Three questions facing Toronto Raptors ahead of 2024-25 season

The new NBA season is right around the corner. To help get ready for the 2024-25 NBA season, we're looking at three questions each NBA team could face next season.

Here, we have the Toronto Raptors, who hit the reset button at the Feb. 8 trade deadline and enter the upcoming season as a rebuilding team with multiple high-level young talents.

Can Davion Mitchell improve Toronto's defense?

Mitchell joined the Raptors as part of the deal that sent Jalen McDaniels to the Sacramento Kings earlier this summer. The defensive-minded guard played in 72 games for the Kings last season but received the lowest minutes of his young career, as his limited offense diminished his value to Mike Brown's run-and-gun offensive-minded unit.

Toronto now has a pitbull-type defender on the perimeter. There's a reason his nickname is "off night" due to his intense brand of point-of-attack defense and the way he suffocates opponents when guarding the ball. The Raptors finished last season as the 26th-ranked defense in the league. Mitchell should help improve the franchise on that side of the ball without taking touches away from the young stars on the roster.

On paper, Mitchell's fit makes perfect sense. Raptors fans will be hoping that translates to his performances on the court.

Can Toronto's young trio lead the team to the playoffs?

Toronto's young trio of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes is both exciting and talented. All three are capable of scoring in bunches, defending at a high level and creating for themselves and others. However, with just a few months of experience together, there is still a learning process the trio needs to work through.

Still, the lower half of the Eastern Conference projects to be wide open. The Raptors should have enough talent to challenge for the play-in tournament at a minimum, which could see them make the playoffs and get their young stars some much-needed postseason reps.

Of course, a lot has to go right for Toronto to challenge for a playoff spot, and it all starts with the Quickley, Barrett and Barnes figuring out how to get the best out of each other.

Will Scottie Barnes' three-point shot improve?

Barnes had the best three-point shooting season of his career during the last campaign, hitting 34.1% of his 4.9 attempts per game. Darko Rajakovic clearly wants his star player to improve his perimeter scoring, as that will open up his driving game and give him more ways to attack and beat tougher defensive coverages.

As he enters his fourth NBA season, Barnes will likely have been working on his three-point shot during the offseason. If he can continue to improve his three-point jumper and get his conversion rate to around 36%, he could take a legitimate jump in production, which would, in turn, elevate the Raptors chances of success, both now and in the future.