Toronto Raptors: A tumultuous past and a changing culture

The Bosh era and the middle of the Eastern Conference

Vince’s departure would become an all too familiar story for Raptors fans. After the
Vince era players left with regularity. The most notable being Chris Bosh. The Bosh era was fun
but unfortunately, it led to no real team success. There was a lone playoff appearance in which
the New Jersey Nets handled the Raps in a forgettable six-game series.

Bosh, a fourth overall pick, lived up to his lottery status. He had multiple seasons of 20 and 10 and was named an all-star on five occasions. But as was the case with Vince, the lights were not shining bright enough and opportunities south of the border were much more enticing.

However, unlike Vince’s tenure with the Raps, Bosh’s career was stagnating. The team consistently had a weak roster and for years on end stood in the worst position for an NBA franchise; not quite a playoff team but not quite a lottery contender. It was hard to fault Bosh for fleeing to the championship glory awaiting him in Miami.

The Raptors were subsumed by mediocrity for many reasons but one of the biggest reasons was management. Throughout the mid-2000s and early 2010s, the Raptors had a knack for not only losing close games but losing in the lottery. Famously the Raptors acquired the No. 1 pick in 2006.

While the draft itself was not the strongest, one can’t help but shake their heads when remembering the day Andrea Bargnani was drafted. There were hopes that he would be the Italian Dirk Nowitzki but aside from a lone 20 point per game season, he failed to help the Raps get anywhere near respectability.

Management continued hindering chances at meaningful success with a slew of head-scratching decisions. The list is near endless but here are some lowlights; overpaying a well past prime Jermaine O’Neal, overpaying an aging Hedo Turkoglu, overpaying for Demarre Carroll, trading for unmotivated and aging veteran swingmen on two separate occasions (Shawn Marion in 2009 and Rudy Gay in 2013). Unwilling to tank, unable to draft, limited free-agent options, and floating aimlessly in the middle of the Eastern conference – this was the Raptors franchise for over a decade.

As the team floundered in mediocrity the excitement around basketball in Canada seemed to diminish. With limited Canadian influence in the league, Canadian fans had two cheering options: You could cheer for the Raptors or Steve Nash. I, as well as many others, preferred to stay up late and catch those run and gun Suns games as opposed to watching the Raptors lose another tight contest.

Toronto, and Canada more generally, were predominantly focused on hockey. I can recall the days when NBA coverage was limited to a two-minute time slot and being a basketball player made you a bit of an anomaly. You were much more likely to see Maple Leaf’s and Blue Jays’ attire while walking down the street than anything Raptors related.

Fan excitement was limited and being third fiddle to the Jays and the Maple Leaf’s was not aiding the Raptors chances of retaining talented players.