When the 2025-26 season officially opens later next month, the Toronto Raptors are hoping to be among the teams vying for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have not made the playoffs since the 2021-22 season, but with a few teams in the East taking a step back, they could be the beneficiary. And it will come with someone losing their spot as a starter during Raptors training camp.
While the Raptors dealt with different lineups last season, the main groups of starters that seemed obvious was Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Grady Dick, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl. All five of those players are back this upcoming season, but there is one major cog that has yet to make his Raptors debut, and that’s Brandon Ingram.
Ingram was acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans at the deadline, but was unable to suit up for the Raptors due to an ankle injury. Ingram is expected to be healthy and he did not sign a contract extension, nor was traded to the Raptors to come off the bench.
Poeltl is safe as a starter as he is the team’s only real consistent center threat at this moment. Barnes is considered a franchise cornerstone and the Raptors have invested a lot of time and development into him. Ingram is not a guard so Barrett and Quickley should be safe. That leaves Dick as the odd man out.
The No. 13 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Dick had a breakout sophomore season last year. He appeared in 54 games, all starts, at a little over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 14.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists with splits of 41 percent shooting from the field, 35 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Dick had three 30+ point outings in his first 12 games last year. Dick has a promising future as an NBA player, but unfortunately for him his spot is the most vulnerable with Ingram making his return to the court. Ingram has always been a borderline All-Star talent albeit only making the All-Star team once in his nine-year NBA career thus far.
While he has been limited in recent seasons due to injury, he’s still put in six consecutive years of averaging 20+ points per game and shooting 46 percent or better from the field. He only appeared in 18 games for the Pelicans last season, but averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists with splits of 46.5 percent shooting from the field, 37.4 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
But the potential move to the bench for Dick should only strengthen the Raptors’ rotation. In fact, it’s not a stretch to envision Dick in the Sixth Man of the Year race depending on how the Raptors fare during the season. He is the team’s top option off a bench that consists mostly of young, unproven players, and he is a good candidate for early breakout player lists.
If a couple more of those second unit players such as Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo and Ja’Kobe Walter can step up and be consistent rotation guys, that might be the major difference between the Raptors getting back to the playoffs, and another lottery season. But in any case, it’s going to Dick anchoring the reserves while Ingram joins the starters.
