Ujiri: It's a rebuilding year for Raptors
Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri wants fans and the organization to be realistic about the 2024-25 campaign.
"I would use the word 'rebuilding,'" he told reporters Monday when asked how to describe this season, according to Sportsnet's Blake Murphy. "That's the right word. We have a clear path now going forward. Young team, growing team."
"In sports, you always want to be competitive, and you play to win. But it is a rebuilding team, and everybody sees that, loud and clear," Ujiri added, per Murphy.
Toronto committed to a rebuild last season with two franchise-altering moves. First, the Raptors traded OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks for a package including young guards Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. Then the organization moved two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers for Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, and three draft picks. Toronto went 10-32 after trading Siakam.
These trades made the Raptors significantly younger, and in the wake of Fred VanVleet's departure in the 2023 offseason, they also broke up the remainder of the 2019 championship core. Chris Boucher is the only member of that title-winning team still in the organization.
The Raptors pivoted, making former Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes their focal point. Barnes, 23, averaged career highs in points (19.9), rebounds (8.2), assists (6.1), and blocks (1.5) while drastically improving his percentages from the field, and he appeared in his first All-Star Game.
At media day, Ujiri said Barnes has taken his role as the organization's centerpiece to heart and has changed his "seriousness, level of intensity in workouts, (and) mindset," according to Murphy.
The Florida State product - who missed the final 22 games of last season with a fractured hand - is also prepared for a rebuild. Barnes said Monday that it's important to not "get frustrated throughout the process," according to Esfandiar Baraheni of Forbes.
Barnes is surrounded by a young core consisting of Barrett (24 years old), Quickley (25), Gradey Dick (20), and Toronto's 2024 first-round pick, Ja'Kobe Walter (20).
The Raptors have a chance to add more pieces to the rebuild with Brown and Boucher on expiring contracts. Toronto will also continue to utilize the draft. "We all know what reality is in this league, and the draft is a way for us to build teams and acquire players, especially in a market like ours," Ujiri said, per Murphy.
The Raptors begin their 2024-25 campaign Oct. 23 with a visit from the Cleveland Cavaliers.