The Toronto Raptors were beaten down by the Orlando Magic on Sunday night, one of the worst teams in the league, twice in the span of three nights. After bringing in Otto Porter Jr, retaining large chunks of a roster that won 48 games, and hyping up Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, much was expected of this team.
To understate the obvious, on top of the fact that the team is now 3-11 in road games this year and below .500 after 27 games, the Raptors have the league’s worst half-court offense in terms of points per possession. Even with the mighty Pascal Siakam on the floor, this offense looks stale.
Masai Ujiri has done an exemplary job of building winners in Toronto and sustaining success, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he and his acolytes in the front office are above making mistakes. They did a solid job in the offseason, but those moves look less impressive than they did a few months ago.
The Raptors have constructed a roster that is very limited, and these three big offseason mistakes are the reasons why. Be those mistakes a misguided action or some regretful inaction, the Raptors need to dig themselves out of the small hole they created for themselves.
3 offseason mistakes hurting the Toronto Raptors.
3. Signing Otto Porter Jr.
Porter is unironically one of the biggest free agent signings in Raptors history. That may sound like hyperbole, but how often has Toronto snagged a member of a championship team that helped fill their largest hole on the roster. Unfortunately, his impact has been measured, to say the least.
The same durability issues that have hampered the No. 3 pick his entire career are making it tough for him to be an impactful player with the Raptors. He has played in just eight games this season out of a possible 27, and he’s only averaged 5.5 points per game in those limited appearances. Not exactly a huge marquee addition.
Otto Porter Jr. must provide more value for the Toronto Raptors.
If he gets healthy and is given a very green light to shoot from range, Porter still seems like an ideal bench player for this team. He fills a hole while also being a nice fit for Toronto’s aggressive, switch-heavy defense. Unfortunately, that’s a gigantic “if” qualifying that statement thanks to his toe ailment.
While it’s not Porter’s fault that he got hurt, it’s painfully obvious that the Raptors needed someone with his skills in the lineup. Without him, this is no different than the flawed team that was eventually to beaten up when the postseason came around.
2. Not adding more shooting
The Raptors decided, in large part, to run it back this offseason, as they retained Chris Boucher and Thad Young rather than adding a guard that can stroke it from 3-point range. With the squad ranked near the bottom of the league in 3-point percentage and making over 40% of their 3s once since November 2, that move isn’t aging well.
Toronto hoped that Fred VanVleet, O.G. Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. would keep up their excellent marks from last year while Scottie Barnes evolved into a perimeter threat. While Barnes is a better shooter than last year, all three of those starters have seen their percentages regress.
The Toronto Raptors are one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA.
While adding a 3-point specialist would have gone against Toronto’s self-imposed directive to be as long as possible, it would have helped guard against all of their stars regressing. There are lineups Toronto leans on that often have three complete non-shooters sharing the floor for heavy minutes.
It’s simply impossible in the modern NBA to win games and shoot below 30% from 3-point range. The Raptors have players that, in theory, could be good shooters, but something is just not right with this team. When they’re not on the money, Toronto’s parade of non-shooters will take over.
1. Not trading for Kevin Durant
Not stepping up in these trade talks and making a more compelling offer to the Nets may end up creating one of the truly great “what if?” moments in Raptors history. After being told including Barnes was a non-starter in trade talks, Brooklyn started to disengage with Toronto and end that line of inquiry.
Keeping Barnes and acquiring Durant could have very well happened if Ujiri was interested. Perhaps get a third team involved? The Raptors had a nice combination of youngsters, picks, and veterans that could have gotten a deal done.
The Toronto Raptors should have pushed for Kevin Durant.
While a Raptors roster that is already lacking depth would have been stripped bare to acquire Durant, a three-headed hydra of Durant, Siakam, and Anunoby would have been nightmarish to defend. KD is still scoring 30 points a game with great efficiency despite chaos around him in Brooklyn.
The Raptors don’t have a championship window open right now, but a Durant move would have thrown that period of contention wide open. With Siakam in his prime, Barnes needs to get back to his Rookie of the Year self to silence the echoes of the KD move.