<img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://display.blogto.com/articles/20250416-toronto-raptors.jpg?w=1200&amp;cmd=resize_then_crop&amp;height=630&amp;quality=70" width="100%" /><p>Whatever way you slice it, the Toronto Raptors have quite a bit of work to do this summer.</p><p>Though the team won&rsquo;t be in the playoffs for a third year in a row, the Raptors' front office might have one of their busiest offseasons in recent memory ahead of them.</p><p>The May 12 draft lottery is the first big event on the calendar, with the Raptors currently sitting seventh in the odds for landing the first overall pick.</p><p>Following that, they've got the draft itself, free agency, NBA Summer League, formal and informal workouts, and a full training camp and preseason before the games begin to count for real come October.</p><p>Team president Masai Ujiri met with the media on Wednesday&nbsp;for his annual end-of-season wrap-up session and spoke about the challenges of being Canada's only NBA team, particularly in a political climate that has seen a trade war initiated by American President Donald Trump.</p><p>"We are not going to hide under the table because a player doesn't want to come here, or what anybody's perception of this market is, we're the only team that's outside the U.S. in the NBA, and I believe it's a unique opportunity, and it's going to be an incredibly unique opportunity in the years to come,"&nbsp;Ujiri said.</p><p>The comments come on the heels of former players Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2025/03/ex-toronto-raptors-player-villain-comments-about-canada/">speaking about "tough"&nbsp;experiences in Toronto</a>, citing minor inconveniences such as border customs or different television channels in Canada.</p><p>The biggest move of 2025 might've already been completed this year by Toronto, when they made a move just ahead of the trade deadline <a href="https://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2025/02/toronto-raptors-give-update-new-star-brandon-ingram/">to acquire former All-Star Brandon Ingram </a>from the New Orleans Pelicans.</p><p>"At the end of the day, you have to acquire talent," Ujiri added. "We have to do it in a unique way in the market that we're in, and we have to jump on opportunities that come our way. We felt [the Ingram trade] was a unique opportunity for us, and it fits, but it didn&rsquo;t stop our rebuild."</p><p>Internally, there aren't too many big moves to be made in the short term: <a href="https://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2025/03/chris-boucher-toronto-raptors/">Chris Boucher </a>and Garrett Temple are the only two unrestricted free agents for the franchise, with the pair of veterans sitting 12th and 18th in minutes,&nbsp;respectively, this past season.</p><p>Boucher, the longest-tenured Raptor, sat on the sidelines from February 26 to the end of the season. Ujiri also spoke to Offside about the team&rsquo;s decision to keep him out of the rotation down the stretch.</p><p>"The best way to say this is, I know who Chris is [as a player]. I don't know who [the younger players can be in the NBA]. It's a tough place to put [Boucher] in,"&nbsp;Ujiri added.&nbsp; "He was a great sport, and I know he's a competitor, so it's always going to be tough."</p><p>Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic proclaimed on Tuesday that the team&nbsp;<a href="https://dailyhive.com/toronto/toronto-raptors-coach-championship-declaration">would win another championship</a>&nbsp;in Toronto, with the aim to build the franchise out into a perennial contender, comments which Ujiri echoed on Wednesday.</p><p>"My expectation for next season is we continue to grow. But the end goal for me is to win a championship," Ujiri added. "We've focused on getting better, and I think talent acquisition is big for us. You can only build a team three ways in the NBA, and it's through the draft, through trade and through free agency."</p>