NBA Power Rankings: A new NBA hierarchy arises after the draft and free agency

Key offseason moves: Re-signed Immanuel Quickly

As the Toronto Raptors continue forward with the Scottie Barnes build, it’ll be interesting to see how they look early on in the season. The Raptors struggled mightily down the stretch and I can’t help but wonder if there’s going to be more growing pains before we start seeing some signs of promise with this build. The Raptors haven’t made a big move yet this summer aside from re-signing Immanuel Quickley and then locking up Barnes for the foreseeable future. It seems as if the Raptors were set on solidifying their foundational core for the future heading into the offseason.

Toronto is also preparing to let Gary Trent Jr. walk in free agency, instead of paying him the big money he’s asking for. But the Raptors seem set on moving forward with this young core. On paper, Toronto is talented. That said, it’s fair to wonder how high the ceiling is for a team led by Barnes, Quickley, and RJ Barrett.

I think ranking the Raptors at No. 21 is perfectly fair. Quite frankly, it may end up being too high of an initial ranking.