NBA fans around the world, rejoice. The Toronto Raptors are back. New management and a rejuvenated fan base make this years Raptors the NBA’s feel good story. Demar DeRozan is a bonafide star, Terrence Ross is everyone’s favorite “he’ll be an All-Star in three years” player, and, who doesn’t think Kyle Lowry is the best point guard in the East?
The Toronto Raptors Revival
The Canadian hoops resurgence could not come sooner. I can’t remember an NBA fan base that is more tortured than Toronto (Except for Cleveland. The Basketball Gods hate Cleveland). The NBA’s only Canadian team seems to always be around, but never totally relevant. Even though the Raptors are brilliant in the draft, they’ve had consistent trouble holding on to their quality players. Toronto has had more stars walk out on them than Jennifer Aniston. In fact, if you said the name “Vince Carter” anywhere north of the border, you’d probably get arrested. You can also add Tracy McGrady and Chris Bosh to that list.
Leaving all that behind, the 2014 Raptors are above .500 and winning their way into the playoffs. After going an atrocious 34-48 last season, Toronto will reach its 30th win before the real playoff push.
So, who’s responsible for the inspiring turnaround?
DeMar DeRozan
Out of the University of Southern California, Demar DeRozan could never shake the disappointing narrative. Otherworldly athleticism and flashes of All-Star ability always left Toronto fans wanting more. Every summer fans would hear inklings that Derozan was ready for “the leap” into stardom. Season after season, it never happened. This year, the floodgates opened.
Player A: 18.6 PPG, 4.7 AST, 3.8 REB
Player B: 22.4 PPG, 3.6 AST, 4.4 REB
It’s no stretch to say that player A is outplaying player B. Surprisingly enough, Player B is Demar DeRozan. And player A? Are you sitting down? It’s Dwyane Wade. Demar DeRozan has elevated his game to the point of outplaying D-Wade. Granted, Wade is suffering from nagging knee injuries and a limited schedule. Nonetheless, DeRozan has made this season his personal coming-out party. After the team traded Rudy Gay to Sacramento, DeRozan shouldered the leftover shots. He has since seen a 17% increase in shots per game, the highest on the Raptors team. The uptake in responsibility has done wonders for the Los Angeles native, who has seen growth in every major statistical category this season. If the Raptors want to make a deep playoff push, they better hop on the back of Demar DeRozan.
The Rudy Gay Trade
On January 31st, 2013, Rudy Gay was sent to the Toronto Raptors from the Memphis Grizzlies, in a 3-team, six player deal. The trade was considered a “panic move” by Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo, who was to be fired later that offseason. In a nutshell, this became one of the worst trades in the last ten years. Gay’s inefficient and disengaged play made him the most disliked Toronto athlete since Vince Carter. His dreadful shooting percentage even inspired a twitter account called “Did Rudy Gay Miss?” (it’s worth a look) After the season’s end, the Raptors cleaned house and fired Colangelo. After bringing former Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, something we’ll talk about later, Rudy Gay was shipped off to Sacramento, his third team in two seasons.
The Raptors are 21-12 since trading Gay, and have placed themselves firmly into the playoff race. Is Rudy Gay a locker room disease? After he originally left Memphis, they became one of the elite teams Western Conference, even knocking off Kevin Durant’s Thunder in the Western Semis.
So, if you’re an NBA GM, go pick up Rudy Gay, and then trade him! Your team will make the playoffs!
Masai Ujiri
If you live in the Toronto metropolitan area, send some flowers to Masai Ujiri’s house. Seriously. This guy has been a godsend to the Raptors franchise. After being lured away from Denver this offseason, Ujiri wasted no time righting the Canadian ship. His first order of business? Ridding the franchise of Andrea Bargnani. The sweet-shooting Italian seven footer was supposed to resurrect professional basketball in Canada. Instead, he joins Kwame Brown and Greg Oden as the worst first overall draft picks in NBA history (Anthony Bennett should be joining them shortly).
During the 2012-13 season, Bargnani’s relationship with the team became particularly sour, even going as far as calling the Raptors “the worst team in the league.” He wanted out of Toronto, and the feeling was mutual. Unlike Colangelo, Ujiri took no time to get rid of Bargnani, shipping him to the hopeless Knicks for next to nothing. Getting rid of both Bargnani and Gay proves that Ujiri has knack for building a confident and stable environment. While the Raptors are the NBA’s youngest team, they play with swagger and enjoy battling with one another. Masai Ujiri can be proud of building that from the ground up.
For the Raptors, the goal is to keep a stable culture and build around their current players. We’ve seen a number of NBA teams find success, only to get greedy and make costly mistakes (I’m talking to you, 2012 Philadelphia 76ers). Although this Toronto team has all of the necessary pieces to be consistent, only time will tell if they can hold on to their winning ways. But as of now, they’ve got fans saying “how bout them Raptors, eh?”
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