BREAKING NEWS: Toronto raptors star in regrets over his trade as he face a tough road back to contention

The Toronto Raptors, who won the NBA championship in 2019, were able to avert a precipitous drop. They were still competitive even after the departure of big players.

It’s becoming more and more difficult to keep up these days.

It will be a difficult journey ahead if the Raptors’ first three games without Pascal Siakam are any guide. Last week, the team traded Siakam to high-scoring Indiana. Toronto suffered losses of sixteen to Chicago, twenty-six to New York, and eight to Memphis on Monday evening.

“We’ll need some time to work and install and understand where guys need to be on the court and how to play off of each other,” Darko Rajakovic, the coach, said. We must watch films, improve, and put in the necessary effort. The process has only just begun.

Although Rajakovic used the word “process,” Toronto’s team management is somewhat of a parody of what the Philadelphia 76ers did a few years ago. The Raptors didn’t win the NBA championship in 2019 as a result of exploiting a string of first-round picks. Only once, in 2006, did Toronto select Andrea Bargnani as its first choice.
With the acquisitions of Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, and Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors assembled their championship squad. They selected Siakam late in the first round and prevented Lowry and Ibaka from going via free agency.
Toronto lost Leonard to free agency as soon as they defeated Golden State to win the championship, but they still finished 53-19 the next year. The Raptors were 48-34 as recently as 2021–22, despite losing Lowry to Miami prior to the start of the season. After they finished in the play-in round and dropped to.500 the previous season, Fred VanVleet left for Houston.

Although Toronto has managed to avoid a complete collapse for some time, it is evident that the Raptors are in the process of rebuilding given the departure of Siakam and their current Eastern Conference standing of 12th. In addition to dealing OG Anunoby to New York and bringing back Immanuel Quickley and Toronto native RJ Barrett in exchange for Siakam, they also obtained three first-round selections.

Toronto’s next opponent is the resurgent Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

“We’re going to have three days without games and the opportunity to really practice and try to install the offence and defence as much as possible and try to get guys on the same page as much as possible in a short, short amount of time,” Rajakovic stated. “I think this group has talent.” I have faith in our athletes. All we need to do is approach things with greater intentionality.”