Period of Struggle (2002-2006)

When the 2002– 03 season began, the team's fortunes had started to wind down. The Raptors endured various injuries and set a questionable NBA record in one game by not having the capacity to handle a 12-man roster. With wounds heaping up and key players like Vince Carter and Antonio Davis missing huge lumps of the season, the club tumbled in the standings and completed with a record of 24– 58, arriving back in the NBA Draft lottery. Fans started to scrutinize Carter's durability, and mentor Lenny Wilkens, who had been fruitful in directing the club's playoff keeps running amid the past two seasons, was terminated.

The 2003 NBA Draft gave the Toronto Raptors a future franchise cornerstone in forward Chris Bosh, yet it would be some time before the team contended again for a playoff spot. Carter kept on leading the club in most measurable classifications, however a significant number of the players that were with him amid the Raptors' playoff runs were currently gone. Injuries kept on being a noteworthy issue for the team, and the club's offense battled under new mentor Kevin O'Neill. O'Neill and his staff worked for just a single season and, in the spring of 2004, general manager Grunwald was alleviated of his obligations too.

The Raptors entered a revamping stage, hiring Rob Babcock as general manager and previous NBA player Sam Mitchell as head coach. In any case, in the following two years, the Raptors won under 40 percent of their games and cycled through players. Fan favourite Morris Peterson remained, yet the greater part of the players from the Carter time were currently on other teams. Babcock made maybe the franchise's most questionable draft decision in its history, choosing focus Rafael Araujo eighth overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. In spite of his guarantee, it rapidly wound up clear that Araujo did not have the imperative speed, athletic capacity and hostile collection to be a factor in the cutting edge NBA.

Babcock pursued the Araujo draft choice by exchanging Carter to the New Jersey Nets. It ended up being a poor arrangement for the Raptors. The trade included two draft picks who demonstrated disillusioning and two veteran players who endured just a couple of seasons after the trade was finished; the key piece of the bundle, previous All-Star focus Alonzo Mourning, would not answer to Toronto and was discharged by the club. Bosh was the club's solitary splendid spot in the 2004– 05 season, averaging 16.8 points and 8.9 rebounds in his sophomore season and making the first of some All-Star appearances.

In spite of Bosh's solid execution, the team kept on flopping under Babcock and he was expelled around the finish of the 2005– 06 season, similarly as the franchise employed previous NBA Executive of the Year Bryan Colangelo.