The QUIETEST Rebuild In The NBA | 30 Teams 30 Days

The QUIETEST Rebuild In The NBA | 30 Teams 30 Days

The Toronto Raptors are currently in the middle of the quietest rebuild in the NBA. For a team that has been tanking and directionless since 2019, the Raptors are figuring it out. Toronto has built a team headed by a three-headed monster of forwards, solid young draft picks, and a huge amount of great role players that can either develop on the team or become assets. Toronto, due to their unique situation, needs to rely on internal development more than just about any team in the NBA. And Toronto, more than most teams in the NBA, are successful at that. So, let’s break that down. Welcome to 30 Teams in 30 days. Let’s get into the Toronto Raptors. Last season was not one to remember for the Raptors. They won just 30 games, dealt with injury issues, were a bottom five offense, and just 17th best on defense. But don’t let those numbers fool you because there were some massive positives out of this tanking season, especially post Allstar Break. 13 of those 30 wins came in that latter half of the season. That 17th ranked defense became the second best defense in the NBA. This was a different Toronto team. Yes, this was a team that was still losing, but this was a high energy, higheffort team that was still going to make you work despite knowingly tanking. That culture of failure and that culture of losing is slowly being replaced by one of brotherhood and one of tough physical defense. And that is exactly how you rebuild. And while I really want to talk about the role players and some of the supporting cast on the Raptors because they have one of the deepest teams in the NBA, obviously we have to start off with the star players. So starting off is the Canadian himself, RJ Barrett. So Barrett is coming off one of the better years or maybe even the best year of his career, averaging 216 and five and taking a massive jump over his entire game. Barrett looked more confident. Maybe it’s the new situation. Maybe it’s getting away from New York. Maybe it’s being back to his home in Canada. But R.J. RJ Barrett grew on offense, grew as a ball handler, and increased his three-point volume. He saw the ball in his hands more often than he ever has in his career, and it paid off well. He had a career-high usage rate. He had a career-high in assists while he kept the turnovers at check. As a shooter, he also developed shooting 36% on catch-and shoot opportunities and 40% in the corner. And this is something really important to keep track of with this big three because between Barnes, between Ingram, and between Barrett, none of these guys are exceptional shooters or even really highlevel playmakers. So to best figure out how these guys can work together, we need to see who can operate off the ball the best, and that might just be RJ Barrett. Now Barrett is kind of in a weird position. By the rest of the world, he’s probably underrated, but by Canadians, he’s probably overrated. But I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do in another full healthy season in Toronto and really see him come into his own. And going alongside him is the Raptor star and their current best player in my opinion, Scotty Barnes. So Barnes is coming off not exactly the greatest year of his career. It was a bit of a down year, but he still averaged 19.7 rebounds and six assists on 44% from the field. This season, he really demonstrated himself as an all-around player. He was a great defender. He was a good playmaker, rebounder, and he could still give you 20 points per game. Due to injuries on the roster, Barnes did have to take a larger role in the offense, and I think larger than what he’s capable of, hence that lack of efficiency, but he is still an all-star level talent. The thing with Barnes is going to be is if he can remain at that all-star level talent or if he can make that jump to an allNBA level player. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with being just an all-star player, but I am curious to see if we can see Barnes take that next step. And that’s really going to come down to his offense, how much he can create on his own, and how efficient he can be with the ball. Because I know he can playmake, I know he can rebound, I definitely know he can defend, he can guard and play multiple positions. It’s just can he score effectively, and can he play well alongside Brandon Ingram? Barnes isn’t really the best off the- ball player. He only shot 27% from three on the year, 27% on catch and shoot opportunities, and just 35% in the corner. We’re going to have to see if there’s any development from him in this upcoming season. And for Brandon Ingram, now this was kind of a weird move because on the surface, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Scotty Barnes does feel a little bit redundant. After all, none of these guys can playmake or shoot the ball at an elite level. But the more I look into it and the more that I look into this team, I really actually like Brandon Ingram here. I think trading a first round pick and Bruce Brown was a good move for the caliber of player Ingram is. Now BI is going to be 28 years old. That’s a little bit older than their timeline and he only played 18 games last year due to a knee injury, but in that time he was still great. They call him baby Kevin Durant for a reason. He averaged 225 and five, shot 37% from three and 41% on catch and shoot three-pointers. It’s Brandon Ingram. He is a deadly mid-range shooter and on top of that, he had five assists per game. So, I think this is going to be huge for helping out that bottom tier offense. Yes, he can still playmake at a high enough level, but in the pick