I think there’s no question we’re in an earlier stage in development than say Toronto for sure, but our young pieces have proven they’ve gotten better every year. – Steve Novak

SALT LAKE CITY — For the past decade the Toronto Raptors were just the team up north and nothing much else to NBA pundits and fans.

Toronto was coming off a 34-48 season in 2012 when Masai Ujiri jumped over from playoff-rich Denver to take over as Toronto’s general manager. The team he inherited hadn’t made the playoffs in five seasons. It hadn’t had a recognized face in the league since Chris Bosh left and had posted just one winning season in 11 years.

Toronto changed that last season when it put together a franchise-best 48-34 record, winning its division and earning a No. 3 seed in the postseason. Now the Raptors lead the East with their best start in 20 years as a franchise. Toronto boasts a 15-4 record — a game off the best record in the NBA.

Even though they are dealing with a tough blow with the loss of all-star guard DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors might very well contend for the East’s top seed at the end of the season anyway.

“They’re a tough, aggressive, athletic team that really can score,” said Jazz coach Quin Snyder about the Raptors. “I think they know who they are. They have a sense of identity and as a result are playing great.”

However, it wasn’t long ago that Toronto was a perennial lottery team.

Unlike now, there was no true on-court identity. However, the blueprint for success was almost there. Toronto drafted DeRozan in 2009 and center Jonas Valanciunas with the fourth overall pick in two years later. The Raptors used their 2012 pick on Terrence Ross, a quality swingman. With the youngsters in place, Toronto made a few key deals.

The Raptors quietly struck a deal with Houston that landed them point guard Kyle Lowry — the team’s leading scorer this season — before Ujiri arrived. Once Ujiri took over, he dealt former first-overall pick Andrea Bargnani to New York for a slew of players and picks, including current Jazzman Steve Novak. However, it wasn’t until he made the deal that sent Rudy Gay and others to Sacramento for John Salmons, Greivis Vasquez and Patrick Patterson that Toronto really took off.

The trade, which happened a year ago next week, got the wheels churning. Toronto was 7-12 before deal and 41-22 after.

“I think that the trade was really big for us,” said Novak, speaking about his time in Toronto last season. “There was a lot of depth on the bench. I think just having John Salmons come in, Greivis Vasquez — they really helped us. They gave us depth and just gave us overall leadership.”

The Raptors have developed a formula through its perimeter since the trade. Lowry leads the team with 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game. DeRozan and fellow guard Louis Williams, who Toronto acquired over this offseason, follow suit.

“It’s a very unselfish team. We’ve been playing together, playing solid,” Raptors forward Amir Johnson said. “We’ve been all together for a year now. We’re just doing great right now — sharing the ball. On any given night, it can be anybody (as the) leading scorer. We just have that type of team.

"You just start to buy in it, buying in winning, buying in our offensive sets and our defense. Everything just seems to fall into place,” he added.

Toronto’s story of yesteryear, however, isn’t far off from the Utah Jazz’s story now.

The Jazz have general manager Dennis Lindsey who came from a successful atmosphere in San Antonio. Much like head coach Dwane Casey in Toronto, Snyder has a solid background as an assistant. Even some of the draft picks the Jazz have made in recent years are similar to Toronto’s.

Is it possible for the Jazz to follow in the Raptors’ success?

“I think that you’ve seen the guys on this (Jazz) team really develop over the last few years,” Novak said. “Toronto was the same way. For a while they were young and they weren’t quite there and all of a sudden it just clicked."

In Toronto’s 123-104 win over Utah Wednesday, Lowry pumped out a career-high 39 points. Vasquez and Williams each added 17 points. Toronto seemed to feed off its guards.

However, the Jazz are building around a similar formula. Lindsey’s last two lottery picks have been on point guard Trey Burke and combo guard Dante Exum, adding depth to that position.

But much like the Raptors before their success, the Jazz are a young team gaining experience. And while the stars may start to line into place, Utah’s climb to relevancy may be steeper than Toronto’s just based on location. Toronto currently holds the third-best record in the NBA, but seven teams in the West already have had better starts to the season than Washington, the team with the East’s second-best record.

“I think there’s no question we’re in an earlier stage in development than say Toronto for sure, but our young pieces have proven they’ve gotten better every year,” Novak said. “It’s hard to say how close. The West is really tough. It’s hard from one year to the next to just bump up five or six spots. We just have to stick to what we’re doing and continue to just play together. I think the gains will be quick because our young guys are talented.

“(Toronto) made a move and they seemed to have the pieces to be a solid playoff team,” he added. “I do think that us, as in Utah, are close to being able to make those moves and turn that corner. Right now we’re still hitting our bumps.”

Utah's rebuilding may just be in its infancy compared to Toronto, but Novak also noted that he’s already seeing signs of improvement as the season wears on.

However, if the Jazz can find a way to replicate the success the Raptors had within the past year, Utah may just make some noise for years to come.

“I think that early on in the season you’ve seen how good, in spurts, so many of our guys can be,” Novak said. “I think we’re just having trouble being consistent with it and having those guys all play together — play well at the same time. I think when we’re playing more as a unit, more consistently offensively and defensively, we’ll win more games. There’s no doubt you see in flashes how good guys can be and see how much potential we have on this team.”