In the 2002-03 season, the playoff contender Raptors, were not able to be themselves like the previous year.
Their star player Vince Carter was sidelined through the season with numerous injuries though he was still voted as a starter for the 2003 All-Star Game. They ended the season with a dismal record of 24-58 win-loss record.
The disappointing record was also a blessing in disguise for the Raptors. They won the 4th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft and selected a future superstar Chris Bosh. In 2003-04 season, the Raptors were inconsistent due to numerous injuries by its key players such as Jalen Rose, Alvin Williams and Carter.
Their big men, Davis and Jerome Williams, were traded for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall early of the season. They ended the season with 33-49 record and the notable performances were Carter’s 22.5 points per game, Marshall’s 10.7 rebounds per game and their rookie Bosh who averaged 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. They missed the playoffs 3 games behind the 8th spot.
The next season, they hired Sam Mitchell to coach the team. The Raptors were also moved to the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. They acquired Rafael Araujo from the 2004 draft as the 8th overall. Their franchise star player Carter demand for a trade due to a lack of supporting cast.
He was traded in exchange for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two future first round picks from the New Jersey Nets. Mourning was not able to play and appear in Toronto as the Raptors buy out the remainder of his contract.
As Carter’s departure, it had opened the doors for Chris Bosh to step up his game and be the franchise player. They finished the season with a 33-49 record , same with the previous year.
The Raptors continue to reorganize as they acquried Charlie Villanueva, Joey Graham, Roko Ukic and Uros Slokar during the 2005 NBA Draft. They traded Rafer Alston for Mike James and signed Jose Calderon as the back up point guard. Though the 2005-06 season was a disappointment as they finished the season with a 27-55 record, they still had found bright spot from their rookie Villanueva as he won the Rookie of the Year.
The next season, they had a redesign of their roster as they acquired Andrea Barghani from the draft and traded Charlie Villanueva for TJ Ford. They also signed Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa. With their new roster, they finished the season with an impressive winning record of 47-35. They were the 3rd seed on the Playoffs and faced the New Jersey Nets. They lost against the Nets in six games.
In 2007-08 season, they were qualified again for the playoffs as the sixth seed. They were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in 5 games. The next season, they traded Rasho Nesterovic, Maseo Baston and Roy Hibbert along with 17th pick in the 2008 draft for Jermaine O’neal.
Though they had O’neal who had not contributed as much as he was expected, the team finished the season with 33-49 record. In 2009-10 season, there were a lot of trades and changes in the Roster, notable players acquired were Sonny Weems, DeMar Derozan and Reggie Evans. They were not able to finishe the season to qualify for the playoffs due to Bosh being injured at the late of the season.
In 2010-11 season, the much awaited and biggest free agency has come, as Chris Bosh along with superstars Dwyane Wade, Lebron James, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer were available. Bosh decided to take part with the Miami Heat along with Lebron James.
The Raptors redesigned their roster and acquiring forward Turkoglu but eventually traded back to Orlando. They got Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa into their roster and were playing significant perfomances for them in the season.