Raptors Media Day Notebook: Defensive pressure a priority

It's no secret that the latest iteration of the Toronto Raptors is a bit of an enigma heading into the 2024-25 campaign.

Scottie Barnes -- fresh off signing a rookie-scale max extension -- enters his first full year as the franchise's undisputed alpha while running mates Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have had the summer to prepare for their first complete seasons with the Raptors. At the same time, as president Masai Ujiri and the front office have ushered in a new era, they've spent the last couple of months tinkering with the margins of the roster.

What all that amounts to is up for anyone's best guess. Toronto's win total is projected at around 30.5, marginally better than last year's woeful 25-57 record that came as a result of mass roster turnover and a plethora of injuries.

So, with more questions than answers heading into the season, the Raptors took to media day on Monday looking to fill in some of those blanks before heading off to Montreal for the start of training camp.

Here are some of the key topics from the day.

Make no mistake, the Raptors are in a rebuild

If it wasn't already clear following the Raptors mid-season fire sale last year that they're embarking on a rebuild, it's abundantly clear now. Just ask Masai Ujiri.

"I would use the world rebuilding," said the team president to reporters on Monday when asked to describe the upcoming season. "We have a clear path now moving forward.

"Young team, growing team, I think we set a path that went into the draft last year ... build this team around Scottie (Barnes) who's 23 years old and continue to grow as a team. So yes, in sports you always want to be competitive and you play to win, but this is a rebuilding team, I think everyone sees that loud and clear."

How being in a rebuild will impact the prospect of winning games this season for the Raptors is yet to be seen, but Ujiri made it clear that managing that balancing act is his priority and players should be "talking about winning, playing and competing. That's where you want their mindset to be."

And from listening to the players at media day, they seem to understand that what they're working towards will take "time" and require patience "through the ups and downs," as Barnes explained it.

Jakob Poeltl took it a step further and painted a clear picture that development, both individually and as a team, will be the top priority. To the point that "it makes no sense for (the Raptors) to try and win every single game and sacrifice development."

"I think we're all aware of the situation," Poeltl told reporters on Monday. "We know that we're starting from the beginning ... We're going to go into every single game trying to win it ... we're trying to get to playoff positions where we gain really valuable experience, but I think the focus for us is more on getting better as a team."

Head coach Darko Rajakovic explained the process as similar to buildling a house. Most of their time will be spent building the foundation and "not skipping any steps."

By no means does that mean the team is looking for excuses should they struggle to win games. Quickley, after re-signing with Toronto in the off-season, made that point crystal clear on Monday.

"I don't think there's any balance (with winning and a rebuild), I think you come into every game to prepare to try to win, the 25-year-old said. "Obviously there are building blocks and steps you have to take to reach where you want to be but that's no excuse to not come out and try to win every night."

Defence will be at the forefront this season

When Rajakovic was brought on, he came in with a goal of upgrading an offence that was previously described as "selfish" by Ujiri. And in his first season, by most accounts the bench boss checked that box as the Raptors were tied for the fifth most assists per game as a team (28.5).

That increased focus on offence seemingly came at the expense of the defence however, which tanked from 11th (113.1 defensive rating) the year before all the way down to 26th (118.1) in the 2023-24 season.

Which is why, unsurprisingly, it was a common point of conversation at media day.

"It's not something we're proud of," Ujiri said when asked about the team's previous defensive woes. "It's going to come down to effort, Darko has used it as a point of emphasis this year, and we will continue to try and get better at this ... (the front office) also has to take responsibility for the type of players we bring to the program."

And although Rajakovic is treating this season as a "clean slate" he knows there is a sense of urgency to establishing positive defensive habits.

"We're going to start building our (defensive) foundation starting now," the second-year head coach said. "We can all agree that great defence starts with how you play on the ball, how you start your defence there.

"We want to apply more ball pressure, we want to be aggresive and have active hands. For us ... the most important guy is going to be the guy who's guarding the ball, everything starts there."

That focus on ball pressure appears to be a message that's been heard loud and clear by the players, as they all made mention of it throughout media day. Barnes spoke about wanting to force opponents to "play faster" and defending the ball needing the be the "forefront of our defence," while Poeltl said the team will try to be "as disruptive as possible."

Quickley added that improving on the defensive end is "probably one of the biggest things we hit on this summer," and it starts with "just playing hard."

"For me, most of the times being on the point of attack, being in the pick-and-roll, it's just getting reps," the lead guard told reporters. "I feel like I made strides as a defender my whole career ... just trying to not only get better on offence but also defence."

