Michael Grange

It was less a jersey retirement ceremony than an affirmation of love, and all the complications that most powerful of emotions automatically brings.

Experience is the best teacher, but a lot of the lessons end up coming from the loss column.

DeMar DeRozan is prone to reflection. It’s why, even after all the hard feelings that followed his 2018 trade, he’s been able to accept the bridge-building efforts to restore the relationship between him and the Raptors.

Davion Mitchell's long-term fit with the Raptors is to be determined.But at the very least, Mitchell has been as advertised: A tenacious on-ball defender who can run a team well.

LOS ANGELES — A successful rebuild needs talent from many sources. The draft is the obvious one, and typically the foundational one.

Quickley has been through a couple of full practices now and is expected to be a game-time decision Saturday when the Raptors are hosted by the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome on Saturday.

Norm Powell left Toronto as a role player with an iffy fit and has emerged as one of the best offensive players in basketball.He reminded the Raptors of that on Saturday.

Coaching might be a problem, but it would be hard to argue it would be the biggest problem.

The plucky group that collected lottery balls while playing better teams right down to the wire has made the long gaps between Raptors win a little more palatable. But the air might be coming out of the tires a little bit.

The Toronto Raptors have taken many paths that have collectively led them to the bottom of the NBA standings, but if and when they emerge, there is only one path forward, and that is to improve defensively.