There's no worse place to be in professional sports than stuck in the middle, but that's exactly where the 2025-26 Toronto Raptors project to land after a somewhat incomplete rebuild.
The Raptors traded multiple first-round draft picks to chase playoff spots in 2022 and 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, they traded or lost Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet in an effort to build around Scottie Barnes. Toronto then attempted to bottom out last year, only to go 22-21 down the stretch and end up with the ninth overall pick. The Raptors also traded for and extended former All-Star Brandon Ingram.
In other words, despite trying just about everything, they've ended up with what looks like the same caliber of team the front office decided to blow up two years ago. That helps explain why beloved president Masai Ujiri was relieved of his duties despite the immense weight his name carries in NBA circles and beyond.
Following an executive search, the Raptors handed the reins to general manager Bobby Webster, who received a contract extension but not the presidential title Ujiri held for so long. That sequence of events left many wondering whether ownership is committed to returning the Raptors to glory or just seeking a cheaper version of the status quo.
Webster, a salary-cap whiz Ujiri plucked out of the NBA's head office 12 years ago, is ready for the challenge.
"As you guys know, Masai's incredibly intense and inspirational, loves to give a good motivational speech. We'll probably miss those, but it's also a great time for us to spread our wings as well," Webster told reporters in September.
If Webster's Raptors are going to prove the doubters wrong, Ingram will be a big reason why. The decision to acquire him was curious, but not indefensible. The 2020 All-Star had become undervalued in New Orleans, his shot-creation skills could plug Toronto's biggest hole, and his playmaking and defensive chops are far from the black holes some critics suggest.
At 28 years old, Ingram should be in his prime, but injuries have limited him to 45.5 games per year over the last four seasons, and February will mark six years since his lone All-Star selection.
Ingram's laid-back demeanor can give the impression he's fine with all of that; that he was happy to collect his paycheck and chuck midrange jumpers when healthy enough to do so. But he's more introspective than he's given credit for.
"I think rather than proving people wrong, it's just proving to myself who I am," Ingram said on media day when asked if he's motivated to remind the basketball world who he is. "Stepping into a new role with new teammates and new coaches, having the responsibility of being my best self every day and winning basketball games, that's the most exciting part for me. When you try to prove yourself to other people, it never works out."
Head coach Darko Rajakovic has learned that Ingram is a "basketball junkie" who loves to consume and talk hoops. But figuring out how Ingram fits in a fast-paced offensive system where the ball and the man are supposed to be in constant motion might be Rajakovic's biggest test.
"First of all, I want Brandon to be himself, to feel comfortable in his own skill. I also expect him to take his game to another level. The game is changing. It's becoming more about the open court - more running and more transition. He'll have to grow in that aspect as well," Rajakovic said on media day.
"Obviously, he's a big scorer. We're going to put him in situations where he cannot just score, but playmake. That's one area of his game that's been overlooked is his willingness to pass the ball and make the right play. With his size and scoring ability, he's going to attract a lot of attention, and I believe he's going to be really good at finding his teammates and making the right play. We need to play to a standard of how we want to share the ball, how we want to play, and how we want to get very efficient shots. I think he's going to fit in really well."
To Rajakovic's point, the Raptors boasted the league's fourth-most efficient shot profile last season, according to Cleaning the Glass. They just didn't have the shot-making talent to capitalize on it, finishing with the 26th-ranked offense. The hope is that Ingram's arrival helps narrow the gap between expected efficiency and reality, producing a more complete offense to complement a defense that ranked third in the second half of last season.
Ingram joins a talented but mishmash roster that has gotten deeper while the Eastern Conference has gotten weaker, opening up a wide range of possibilities. The Raptors are a projected play-in team, but they could realistically challenge any East squad outside of Cleveland or New York just as easily as they could miss the postseason altogether.
A lot has to go right for them to hit their ceiling. First and foremost, Barnes must shake off a wretched preseason, emerge as the consistent franchise cornerstone Toronto is now paying him to be, and thrive in the off-ball role he's perfectly suited for.
Veteran center Jakob Poeltl, who was recently extended through 2030, must stay healthy. Positionally sound defense and pristine screen-setting might not excite fans, but Poeltl is arguably Toronto's most indispensable player.
Immanuel Quickley needs to maximize the on-ball and movement-shooting skills that were supposed to make him an ideal fit next to Barnes. If nothing else, a bounce-back season would make Quickley's $32.5-million salary palatable.
The Raptors need to decide whether hometown star RJ Barrett is a building block or a trade chip, and they need at least one of their young reserves (like Gradey Dick, Ja'Kobe Walter, or Jamal Shead) to pop. On that note, there's a ton of internal optimism about rookie big man Collin Murray-Boyles, whose suffocating defense is NBA-ready and whose offensive game is further along than originally assumed.
If too few of those scenarios play out, the Raptors will be stuck in no-man's land - a 30-something-win team staring at a luxury-tax bill and first-apron ramifications, though Webster doesn't sound too concerned.
"I don't even know how big of a story that (financial situation) is. The likelihood that this team is the exact same by the end of the year is probably zero. With one move, you can get under the tax," Webster said. "We're fortunate to be in one of the biggest, most lucrative markets in the NBA, so I don't see the financial piece affecting us," he added.
In an ideal world, those resources would allow a team to withstand whatever proves necessary to optimize its long-term trajectory, even if that means punting on a lost season in pursuit of increased lottery odds. Far too often, however, big-market clubs take a Bulls-like approach, chasing mediocrity (and a couple home playoff games) like a dog chases its tail rather than zooming out to see the big picture.
A successful Raptors season would mean not having to confront either of those choices.
Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.
