Why 2014 was the perfect season for the Toronto Raptors

There is no greater pain than a Game 7 loss, especially a narrow one-point defeat to a loathsome group favored by the league, network executives, and referees. No, last week was not the best in Toronto Raptors club history. 

It might not feel like it right now, but the 2013-2014 season was nothing short of an unqualified success. Everything that could have gone right for the dinos did so, coming pass under the patient and knowing watch of general manager Masai Ujiri. 

Yes, slipping past the Nets would have felt fantastic. But aside from a timely endorphin rush on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Raptors were playing with house money when the playoffs started. The Raptors weren't going to win the NBA title in 2014, that wasn't exactly the goal for the season. 

Toronto had a different scorecard when they started play in November. Here are three ways the Raptors perfectly married process and results in 2014, setting themselves up for a bright future. 

Dump the tank

Contrast the jubilant scenes from Maple Leaf Square with what happened in Philadelphia this season. Yes, the Sixers could end up with a generational talent in the draft. But the damage done to their brand is (not to mention the low likelihood of any one player because The Player) is tough to stomach for some fans.

Tanking was an option for the Raptors, dumping talent and doing whatever they could increase their chances to have a superstar land in their lap. The presence of hometown kid Andrew Wiggins only increased the desire in some fans for the team to go down the dark path to draft success. 

The Raps went the other way, taking advantage of a soft Eastern Conference to post a franchise record 48 wins, capturing the second Atlantic Division title in club history. 

For a club seeming lost at sea for the better part of a decade, this playoff run could not come at a better time. The Raptors rewarded their loyal fans with great and meaningful basketball and the fans responded in kind, with thousands turning up in the public square beside the team's area to watch the games on gigantic screens. 

The fanbase was completely reinvigorated, thirsty for a team to throw its support behind. The 2014 Raptors were a likable bunch who worked and achieved together. The playoff tilts against the Nets drew massive TV audiences and set ratings records. 

For all the coverage and attention given to the lottery and the draft, there is no substitute for on-court success, no substitute for the word-of-mouth traveling through classrooms and workplaces and elevators as the Raptors became The Story within Toronto. Playoff games and public squares full of screaming fans reach people that a skinny kid from Vaughan can only dream of. 

Monitor development

More than just cheap heat from fans and local talk radio, there is no better way to take stock of the talent on hand than throwing them into the playoff pressure cooker. The Raptors watched and evaluated and observed with piqued interest. Are they better equipped to make an informed free agent decision on Kyle Lowry? I think that's fair to say. 

The gains made by Jonas Valančiūnas and Terrence Ross as well as the validity of Landry Fields and Steve Novak, and even Amir Johnson as rotation pieces can be evaluated fairly. Rather than guessing how the pieces fit into a good team in the future, the Raptors watched it happen in real time. Can they make the same evaluation of these players as they play out the string in blowout losses with D-Leaguers around them?

The improvements Demar DeRozan made and contract decisions on Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson are the best kind of basketball decision to make: how much of their strong play in 2014 shows up in the future? Tough, important decisions but better to pick through players who showed they can play rather than wishcasting on potential.

More than the front office looking for new players to add, the players themselves learned invaluable playoff lessons, learning to trust one another in an organization preaching the value of such nebulous but important concepts of chemistry, commitment, and positivity. 

Many teams pay lip service to these ideas. Raptors' players saw the benefits first hand. No better way to carry those benefits forward as the names and faces around the core change with time. 

Maintain financial freedom

Now, the work begins for the Ujiri and the rest of the Raptors staff to build upon the success of 2014. It won't be easy. Getting a bad team to average takes a lot less sweat than breaking the 50-win barrier and beyond. 

Luckily for the Raptors, their measured approach to 2013-2014 leaves them perfectly positioned to move forward and improve. They have the two most valuable commodities for adding talent - draft picks and cap space. 

The Raptors can re-sign their in-house free agents or seek upgrades on the open market. They can take on expiring contracts attached to more attractive pieces. They can take on overpaid veteran players who can still contribute to a good team. 

They can indulge the wildest fantasies of a very creative general manager. They can swing for the fences. 

"We plan on growing as a team. I'm not going to make any crazy quick fix decisions. We want to keep building" This is what Masai Ujiri told reporters as the club announced a three-year contract extension for coach Dwane Casey. The Raptors front office, from the analytics department to scouts and decision makers, know what they want in broad terms; the real business of improving this team begins, in earnest, today. 

The Raptors would obviously love to still be playing basketball, getting national TV exposure against the best team in the game right now. Once the sting of Game 7 loss fades with time, Raptors fans will realize this season was a complete success - one that promises more than just "happy to be here" good feelings in the future.