All sports rebuilds begin with a teardown. It is the easiest and fastest part, but also the hardest for loyal fans. For the Toronto Raptors, this was represented by the blockbuster sign-and-trade of long-time fan favourite Kyle Lowry. The details of such a deal are a little complex, but the end result was this: the Raptors traded Lowry to the Miami Heat in return for Goran Dragić and Precious Achiuwa.

As a pretty serious Raptors fan, I think I speak for everyone when I say that Kyle Lowry is sorely missed. He is an all-star basketball talent, an amazing leader, and the fiery engine that pushed the Raptors’ team to new heights each season he played for them. First acquired by the Raptors in 2012, Lowry was not initially too happy about playing in Toronto, but overtime, he grew to love the city along with his new pal DeMar DeRozan, who the Raptors drafted in 2009. Following the news of the Lowry trade, fan tributes and well wishes poured in on social media making the breakup more than amicable. After all, it was just good business for all involved. Toronto was looking to retool and an aging star like Lowry was the obvious starting point. Thus, the teardown began.

After the teardown comes the reconstruction; the building of a new, better team through drafting, signing, and developing new talent. Fortunately, the Raptors have an excellent track record and an enormous head start in this area. You will notice that the Raptors traded just one star-caliber player in Kyle Lowry. They still have plenty of talent leftover to build around. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are now full-on stars in their own right and were developed right here in Toronto. 

As a 27th overall pick and an undrafted free agent, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet respectively have been huge success stories over the last few seasons. In 2017, I attended the Raptors 905 G-League championship game where they won the title. Siakam and VanVleet both played in that game. Today, they are the indisputable leaders of this Raptors team and have proved themselves time and time again.

Aside from the retention of serious star power in Siakam and VanVleet, the unconventional nature of the Raptors rebuild is further exemplified by the fast action that was taken. You may recall that the Raptors won the NBA title not that long ago in 2019, and then they made it to game seven of the second round of the 2020 playoffs in the pandemic “bubble” in Florida. They only had one losing season before deciding to rebuild: the 2020-21 season. 

The 2020-21 season was very frustrating for Raptors fans. As someone who watched about 80% of the games that season, it was almost maddening to see the Raptors get so close to recovering again and again after their abysmal start, but in the end, it did not end up working out. One underperforming season where they missed the playoffs was all Raptors management needed to see. They immediately pulled the trigger on a team restructuring. The Raptors have such a strong winning culture and as a fan, I appreciate the decisive actions taken right away, rather than letting the team flounder for a season or two to see what happens.

Of course, there were benefits to having a subpar record last season. Namely, a higher pick in the 2021 NBA draft. The NBA operates a draft lottery wherein all teams that did not make the playoffs the previous season are randomly selected to determine which order they will draft between the first and fourteenth overall picks, with worse teams having a better chance at a higher pick. The Raptors were participants in the lottery for the first time since 2013, a testament to their prolonged success in the Masai Ujiri/Kyle Lowry era. 

In their first draft lottery in seven years, the Raptors got lucky. They nabbed the fourth pick behind Detroit, Houston, and Cleveland, with only a 33% chance of making it that high. With their pick, they selected Scottie Barnes, a forward from Florida State. 

The pick was not without controversy, as top draft picks often are. Many fans and league commentators believed that Jalen Suggs, a guard from Gonzaga, was the better pick. I was surprised by the Raptors’ pick of Barnes, but I’m happy to say I have been very impressed with his performance thus far. Scottie had an excellent showing at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas and through the first fifteen games this season has put up a 16PTS/8REB/3AST per-game stat line while playing 35 minutes a game and shooting 51% from the field. 

Plus, the stats do not take into account Scottie’s off-court presence. He is a natural leader with an excellent reputation and has embraced the city of Toronto, as well as the passionate Raptors fans that come with it. Fans were overjoyed to see Scottie touring the city, eating at iconic local restaurants, and even meeting up with Drake all before the season started. There is no easier way to endear yourself to Raptors fans than by actually wanting to play in Toronto.

Aside from the Raptors’ new young star, the rest of the roster is showing promise. OG Anunoby is continuing to grow as a player and remains a defensive powerhouse; Gary Trent Jr. has proved that he is better than his former bench role in Portland suggested; fan favourite Canadians Khem Birch and Chris Boucher are back; young prospects Precious Achiuwa and Svi Mykhailiuk are getting solid minutes; Goran Dragić is doing what he can at age 35; and 2020 first-round pick Malachi Flynn is on a mission to prove himself as a serious game-time option for the team. There are many positives to work with, now it is about putting it all together and consistently winning games. 

Inconsistency is a typical characteristic of a rebuilding team, and this Raptors squad is no exception. There have been multiple highs and lows already. Perhaps the best example is the Raptors curb-stomping the Boston Celtics on October 22nd, beating them in their home arena by 32 and then losing to them by 16 less than three weeks later in the same building. Needless to say, the team is not yet performing to its full potential, and there is still quite a bit of practice and team-building needed before they really appear as a cohesive unit.

Fortunately for fans, this will likely happen faster than they might think. Since the teardown was rather short compared to other rebuilds, the reconstruction should be similarly swift. The Raptors have retained all of their homegrown talent and have added even more development potential in Barnes. There may be a few more roster moves before this is all over and fans should expect some further turbulence in the near future. It may not look pretty right now, but with a talented team core, a world-class front office staff, and passionate fans once again filling the stands in Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors are poised to make a lot of progress this season. This should be exciting for everyone, regardless of their exact record.