Grading the Raptors' front office, coaching staff

It wasn't an easy season for the Toronto Raptors' players, but the team's staff also faced its share of difficulties.

President Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster had to make tough assessments of a squad forced on the road for a full season. It wasn't much smoother for the coaches, whose on-court adjustments only had so much effect without the benefit of a true home crowd. Ultimately, some decisions worked out well, but others still have us scratching our heads.

Here are our grades for the Raptors' front office and coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.

Collective staff

Toronto missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Several factors contributed to the Raptors' down year, some of which were out of their control. But not all of the blame belongs to the team's season-long relocation to Tampa.

From free agency to in-game management, the front office and coaching staff are both partly responsible for the Raptors' 27-45 record. This offseason will be critical for the franchise's future, and Toronto can't afford to dismiss the 2020-21 campaign as a mere one-off.

Grade: C+

Coaches

Head coach Nick Nurse and his staff had their work cut out for them throughout the season. A combination of injuries and COVID-19-related absences forced the Raptors' bench boss to use 38 different starting lineups. Additionally, the club's core of Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby was together for just 23 of 72 contests this season.

Considering all of the above, Nurse and Co. should be commended for getting the most out of those who were available. The Raptors set an NBA single-season team record with 10 players scoring 30-plus points in at least one game. Among those 10 were rookie Jalen Harris - the second-last pick of the 2020 draft - and undrafted forward Paul Watson.

Fourth-year big man Chris Boucher had a breakout season, while Khem Birch went from an outcast with the Orlando Magic to looking like an NBA-caliber starting center with Toronto. Nurse had a lot of success using both players extensively in pick-and-roll scenarios; Boucher scored the eighth-most points as a roll man, and Birch tied Karl-Anthony Towns for 16th in the Association with 3.7 points per game as the roll man in his 19 outings with Toronto.

The Raptors undoubtedly faced some unique challenges this season, but there were some issues that can't be overlooked. Toronto's half-court offense struggled in 2020-21, finishing 20th with 95.5 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass. The team also fell from second in defensive efficiency in 2019-20 to a tie for 15th this year, highlighting the importance of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka at the 5.

Grade: B-

Front office

Ujiri and Webster maximized their returns with the 29th and 59th picks in last year's draft. Malachi Flynn's confidence surged after he cracked the Raptors' rotation, and second-rounder Harris shows promise after his late-season run. The front office made a couple of other encouraging in-season moves, signing bought-out center Birch and swapping free-agent-to-be Norman Powell for the younger Gary Trent Jr.

That's about the extent of the positives, however.

Toronto's apparent gamble for Giannis Antetokounmpo failed spectacularly. The unyielding desire to have maximum cap space for this summer cost the franchise both Ibaka and Gasol, and replacing them with budget options in Aron Baynes and Alex Len was a rare but critical miscalculation. There seemed to be no plan B once Antetokounmpo pledged his future to the Milwaukee Bucks, and the lack of a proven big man continued to hurt the Raptors until they signed Birch; by then, it was too late.

Toronto can still open plenty of salary room this offseason, but a once-vaunted free-agent class has been depleted; Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Jrue Holiday, and Rudy Gobert are all off the board after penning extensions.

Finally, Ujiri and Webster still have to address the elephant in the room: Lowry. The 35-year-old guard played in just nine of the Raptors' last 28 games after the team kept him through the trade deadline, and he can now sign elsewhere as a free agent. If Lowry doesn't factor into the team's future, the decision not to ship him to a contender in exchange for younger pieces is a puzzling one.

Grade: C