The Canadians made the most of the summer

On the heels of undeniably falling short of expectations at the Olympics in Paris, RJ Barrett and Kelly Olynyk got right back to work.

Both players joined the Raptors in Spain for one of their multiple off-season mini camps, citing a desire to acclimate to their new team as quickly as possible. The Barrett and Olynyk duo joined Toronto mid-way through the 2023-24 campaign and wanted to familiarize with their teammates on a stronger level.

Barrett barely waited following the Olympics, telling reporters on Monday that he had called assistant coach Jama Mahlalela from the bus following Canada's quarterfinal loss to France to set things up for him in Spain.

"This is my team, my home," Barrett explained why he was so eager to train with the team. "I wanted to be there with my teammates, we have a lot of new faces ... and I was new to the team."

Olynyk added that it "doesn't happen overnight," and with all the injuries Toronto faced last year, they missed out on valuable time to famliarize with one another.

The duo, along with Chris Boucher, are also in a unique position heading into the Raptors' 30th anniversary season as Canadians on the roster for the country's lone NBA franchise amid the upcoming celebrations.

Olynyk described the feeling as "surreal," thinking back to the days he would sit in the nose-bleeds and the full-circle moment he gets to be a part of now.

"When you grow up and you dream of playing in the NBA ... you really, as a kid (in Canada), you dream of playing for the Raptors, the forward added. "This is really your childhood dreams becoming a reality, and in their 30th year ... it's really special to be a part of."

Can Gradey Dick be the Raptors fifth starter?

One of the biggest questions heading into the season is who'll slot in as the final starter amongst Barnes, Barrett, Poelt and Quickley. With Gary Trent Jr. leaving to join the Milwaukee Bucks and Bruce Brown Jr. out for the forseeable future as he recovers from an orthoscopic procedure on his knee, most eyes turn to the Raptors sophmore.

Dick is coming off an up-and-down rookie campaign that took a turn for the better following a brief stint in the NBA G League. And while coach Rajakovic wouldn't claim the 20-year-old as the fifth starter just yet, citing a need for patience, he did mention on Monday that "there has to be a bigger picture for him" when he was asked about expectations for Dick.

"All we want, and what we worked on for the last six months, is to get him to the next level so I expect a lot of growth this year from him."

And while he isn't particularly concerned whether he starts or not, Dick enters his second year with a sense of calm that he hopes will prepare him should his name be called upon.

The sophmore spoke about feeling less stress and anxiety entering the season after tackling his rookie campaign, and that he's going to "try my best to be in the position that the team needs ... if that calls for the starting position then I'm going to put my all into that. But the main goal of the season is to win."

Don't rule out the possiblity of other youngsters getting opportunities with the starting group though. Rajakovic won't rule anything out just yet for the handful of rookies.

"There's times where they'll be on the roster, in the rotation, maybe starting," the Raptors head coach said when asked about expectations for rookies entering the year. "And also times where they'll be with the (Raptors) 905 playing games and practicing so they can get more reps ... training camp is going to tell us a lot."

A touching tribute

Although the day was filled with feelings of excitement and optimism for the franchise and the greater NBA, they were quickly replaced by feelings of shock and grief.

The NBA announced the passing of basketball icon Dikembe Mutombo, succumbing to his battle with brain cancer at the age of 58.

A justifiably emotional Ujiri came back out moments after being notified of the news to not only address the media of Mutombo's passing but to also honour the legacy of someone he considered a mentor.

"It's really hard to believe. It's hard for us to be without that guy. You have no idea what Dikembe Mutombo meant to me," Ujiri said.

"I have to say though, that guy, he made us who we are. That guy is a giant, incredible person. Who are we without Dikembe Mutombo ... you have no idea what that guy means to the world and he's gone, he left us."

Ujiri emphasized the philanthropic work of Mutombo in Africa, notably the hospital the four-time Defensive Player of the Year built in his native Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"What he's brought to youth, to people on the continent, we cannot even imagine," Ujiri added. "You cannot even imagine what that guy has done for me in my career. He took me under his wing in Denver and made me grow as a person. ... There's nobody that Mutombo didn't touch.

"As big as he is, his heart was bigger.

"Today is not a good day for us, for sports, for us in Africa it's not a good day at all. But we'll celebrate him, celebrate him big. He set a path for us that I don't know many people that could. I'm proud that I knew Dikembe Mutombo, I'm proud that I worked with him, I'm proud that he mentored me, I'm proud that I did a lot of work with him, travelled around the continent of Africa. This one hits home."