The Toronto Raptors are not having the season they imagined they would. After a surprising playoff run last season, where Scottie Barnes emerged as the Rookie of the Year, the team has stagnated this season and is struggling on the court. Their loss to the Golden State Warriors last night encapsulated that.
With a 13-17 record, the Raptors could sneak into the Eastern play-in if they tried to. However, they might be unsuccessfully trying to make 2 timelines work with the old championship core and the current young group. Fans have had enough and are calling for the team to tank for Victor Wembanyama.
The Raptors are in Blow It Up territory
-13-17 record, losers of 5 straight
-The team looks broken
-No realistic path to contention
-Only 3.5 back from the bottom 4
-Veterans they could get a haul for
-Young talent to build with, making it more of a retool and not a long rebuild pic.twitter.com/QEmfLKHZjz
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) December 19, 2022
Anyone but Scottie. Depends on the return. I’d want four firsts for Siakam.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) December 19, 2022
I like the idea of Toronto getting in on something with Phoenix.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) December 19, 2022
Kevin O'Blowitup. Teams might as well not even try to make the playoffs if they aren't title contenders. Reduce the postseason to 4 teams from each conference. Kevin O'Donteventry
— Thad Bullock (@thadhbullock) December 19, 2022
OG, second in DPOY latter, is 25. Precious is young and has shown a lot. Koloko has been a great rookie.
— 𝕿𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖓❄️🇨🇦 (@IcyScottieV2) December 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/AnujSha113/status/1604647634051940352https://twitter.com/Scott4BarnesMVP/status/1603986242856787969
5th hardest #NBA schedule left for the #raptors. This team as constructed right now is going nowhere. Time to do a complete tank and get into the Victor Wembanyama lottery.
— Frank Battiston (@FrankBattiston) December 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/RaptorsResponse/status/1604646524172079104https://twitter.com/HatTrickPapaya/status/1604662501941149696
And with the first pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the Toronto Raptors select Victor Wembanyama from Nanterre, France! pic.twitter.com/HkfEVTtp4U
— Billy Butcher (@lolitsurowner) December 19, 2022
Raptors now have the 10th best odds at getting Victor Wembanyama #contextfreestats
— Raptors Rapture (@raptorsrapture) December 17, 2022
Raptors have been watching to many Wembanyama YouTube compilations
— Raptors Rapture (@raptorsrapture) December 18, 2022
Only one team can get Wembanyama, so everybody tanking just crowds the pot that much more. However, a top draft pick to further add to this young and fun Raptors squad might be the best course of action instead of being a first-round exit.
Is It Time For The Toronto Raptors To Bottom Out?
The Raptors are trying to fight against an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference with a roster that needs a few more touches before it can compete. The fact that many of their veterans won a title when they were young makes it hard for the Raptors to just move on from them.
Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet are pillars of the organization. Even if they move Gary Trent Jr. to bottom out, they will need to break the core up. That is a scary thought, but if the Raptors feel they can confidently retool to make this roster a threat once again, they might as well go down that route.
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