors thirty seasons in the NBA.

As for what to expect this year, here are the biggest takeaways from Monday's Raptors Media Day.

It's a "Rebuild"

There'll be plenty of talk about winning and the importance of winning throughout the year, but the fact of the matter is this team is rebuilding and development is going to be the focus of the season. Toronto sees this as Year 1 of its rebuild and while some of the foundation is already in place with Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley on long-term deals, there's still a lot we don't know about this group.

"I think we set a path that we went into the draft last year and got a couple of young players and we want to continue to grow and build this team around Scottie," Raptors president Masai Ujiri said. "Yes, in sports, you always want to be competitive and you play to win. We're going to play to win. But it is a rebuilding team. I think everybody sees that loud and clear.”

Success this year isn't going to be judged by wins and losses but rather how this group develops and how Toronto continues to instil the plays and system head coach Darko Rajaković wants to run this year.

"We'll continue to try and compete every night, and we see where progress will be and some of the things that we need to work on," Ujiri said. "Some of the things our team is going to need as we build through the future."

Tanking?

The Raptors seem open to the idea of tanking this season. That's not to say it's going to be a full-fledged all-out tank the way some of the worst teams in the conference seem to be set on this year, but if Toronto starts the year slowly it won't be surprising if the organization pivots in that direction.

"When teams go through (a rebuild) you go out and set the tone of how you play and how you want the culture of your team to be set. You hope for the best, but we know, we all know, what reality is in this league," Ujiri said. "The draft is a way for us to build teams and to acquire players, especially in a market like our market."

Ujiri has always been patient when it comes to roster evaluation and this season likely won't be any different. The Raptors will see how this group fares to start the season and make a decision about the draft at some point down the road. At the very least, Toronto is well aware of how loaded the 2025 draft class is.

Defense Defense Defense

Toronto finished last season ranked 26th in Defensive Rating and that's simply not going to cut it. The organization spent the summer focusing on its point-of-attack pressure and the expectation is that'll carry over into the season.

"We want to apply more ball pressure, we want to be aggressive, we want to have active hands and everything starts there," Rajaković said. "This year for us, M.I.G., the most important guy, is going to be the guy who is guarding the ball, everything starts there."

Quickley said he spent the summer working on getting in great shape to better allow himself to play both ends of the court. He knows he has to carry a huge load for Toronto offensively this year, but if he and this team are going to be successful, Quickley needs his defense to take a step forward this season.

CBA Difficulties

This is the first season with the league's new collective bargaining agreement in full effect and it's clear it's impacting how teams are operating right now. Look no further than the Los Angeles Clippers' decision to let Paul George walk in free agency or the Minnesota Timberwolves parting ways with Karl-Anthony Towns.

"The aprons is tough on teams and we have to be cognizant of the way we build teams and things you commit to and things you don't commit to," Ujiri said. "As you see, deals are going to be a little tougher."

Toronto is continuing to search for advantages as they better understand the ramifications of the CBA. What's clear, though, is bad contracts are even more punitive than ever.