and roll, in the catch and shoot, he can still help out his other teammates and create offense when it’s needed, especially in isolation or at the end of possessions. Assuming that these three are healthy, they are going to be incredibly flexible. At least one of them is always going to be on the court. And together, those guys combine for 60 points per game. Not a whole lot of trios in the league do that while still being good defenders and playmakers. And that’s just the Raptors three biggest stars because they have two more players that add up into one of the best starting lineups in the NBA in my humble opinion. So, one player that Raptors fans are incredibly excited about and that is Emanuel Quickley. Quickley is one of the more underrated guards in the league and he is coming off of two solid seasons in Toronto. As a Raptor, he has averaged 18 points and six assists per game while being a positive defender and improving the North’s offense. I’m also feeling optimistic on Quickly as he is coming off of a career year with the best advanced and per 36 stats of his entire career. And starting at the center position is one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA, and that’s Yakob Purle. Yakob last year averaged about 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. And even though he is 30 years old, a bit older for this team, he is a guy that can do absolutely everything and anything you ask of him. He can playmake at an above average rate for a center. He’s a good rim runner. He’s a good finisher. He’s got a good post game. He’s got a good touch. He’s a great defender who along with Barnes has really improved the team’s defensive culture. And he’s also a good rebounder. Simply put, Purle is one of the best centers in the NBA. A guy who I think can be in those near center level all-star conversations. But even if he’s not in that, you could plug him into just about any single situation in the NBA. He’s going to make a team better and he can definitely be the starting caliber center on a championship team. So you look at the starting lineup, Emanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scotty Barnes, Brandon Ingram, and Yaka Purle. This lineup combines for about 90 points per game. This is a lineup that has good defense. Probably four to five of these players are good defenders and possibly five out of five if Brandon Ingram buys into it. This is a lineup that can do basically everything you need. It’s flexible. It’s got the size. It can play big, it can play small. It’s one of the best starting lineups in the NBA. And looking at it just in itself, that I think is a playoff level lineup for the Eastern Conference. But obviously, there is more to the NBA than just your five starters. And like I said, it was the guys coming off the bench that I am really excited about because that is going to be the difference maker for the Toronto Raptors. So, the Raptors are coming off of some incredibly solid drafts and draft trades that I think are going to pay its dividends in this upcoming season as well as the years to follow. And every single player I’m about to mention is under 26 years old, meaning that they could still potentially grow or they could be used as trade bait in the future. But the fact is their bench is young, hungry, but they’re also good. Starting off is Grady Dick. Now, the Dick Man is coming off of a pretty solid sophomore season. He had a huge leap, nearly doubling the amount of points he had per game, averaging 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists. 35% from three, and 38% on catch and shoot attempts. He had a huge increase, as I mentioned, in his scoring across the board. But beyond that, he just grew more comfortable. He grew his confidence. He grew his swagger. He finally came into his own role in the league. In this new lineup, he’s probably not going to be starting as much, but he is a starting caliber player, as he did start all 54 games last season. Assuming he plays the six-man role, I think he is going to be vital to give this bench spacing and scoring while growing as a playmaker and defender and helping out when the big three is having a night struggling from three. Backing up the point guard is most likely going to be Jamal Shed. Now, Shed is one of the players that makes this team incredibly enticing. He played 75 games, started 11, was an overall positive player who averaged seven points and four assists, great on ball defender, all in his first year in the league. Want to know what’s crazy about that? He was a second round pick. Shed had incredible production for a guy who statistically barely could have even been in the league, but the Raptors got a 20 minutes per game guy out of him. In just his first year, that is huge. And playing alongside them is last year’s first round pick, Jacobe Walter. Like Shed, Walter is a positive defender. And like Dick, he grew as the season went on. Walter had a game-winning shot versus the Magic, averaged 11 points and 41% from three post All-Star break, started in 18 games, and played well in those games he started. With Shed at the one, Walter at the two, and Dick at the three, you’ve got decent playmaking and especially spacing for a bench unit. When that big three isn’t working out, when they can’t get the ball in the hoop, this is a lineup that can come in or rotate with them and give the spacing the Raptors need without sacrificing defense. So, let’s talk about this year’s first overall pick because he’s a guy who I think is going to be incredible for the Raptors in upcoming years, and that is Colin Murray Boils. Drafted ninth overall, he is one of the better players in this absolute stacked draft class. He is 6’7 with