NBA SIMS LEAGUE
NSL Insider - Team by Team: Toronto Raptorsby JustinG, updated on Thursday, November 16 2023, 01:53 am EST Toronto Raptors Season Review Team Record: 49-33 (6th in the Eastern Conference) Season Highlight: A lot of moving pieces last season for the Raptors saw the team in a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Talent came and went all season long, but the best Raptors team put together was probably the stretch of the season where we saw Jimmy Butler and Ayton leading the Raptors. The run spanned only a month and a couple of days before Jimmy was shipped onto Cleveland, but at the time, Toronto had raised some brows as a potential dark horse contender. Injuries struck, and history wasn�t written as it was supposed to, but that doesn�t take away from the excitement emanating out of Toronto during that time. Season Lowlight: Not often do you see a lowlight directly coinciding with a highlight, but that was the team the Raptors were a year ago. Highly talented, but often not fulfilling of their perceived potential. Shortly after the Ayton and Butler trades, the Raptors were hit with injuries. Mainly the injury to Jimmy Butler left the GM in realization that the depth around the stars wasn�t enough to sustain an injury. It�s not all gloom and doom, as the Butler trade began the rebuild/retooling of the Raptors, during which time they turned to a more youthful team set to make a long term run at contention. Best Trade: IN: George Hill Jimmy Butler T.J. McConnell OUT: Marcus Smart OG Anunoby Kyle Kuzma The Raptors pushed the chips in a bit with this trade, getting the best player in the deal in Jimmy Butler who has carried many a team in the NSL. Marcus Smart and OG Anunoby were the main return in the Bam Adebayo trade, so this was basically a swap of Bam and Kuzma for Jimmy. Good for all sides, but especially for the Raptors, Jimmy played some of the best basketball of his NSL career for GM Dylan, and legitimized the Raptors as a threat in the NSL. Worst Trade: IN: Terry Rozier Dejounte Murray Second rounder TOR 2023 OUT: Jimmy Butler Dennis Smith Dylan has always held a bit of a different value than many around the league do on players. It�s an approach which has brought him success in the past, so I can�t knock this trade, or any others too much. This trade though, seemed like somewhat of an underpay for one of the NSL�s 10 best players. Dejounte Murray is a fine young guard, but playing alongside Trae in the NBA makes it unlikely he ever get�s a star�s workload, and hence a stars ratings boost. Terry Rozier is a fine NBA player, but not much of a player at all in 2k. His shooting splits during his time in the NSL has left a lot to be desired, and worst of all he shoots a ton. Dennis Smith at the time looked like a toss in contract piece, but he has, unfortunately for Dylan, regained some of his value after a solid season with the NBA Hornets, and a new, cheap contract from the NSL Nets. Though I don�t love the trade for the Raptors, this was one of the first turning points to a defensive oriented team that Dylan has brought to life through the duration of the offseason. Other Notable Trades: The Detroit Pistons send Rudy Gobert and Edrice Adebayo to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Alec Burks, Reggie Jackson, Cedi Osman, Donovan Mitchell and Robert Williams to the Detroit Pistons. The Toronto Raptors send a 1st-Rounder (Bkn) to the Detroit Pistons This was a solid return for the Raptors. 2 dominant big men, 1 of which in Bam still had a ton of untapped potential. They did however give up a fair amount in the trade, sending out the best player in Donovan Mitchell. Neither of these players stuck around long for Toronto hence why they weren�t written about more in this article, but both players have tremendous value in the NSL. Funnily enough, Toronto released it was a mistake to let Gobert walk, and has reacquired his services this off-season. The Memphis Grizzlies send Marcus Smart and OG Anunoby to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Edrice Adebayo to the Memphis Grizzlies. The Memphis Grizzlies send a 1st-Rounder (Mem) to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send a 1st-Rounder (LAL) to the Memphis Grizzlies. The prequel to the Jimmy Butler trade, so I won�t spend a ton of time on it, but this trade set up the Raptors to go and get their big fish. Each player in this trade has a sky high value in the NSL due to their mutually premium skill, defending. The Raptors diversified assets a bit, and used this trade to set the tone for a deep, defensive oriented