Projected starting lineup: Toronto Raptors
Point Guard: Dennis Schroder
Shooting Guard: Scottie Barnes
Small Forward: OG Anunoby
Power Forward: Pascal Siakam
Center: Jakob Poeltl
After toying with the idea of trading for Damian Lillard, he was ultimately moved to the Milwaukee Bucks. Had they been willing to include OG Anunoby or Scottie Barnes, they perhaps could have acquired him, but their unwillingness to do so makes the Raptors a bit confusing.
They missed the playoffs last season, despite making a win-now move to re-acquire center Jakob Poeltl and they also haven’t improved this summer. In fact, they lost their starting point guard, Fred VanVleet. Now they are set to start this season with a slightly worse version of their starting five and don’t appear likely to make the playoffs.
There have been rumors that they could trade star Pascal Siakam, who is entering the final year of his deal, and look to rebuild. But no trade has happened, and it is possible they may instead look to move him near the trade deadline. That would give them enough time to see how this team performs this season before tearing down their roster.
That may be risky because they could miss the playoffs this season and also give up a high lottery pick to San Antonio, which owns their top-six protected pick through 2025. In the meantime, the Raptors have plenty of size and length, which could make them hard to score against.
However, one of their problems was a lack of shooting last season, which they didn’t do enough to address this offseason. For a likely non-playoff team, their starting lineup actually has a lot of talent, but there is a clear ceiling for the Raptors as is.