a 7 foot wingspan, and Murray Boils is touted as a great strong defender who, if he becomes a better shooter, can fill a Grant Williams-like role. He can guard multiple positions. He has a backto basket and face up game and he shows off just great footwork for someone who is just 20 years old. The biggest thing from him is he is a raw prospect and he hasn’t shown the ability to shoot from three much and he hasn’t really improved much as a shooter in college. We’ll have to see if that can demonstrate well in the NBA. But when you look at Toronto draft picks and you look at some of the other guys that they’ve gotten in, especially at this age, we know that Toronto is great at getting immediate production out of guys even if they’re not fully NBA ready. And I think he’s going to be another one of these players. And beyond these players that I call prospects, there are a few players that are incredibly good supporting cast members, but they are still quite young. I just don’t see them as having the exact same potential. But a lot of these guys I’m about to mention also don’t have a lot of NBA experience as they were drafted as older rookies. So that means that they could still have some time to grow because they just don’t have a lot of time in the league. And one of these guys is Oce Ubaji. So OC is coming off of a bit of a breakout season. He had a career-high in nearly every single category. And he became one of the team’s best three-point shooters. He also had one of the best three-point shooting increases on a year-to-year basis that I personally have ever seen, going from 29% to 40% while increasing his volume. And on top of that, of course, he is a good defender. Jameson Battle came into the league as a bit of an older rookie, but he was effective and a great shooter. And that’s not something you always see immediately coming out of college. AJ Lawson played limited minutes for the Raptors last year and he’s kind of bounced from team to team, but in his first year in Toronto, he saw a huge uptick in his stats and it’ll be interesting to see if he can do that as the year goes on. One guy I know Raptors fans are excited about and that is Jonathan Moobo. So Moobo is 24 years old. He is already a good defender, a solid finisher, and he is someone who is riddled with potential. He’s the perfect guy that can break out into a solid starter or rotational piece. And even if he doesn’t help out the Raptors, I think he could be a great trade asset. And the last player to mention is their only free agent signing and of course the most difficult name to pronounce. So go easy on this, but Sandro Mamushkovi Mamushi. Mamushkavi. I’m just going to call him Sandro. Sandro is a great backup center coming off of a more than solid year in San Antonio. He’s one of the oldest players on this team, but he is still just 26 years old. Last year, he averaged six points, three rebounds, and one assist. But he had an insane peer of 20, which is a peer that only all-star players have. This makes him one of the most effective centers in the league in limited minutes. He is another good defender, and he was a good defender on a team that struggled defensively last year. On top of that, he also improved as a shooter, going up to a 37% shooter while doubling his volume. At 6′ 11, he can play the backup center position, but he also has the shooting ability to move to the power forward position should the Raptors want to play big ball. Sandro is someone that at his age may not be exactly with this core, but I think he can be a great rotational player or another key trade asset, especially if he comes to his own in Toronto, which I think is going to happen. Toronto is so incredibly underrated. Not because this team is a hidden talent that is going to go on to win the finals, but because they have the most underrated rebuild in the NBA. I don’t exactly know if this Raptor team is going to win a lot this season. It’s going to depend on how well guys develop and how well this big three really gels together and of course health. But if all of that goes well, I could see the Srorado team being in like in the top five to top 10 definitely in playin conversations. It depends really on how much they want to tank, but I do think that tanking is going to be kind of behind them, especially with how well they played at the latter half of the last season without losing anybody. Now, they have an off seasonason to develop. They have an offseason to get healthy. And they added one of the best bucket getters in the league. Regardless of how this season goes, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the Raptors are first in the East or last in the East because they are having a more than successful rebuild. Toronto has finally found a direction. They have one of the best defenses in the league with a growing culture. This is what makes you not good for just a year or two, but makes you good for a half decade or more. It’s what brings guys in and it’s what makes guys stay. And in Canada, it’s hard to bring in free agents and it’s hard to make people stay. Toronto is a team that drafts and develops better than just about any team in the NBA. This is not the 2019 squad. This is not a flash in the pan. This is the start of something special and we are going to be seeing greatness grow at the start of this upcoming season. This was 30 teams in 30 days. If you like the video, you know what to do.

The Tornoto Raptors are in the middle of the quietest rebuild in the NBA. With a big three consisting of Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, and RJ Barrett, the Raptors have star power with a strong bench to match it. Let’s break down what the Raptors future looks like.