Let's revisit a point from a recently mentioned The Bill Simmons Podcast episode called "The 2025 Made-Up NBA Awards With Ryen Russillo." I've talked about Russillo a few times here on Raptors Rapture, and it feels like he always pays special attention to the team from up north.
In this episode, Russillo brings up Toronto again, discussing the Raptors' often polarizing President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri. This comes after Simmons introduced the "David Kahn Award for Worst GM Performance."
Russillo suggested that a Raptors' front office executive be considered for the fictional award, pointing to Ujiri's choice to allocate a huge portion of team budget to the starting five. Simmons later noted that this hefty investment was odd for a team likely to finish as a "7th seed, 8th seed at best."
However, it was often the Raptors skeptic Russillo who surprisingly changed his tune, noting that Toronto’s trajectory could catch many off guard. This is even with the team's rising expenses, despite the roster not appearing particularly impressive at first glance.
Toronto Raptors have a costly team construction, but strong depth
Russillo would say:
"I don't know. What if they get their players back and play them? Maybe with Darko [Rajakovic]? Who knows? I mean, they've outperformed everything you could possibly imagine in the second half of the year, so. Maybe they're just developing all they’ve got. Maybe they'll be the deepest team in the league next year. It's just an expensive five for that five."Ryen Russillo, The Bill Simmons Podcast
This isn’t news to pundits or Raptors fans. We all know that sticking with their core five might push the Raptors into the tax apron. Additionally, the Raptors took a gamble by offering Brandon Ingram a hefty contract extension without having the chance to see how he fits with the team this season.
The obvious takeaway here is to believe that Masai Ujiri seems okay with being in the middle, accepting mediocrity once again. However, that would underestimate Ujiri, Coach Darko Rajakovic, and the motivated Raptors roster, as Russillo noted positively.
In a recent article, I highlighted how the Toronto Raptors might be creating something special, yet again. It seems they're slowly building a secret weapon of sorts in their revitalized backup squad, which could be evolving into a reincarnation of the beloved Bench Mob.
It’s fascinating to see basketball media members grappling with what this Raptors team truly represents. Even as someone who focuses solely on covering the Toronto Raptors, I find it challenging to reach a definitive conclusion. Any thoughts out there are more so predictions than certainties.
You can't always be too frugal in how you allocate contracts to your roster. When the talent is there, you need to reward them accordingly to keep them in good spirits and make them feel valued.
Sure, could those numbers be slightly lower than they currently are? You darn right they could. But can the Raptors really control that now? Well, not really—unless they choose to start trading pieces away.
Even in those discussions about expendable players, the Raptors could be risking a key asset that could play a crucial role in their success next season, whether it’s someone like Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, or Immanuel Quickley.
I don't really take Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster as those type of front office executives so fixated on stretching out the dollar as far as they can; they're ready to make moves at all costs.
The roster they've built thus far, with Darko Rajakovic there to lead the team as head coach, has a ton of promise and it's a pretty fair balance of win-now players along with young guns ready to lead the pack into the next generation.
I believe this emerging narrative is making mainstream media take notice, and as a dedicated Raptors fan, I’m excited to see Toronto getting the recognition it deserves. While there are some concerns to address, Raptors Nation needs to stay hopeful that this team will develop into the balanced, deep squad we know they can be.