Welcome to the inaugural edition of eDraft’s NBA Season Preview. We start with the Atlantic Division, the toughest in the East, covering everyone from the pretenders to the contenders. Today we turn our attention to the Toronto Raptors, a team that finds itself at a crossroads. Is this the year that Toronto makes it back to the playoffs?
TORONTO RAPTORS
Who’s Coming: Kyle Lowry (G), Landry Fields (G), Jonas Valanciunas (5th overall, 2011 draft F/C), Terrence Ross (8th overall pick G),
Toronto is a team with no direction. The Raptors suffered through a disastrous off-season where they lost out to the Lakers for the favors of Canadian Steve Nash and ended up with the underwhelming consolation prize of Landry Fields. Fields is a nice complementary player, a rare shooting guard who crashes the boards and scores off of put-backs and savvy backdoor cuts, but he is not a star and may not even be starter material. The Raptors did manage to trade for the talented, and relatively inexpensive, Kyle Lowry (14.3 PPG-4.5 RPG-6.6 APG) but they now have too many point guards and GM Bryan Colangelo may have a hard time moving Jose Calderon. Of course the Raptors still have a prolific scorer in Andrea Bargnani who can get you 25 points in a hurry. The problem is that Bargnani seems to have hit his ceiling, and there isn’t a lot of talent in the pipeline. Jonas Valanciunas, the 5th pick in the 2011 Draft, has yet to play in the NBA and is a real unknown, and DeMar DeRozan, while oozing with athleticism, has never put it together.
If the Raptors can clear out the backcourt by trading DeRozen and Calderon (for draft picks or expiring contracts), they would be able to give playing time to Lowry and draftee Terrence Ross who at 6’7 can rebound and shoot the (college) three. In this scenario the Raptors would lose 50 games, hopefully more, and position themselves for a high draft pick. It’s the only way to build for the future in this NBA. That, or move to Brooklyn.
Reason for optimism: The 6’11 and 240 pound Valanciunas is an efficient inside scorer who could eventually add some scrappiness to this soft Toronto squad.
Reason for despair: Bryan Colangelo blew another draft. Ross may develop into a solid starter but his upside is not real high. Colangelo should have gone bold and drafted either Andre Drummond or Royce White. Both of these guys would have helped upfront immediately and are hugely talented.
Projected record: 27-55
Up next: The Central Division