New year, new Raptors?
As the calendar flips from 2023 to 2024, it's a reminder of just how much change the franchise has undergone over the past 365 days. Gone are O.G. Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, Nick Nurse and his staff, leaving Chris Boucher and Pascal Siakam as the three remaining members of Toronto's championship team in 2019.
New to the franchise is head coach Darko Rajakovic. With him comes a new philosophy and culture that's ushering in a new era of Raptors basketball. At the forefront of it all stands Scottie Barnes, who, in his third season, is making an ascension that serves as a reminder that his potential may not have a ceiling.
With these changes and developments in mind, it's time to take stock of what resolutions the Raptors should make when the clock strikes midnight and the ball drops to bring in 2024.
MORE: Full details of deal sending O.G. Anunoby to New York and RJ Barrett to Toronto
New Year's resolutions for the Raptors
Do right and trade Pascal Siakam
Siakam is the longest-tenured member of the Raptors, joining the franchise after he was selected 27th overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Over the last eight seasons, he's won championships with Raptors 905 and the Raptors, and entered the franchise's top-five all-time in points, rebounds and assists.
Simply put, Siakam is, without a doubt, one of the greatest Raptors ever. And yet, it's time for both parties to move on.
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Siakam is months away from his 30th birthday and, as it stands, is still in the prime of his career. Siakam might not be the missing piece to lead a team to a championship, but he is certainly a player who can elevate several teams into a higher tier of contention.
While reporting the Anunoby deal, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote "Toronto is expected to continue to explore trades involving forward Pascal Siakam, but there are no deals with traction now."
For the last year and some change, Siakam has been linked to teams like the Hawks, Kings and Thunder in trade rumors. Do right by one of the greatest ever to put on a Raptors uniform and trade him where he can compete at a high level. The Raptors would benefit from it, too.
Make every move with Scottie Barnes in mind
The exciting part of Scottie Barnes' development is that the Raptors now know they have a franchise cornerstone they can build around for several years. Even more exciting? No one knows just how good Barnes can become.
Barnes has developed into an All-Star candidate with averages of 20.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game this season. And that's in a situation that isn't fully tailored to his strengths.
MORE: Three reasons why Scottie Barnes deserves to be an All-Star
Barnes is 22 and in line to receive a much-deserved max-scale rookie extension. At that point, the timer is on. Toronto needs to make every personnel move with Barnes in mind, tailoring the roster to the strengths of its new franchise player to see just how far he can lead them.
Make it a point to experiment
As the calendar year wound down, Rajakovic employed a new starting lineup and rotation, leaning into the "Point Scottie" narrative by starting Barnes alongside Anunoby, Siakam, Gary Trent Jr. and Jakob Poeltl.
There's nothing to lose here. Experiment with lineups and rotations to get an idea of what works and what doesn't — short- and long-term.
Anunoby is now gone but there are new combinations possible with the addition of Barrett and Quickley. Make it a point to exhaust all options, have fun and get zany with it. The most unsuspecting combo could be the best one.
MORE: Why two-way addition Jontay Porter can be impactful with Raptors
Find more minutes for Gradey Dick
While minutes are earned and not given, Toronto can ill-afford a setback in Dick's development as a rookie. The 20-year-old hasn't gotten more than 10 minutes of playing time since a blowout loss on Nov. 21.
And while Dick is a pro, he's still a young player that needs reps to maintain his confidence and grow into the role the Raptors envision him filling.
With a shift in focus to the future, Toronto's lottery pick should get more opportunities to play alongside the players he makes up the future of the franchise with. In-game reps will build up much-needed chemistry between Dick, Barnes, Precious Achiuwa and whoever else is part of the franchise's long-term plan.
Have fun
This might cause a record to scratch in your head while reading but … it's basketball at the end of the day. The game's supposed to be fun. In recent years, Raptors basketball hasn't consistently checked that box.
The new culture that Rajakovic has brought with him has reintroduced an element of fun. A chain for the player of the game? Fun. Smiling more on the court? Fun.
As it stands, no one is going to mistake this team for a title contender and likely not a playoff contender, either. But when you look at teams like the Nuggets, Celtics, Timberwolves and Bucks, they're all having fun and enjoying playing basketball with one another.
Build the foundation on enjoyable principles and what comes next will be even more meaningful.
