Raptors GM Webster excited for new season, star Barnes amidst low expectations

The Toronto Raptors kick off their 2024-25 season with a home battle against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

While expectations surrounding the team this season are low, there are reasons to be excited for what Canada's team can do.

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster joined First Up on TSN 1050 Wednesday morning to discuss his expectations for the team, what he's looking forward to regarding the growth of young players and what heights the veterans can reach together.

"In the traditional sense [we're in] a rebuild, [but] it's more of a youth movement," Webster said.

"We're playing [our young players], developing them, [and] two players that jump out are Gradey Dick and Jamal Shead. They're going to play a brand of basketball that is fun to watch."

Dick, 20, was selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He played 60 games for the Raptors last year (17 starts), where he averaged 8.5 points per game and shot 36.5 per cent from three point range.

The second-year player entered the league with a reputation as a marksman from three-point range. He struggled from deep early in his rookie year, but rounded into form down the stretch. The team is looking for him to expand his offensive repertoire while improving defensively this season.

Webster also highlighted Shead, a rookie out of Houston, who was by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the NBA Draft this past summer and dealt to the Raptors.

"As we've seen in Toronto, [Shead's] a sort of undersized, gritty point guard that gets after it on the defensive end," said Webster. "On the offensive end, when that develops that'll be his swing skill. If you're picking your new favourite Raptors player, look out for those two," said Webster.

Shead and Dick can form part of the future for the Raptors, but the star of the show this season is going to be forward Scottie Barnes. The 23-year-old was selected with the third overall pick in 2021, and is entering his fourth NBA campaign with a Rookie of the Year award and an All-Star honour to his name.

After averaging career highs in points per game (19.9), rebounds per game (8.2) and assists per game (6.1) a season ago, Webster believes the sky is the limit for the face of the franchise - especially after he signed a five-year, $224 million contract extension over the summer.

"I think him signing this big extension has rightly put additional pressure on him but he's taken that, he understands what's at stake, so you'll see a more locked-in Scottie from the tip to the buzzer," Webster said.

"He's playing at a pace. He's now the obvious fulcrum of the team, a lot of it runs through him on the offensive and defensive end, and then it's on us to surround him with the Kelly Olynyk veterans, the Garrett Temple veterans that help in the locker room and compliment his skill set as well."

Some of the supporting cast surrounding Barnes is expecting to miss time early in the season with injuries - rotation pieces Olynyk, Bruce Brown, and rookie first-rounder Ja’Kobe Walter will be missed, but starting forward RJ Barrett will be hard to replace, Webster said.

The sixth-year native of Mississauga, Ont. is dealing with a sprained shoulder and is expected to return to action soon. 

"Going back to the trade with RJ, I think he was so excited to come to Toronto. You saw it on his face when he was arriving. I can only imagine a kid from Toronto, from Canada, to come back and play for his childhood team. Then to have the success on the court, I think that's not a surprise to most of us," Webster said.

"To see him blossom in the second half of the year, and carry that over into the summer with the Canadian National Team in Paris - he was one of the top players there. He's working himself into shape, I think he knows where he's going to get his shots from so he can expect them more, and then our biggest emphasis for him is on the defensive end, to push him. As soon as he comes back into the lineup, he'll make a big impact, and we're excited."

Barrett's numbers spiked as a member of the Raptors last season - as a member of the New York Knicks, he averaged 18.2 points per game and shot just 33.1 per cent from three-point range. With Toronto, those totals jumped to 21.2 PPG and 39.2 from deep, with improvements in rebounding (4.3 per game with New York vs. 6.4 with Toronto) and assists (2.4 per game vs. 4.1).

The Raptors start their season with 20 of their first 25 games against teams that made the playoffs last season, giving them the toughest strength of schedule in the league over that span. Webster acknowledges that the early results may not be encouraging, but that the team and coaching staff are looking forward beyond performance this season.

"Don't read too much into it, we're in it for the long haul, it's 82 games, we're not going to overreact to the first 10 or 20 games," Webster said.

Webster is hoping to see growth from the team, even if the results aren't always what they're looking for.

"What you'll see from the Raptors is we'll play a more up-pace, fast-break style of offence, sharing the ball," he said. "I can't promise all the shots will go in, but it will be a more up-and-down pace ... I think that will be really enjoyable for the fans to see."