The Toronto Raptors struggled with inconsistency for much of the 2022-23 season. The Raptors didn't look like the well-oiled machine they have been in past years under Nick Nurse, and it didn't help matters at all that the team had a bit of a roster imbalance. To make matters worse, Scottie Barnes didn't take as big of a leap as the team may have expected given his incredible output as a rookie.

And now, details of the Raptors' season from hell have started trickling out of the organization. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri felt the need to address the team after their early-season struggles against the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets — with Ujiri specifically pulling Scottie Barnes aside.

Grange then added that this was not the only time Ujiri addressed the team personally. With plenty of trade rumors swirling over the heads of some of the Raptors' most prominent players, the team president ripped into the team for their poor body language and selfish play — urging them to get it together lest they be on the receiving end of a trade prior to the February 9 deadline.

In light of the report that the Raptors' veteran crew and the younger contingent didn't see eye to eye, it's certainly interesting that Masai Ujiri pulled Scottie Barnes aside and talked to him personally. Ujiri knows just how important Barnes and his development is to the franchise, so perhaps the team president is just giving the youngster a little pow-wow especially when the 21-year old forward didn't exactly begin the season on the right foot.

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It's certainly becoming more understandable why the Raptors — a team that won 48 games during the 2021-22 season — struggled the way they did last year. Sure, the team needed a true center, and they only got one in February, but this amount of turmoil behind the scenes certainly made it difficult for them to continue building on their impressive 2021-22 showing.

At the moment, it's unclear whether the Raptors decide to bite the bullet and trade away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, essentially turning over the franchise to Scottie Barnes.