Point guard Damon Stoudamire was the first star for the Toronto Raptors.  Stoudamire was the Raptors’ first player ever drafted in 1995 (1st round, #7 overall).  He had a good rookie year in 1995-96, but he was even better in 1996-97.  Stoudamire played in 81 games (all starts) for the Raptors in 1996-97 and he averaged 40.9 minutes, 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  He played in 200 games (all starts) in his three years with the Raptors and he averaged 41.0 minutes, 19.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Despite only playing three years with the Raptors, Stoudamire is still #6 in three pointers made (374), #3 in assists (1,761), #7 in steals (301) and he’s also #9 in points scored (3,917) in franchise history.

26-year old power forward Amir Johnson’s emergence in 2012-13 allowed the Raptors to feel comfortable in sending power forward Ed Davis to Memphis as part of the Rudy Gay deal.  Johnson played in 81 games (38 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  Johnson has now played in 299 games (140 starts) in his first four years with the Raptors and he is averaging 24.0 minutes, 8.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  Johnson is now #10 in games played (299) in Raptors’ history.  Johnson is also #4 in offensive rebounds (719), #7 in defensive rebounds (1,156), #6 in total rebounds (1,875) and #6 in blocked shots (333) in Raptors’ history.  The Raptors hope that Johnson continues to play well in 2013-14.

28-year old forward Linas Kleiza has exercised his player option for the 2013-14 season, valued at $4.6 million bucks.  Kleiza played in only 20 games (3 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 18.8 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Kleiza only shot 33.3% from the floor and 30.3% from three point range last year, which was pathetic.  Kleiza has played in 108 games (29 starts) in his first three years with the Raptors and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game.  The Raptors are likely going to consider using the amnesty clause on Kleiza this summer.

28-year old center Aaron Gray has exercised his player option for the 2013-14 season, so he will remain with the Raptors next year and he will make $2.6 million bucks.  Gray played in 42 games (16 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 12.2 minutes, 2.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  Gray has now played in 91 games (56 starts) in his first two years with the Raptors and he has averaged 14.6 minutes, 3.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  Gray will likely be the Raptors’ #2 or #3 center in 2013-14.

56-year old head coach Dwane Casey could be running out of time with the Toronto Raptors.  He led them to a 34-48 (41.5%) record this year.  Casey is now 57-91 (38.5%) in his first two years in charge with the Raptors.  I think the Raptors will let Casey start the 2013-14 season as the head coach, but if they don’t start out quickly, he will likely be fired.  Expectations are going to be much higher next season with Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay opening up the offense.  Casey is now 110-160 (40.7%) in his first four years as an NBA head coach.

20-year old center Jonas Valanciunas and 22-year old shooting guard Terrence Ross showed a lot of promise as rookies for the Raptors in 2012-13.  Valanciunas played in 62 games (57 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 23.9 minutes, 8.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  He had 8 double-doubles for the Raptors last year and he shot an impressive 55.6% from the floor and 78.9% from the free throw line.  In the 20 games (all starts) in which Valanciunas played at least 30 minutes, he averaged 34.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  Terrence Ross played in 73 games (2 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 17.0 minutes, 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.  In his 28 games (2 starts) in which Ross played at least 20 minutes, he averaged 24.8 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  22-year old forward Quincy Acy also looked good in a limited role last year.  He played in 29 games (0 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  The Raptors have high hopes for this trio down the road.

The Toronto Raptors finished tied for last with the Philadelphia 76ers with a 34-48 record, which had them 20 games behind the division leading New York Knicks.  The Raptors did pick up small forward Rudy Gay in a big deal with the Grizzlies and Pistons during the season.  The future suddenly looks a lot brighter for the Raptors with Gay on board.  Here is a look at the players that made the biggest impacts for the Raptors in 2012-13, in my opinion:

Team MVP - DeMar DeRozan - 23-year old shooting guard DeMar DeRozan was the MVP of the Raptors in 2012-13.  He played in 82 games (all starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 36.7 minutes, 18.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.  DeRozan is going to be one of the keys to the Raptors in the future, as they are going to be a more open court running basketball team soon.

Biggest Surprise:  Amir Johnson - 25-year old power forward Amir Johnson stepped up and separated himself from Ed Davis, which allowed the Raptors to include Davis in the Rudy Gay deal.  Johnson played in 81 games (38 starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  He had 15 double-doubles in 2012-13 for the Raptors.  I look for 2013-14 to be a true breakout season for Johnson.

Biggest Disappointment:  Andrea Bargnani - 27-year old power forward Andrea Bargnani was injured most of the season and he didn’t play well when he was healthy.  He played in 35 games (25 starts) for the Raptors this year and he averaged 28.7 minutes, 12.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.  Bargnani only shot 40% from the floor and 31.1% from three point range this year.  The Raptors are going to try to deal Bargnani over the summer, but it’s not going to be easy.

23-year old shooting guard DeMar DeRozan is finishing strongly for the Raptors in 2012-13.  He has played in 7 games (all starts) for the Raptors so far in April and he is averaging 36.4 minutes, 21.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game on 51.7% shooting from the floor.  DeRozan has now played in 80 games (all starts) so far this year for the Raptors and he is averaging 37.0 minutes, 17.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  It’s too bad that DeRozan didn’t heat up a little earlier in the season.

26-year old small forward Rudy Gay is finishing the 2012-13 season strongly for the Raptors.  He has played in 6 games (all starts) so far in April and he is averaging 33.8 minutes, 18.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Gay is shooting 45.7% from the floor, 47.4% from three point range and 79.2% from the free throw line so far this year….which is pretty impressive.  Gay has played in 30 games (29 starts) for the Raptors since coming over in a trade deadline deal with the Grizzlies and he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 19.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Gay has now played in 72 games (71 starts) overall this year for the Grizzlies and Raptors in which he is averaging 36.0 minutes, 18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Rudy Gay is going to be one of the players the Raptors build around for their suddenly brighter future.

20-year old center Jonas Valanciunas has played really well lately for the Raptors.  Since March 1st, Valanciunas has played in 19 games (18 starts) in which he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 12.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.  He has now played in 59 games (54 starts) overall for the Raptors and he is averaging 23.7 minutes, 8.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He is shooting 55% from the floor and 78.4% from the free throw line so far this year, which is pretty impressive for a rookie.  I look for him to really break out in 2013-14 for the Raptors.