rotation that would give fits to any team in the NSL. The Memphis Grizzlies send Derrick White to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Caris LeVert to the Memphis Grizzlies The Raptors got a very good 2-way piece in Derrick White, who has only gotten better since joining in the NBA Celtics, which was an unexpected bonus. Levert is a nice young player in his own right, a microwave scorer with some defensive chops mostly due to his length. White is the better player though, potentially on both ends. This was great value brought in by Dylan. Free Agency: The Raptors solidified the backup big man spot with a recent trade with the Cavs. They brought in Luke Kornet who should be a serviceable 7-footer for them. All eyes turn to the 3-4 position, which is subsequently the most stacked position available in free agency this off-season. The Raptors also possess a key bargaining chip, as one of the only teams with enough space to absorb some of the premium free agents. The targets seem obvious. It is expected around the league that Toronto will make a run at 1 of Jerami Grant, Draymond Green, or Kyle Kuzma. All players can play the 3 or 4 positions, each with some defensive chops(though Kuzma lacks a bit in this area). It�s been rumoured that Dylan is moving on from Dinwiddie(or there are talks of it) and Amen Thompson has had a less than stellar start in Houston. Kuzma may be the most logical fit as someone who has the keys to an NBA offense. Star: Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray, OG Anunoby, Zion Williamson? Nope, DeAndre Ayton. Ayton was the best player for the Raptors in the 2022-2023 season. He finished his Raptors tenure with seasonal averages of 15 points and 20 rebounds. He shot an insane 61% from the field, and gave his all each time out in the Raptors uniform. There was even a stretch in the season where Jimmy went down and Ayton put up insane numbers, willing the Raptors to wins. Much different roster heading into next year. Flop: Grant Williams Trade Not that Grant Williams is a great NSL piece as an undersized stretch 4, but he�s a usable piece in the NSL with some solid numbers early on this season for the NSL Mavericks. Williams was sent out and TyTy Washington was brought in. TyTy proceeded to shoot a poor 26% from the field as an almost unusable piece down the stretch for the Raptors. TyTy�s future looks uncertain in the league at this time. Draft Grades: Amen Thompson- B Julian Phillips- A- The first surprise of the draft(without talking trades) was Toronto selectin Amen Thompson over Brandon Miller at the 3rd overall slot. Miller would slot into this Toronto roster quite nicely right now, as the team is lacking in the wing department, but the vision is there for Amen Thompson to be a long term contributor for the Raptors. GM Dylan will just need to exercise patience in allowing him to blossom with the crowded NBA Rockets. Where Dylan perhaps missed on wing talent with his first pick, he surely did not miss on his 2nd. Julian Phillips is a bouncy defender who most likely fell this far in the draft only due to injury. Once that ACL heals, I expect Phillips to make a name for himself quickly in the NBA. A Brandon Clarke type player is a very realistic outcome, if Phillips can stay healthy and progress his game accordingly. The Roster: C: Rudy Gobert, Luke Kornet PF: Chet Holmgren, Julian Phillips SF: Keegan Murray SG: Devin Vassell, Alex Caruso PG: Spencer Dinwiddie, Amen Thompson Not sure what to make/think of league chatter surrounding the Dinwidddie trade. There were rumours Dillon Brooks was to be involved, but also rumours that fell out. As of now, the Raptors have 9 players on contract, 8 of which could be real contributors for them this season, while Phillips continues to develop. There�s bound to be a free agent addition here as well. The Raptors could opt to start Caruso at either guard position as a 2-way force as seen in previous seasons. Concluding Thoughts: The Raptors are a mix of a lot of young, and 1 old guy in Rudy Gobert. Spencer Dinwiddie, you are getting there too. If Amen, Chet, Murray, and Vassell continue to progress, the Raptors are looking at a solid young core with a nice mesh of offensive and defensive capabilities. Chet is breaking out early, which GM Dylan must love to see. The Raptors will give all kinds of NSL teams fits this season with a front court featuring 2 7-footers, even after positional limitations imposed on the league last season. I expect a 5-8 seed finish for this young Toronto Team. |
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