
Around midway through last season, the Toronto Raptors were one of those teams gaining a lot of buzz. Could they be the team to challenge the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the top of the Eastern Conference? What’s the ceiling for this team? How far could the Raptors realistically go with this current roster?
These were all questions being legitimately asked around that time, but then things became relatively stagnant for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry started getting banged up and Toronto started to plateau a bit, or even drop off just slightly. That buzz at least somewhat dissipated.
Nonetheless, the Raptors still made it into the postseason where they matched up with the Washington Wizards in the first round. With Lowry still not at 100 percent and the team still looking out of sorts and, quite frankly, worn down in that series, the Wizards jumped on Toronto and eliminated the Raptors from the postseason with a clean sweep.
So now the Raps are heading into the 2015-16 NBA season and are looking to get back to the place where they have that buzz around the league once again. Though they obviously haven’t played a regular season game yet, the things that happened throughout the offseason seem to have at least gained some of that excitement back around this team.
For one, the addition of DeMarre Carroll in free agency is huge for the Raptors, as is the extension Jonas Valanciunas. Both of those moves clearly indicate that this is a team looking to move forward and not get stuck in a quagmire in the Eastern Conference. They’re trying to become more versatile in terms of the lineups that they can put on the floor and are trying to find pieces to keep building around in the future.
Moreover, it can’t be overstated how important Kyle Lowry’s weight loss and getting into better shape is for this team. As I said, Lowry was breaking down and looked heavy entering the postseason last year and the Raptors felt the effects of their leader and star not looking or playing like himself. There’s a good chance that his offseason transformation will help remedy that.
Toronto was active on the open market this offseason and saw a good deal of turnover on their roster, most of which looks to be for the better. Given everything, it seems as if the Raptors are in the position to take the next step. The question that remains is whether or not that’s the way things will actually play out.
Next: Best and Worst Offseason Moves