With a new head coach and a new superstar, the Toronto Raptors have many questions heading into this season. Here are the five biggest.
With training camp approaching in September, the Toronto Raptors still have a few questions to be answered before the start of the season.
For Toronto, the team will look very differently than it did a year ago. Masai Ujiri pulled off a blockbuster trade this offseason acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and a 2019 protected draft pick. He also promoted Nick Nurse to head coach and brought in several new assistants.
This opens up a discussion on the style of play for next year, the starting lineup to start the season, and potentially more roster moves in the future.
Here are the five biggest questions going into training camp in September.
What Will The Starting Lineup Look Like?
The most discussed topic prior to the Kawhi Leonard trade has been what the starting lineup will look like for the 2018-2019 season. Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard are locks to start next season, but who will be joining them?
The odd man out when discussing the potential starting five seems to be Serge Ibaka. He had a number of underwhelming performances in the playoffs last year and has yet to live up to his $65 million contract. Considering that Toronto lost a rim protector in Jakob Poeltl, this could also be a chance for Ibaka to bounce back from a disappointing season and fill a gap in the rotation.
OG Anunoby is also a name that could potentially be coming off the bench next year. However, none of the reasons are negative. OG plays the same role as Kawhi on the defensive end and could be used to match up with the opposing team’s best player with the second unit.
In addition, OG would give the second unit another good frontcourt defender to pair next to Pascal Siakam. We barely saw OG and Siakam on the floor together last year, and they could give small-ball lineups trouble.
In the end, I believe Ibaka will be the one to come off the bench. I also believe he will be closing games over Valanciunas to give Toronto the defensive versatility it needs in the final minutes of the game.