Raptors have one issue going into regular season

The Toronto Raptors are talented, but they are far from a perfect product.

Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are going into the season with a decent amount of upside and a chance to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2022.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes questions whether the Raptors will be able to overcome their questionable roster fits with the talent on the team.

"Talent isn't the issue for the Toronto Raptors, who have five legitimately good starters in Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl. The problem lies in the way those players fit together," Hughes wrote. 

"Toronto is light on floor-spacing in that unit, and any three-point shooting specialist it might insert to address the shortcoming would diminish the overall quality of the group. Gradey Dick might be more dangerous as a catch-and-shoot threat than Barrett (in theory; Dick is only 1.0 percent more accurate for his career), but he's not a better player than Barrett on balance.

"If the Raptors win more games than they lose this season, it'll be because they overcome their ill-fitting roster by leaning on pure talent. That's not an impossible gambit, but it's one that also wouldn't be necessary if Toronto's decision-makers gave a little more thought to complementary skill sets."

Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett looks on against the Brooklyn Nets. | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images

Raptors roster may not fit well

The Raptors have been out of the playoffs since the end of the 2021-22 campaign and they have been forced to restructure their roster and head to the lottery. The digging to get out of the lottery has been a plan that's been centered around Barnes, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and bring in as much talent as possible.

The team has done that by trading for Quickley, Barrett, Ingram and Poeltl while drafting Dick, Ja'Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles to complement them. The Raptors have been more interested in figuring out who can play rather than try to guess how they fit.

That route is a fine one to take, but there has to be a point where there is some purpose in the moves that are made. The Raptors need to confirm whether Barnes can be a No. 1, 2 or 3 option and figure out what they need to do to build around him.

Barnes is in the first season of a five-year, $225 million extension, so he's confirmed to be part of the future. The players around him remain to be seen, but this season will go a long way towards determining who is best for the roster alongside Barnes.