The Toronto Raptors are coming off of a disappointing season in 2022-23. After making the playoffs as the 5th seed in 2021-22, the Raptors finished 9th in the regular season standings in 2022-23 and were eliminated in the first round of the Play-In Tournament by the Chicago Bulls. So far this summer they have replaced the coach who led the team to its only championship in franchise history, drafted Grady Dick with the 13th pick in the draft, signed Jakob Poeltl to an $80 million contract, and lost their starting point guard. They have some other levers they can pull as well so I want to dive into what they have done and the blockbuster trade(s) they can pull off.
Let’s start with the coach. It was time for Nick Nurse to go, he had lost the locker room and he clearly wanted a fresh start somewhere else. After replacing the Coach of the Year, Dwane Casey, in 2018, Nurse led the Raptors to the playoffs in 3 of 5 seasons at the helm, including winning the NBA championship in his first season. While it was time for both sides to part ways, that does not mean that wasn’t a big loss for the Raptors, who hired Darko Rajakovic to replace Nurse. In the draft, the team selected Grady Dick with the 13th pick. Dick’s ability to hit 3 pointers helps fill a big need for the Raptors. Toronto was 28th in three pointers made per game and 3-point percentage last season, at 10.7 threes made per game at 33.5%. That is bad and Grady Dick, who shot 40% from beyond the arch in his lone season at Kansas, will help that a lot with Toronto’s shooting woes.
Free agency was a busy time for the Raptors as well as the team signed Dennis Schroeder and Jalen McDaniels, re-signed Jakob Poeltl to a big contract, and lost Fred VaVleet (who signed a $130 million deal with the Rockets). Signing Poeltl was a must after they traded a first round pick for him at the trade deadline and Schroeder and McDaniels will help but VanVleet is the big chip in this pool of players. He did not shoot the ball well last season, shooting splits of .39/.34/.89 will tell you that, but the Raptors very simply could not score when VanVleet was on the bench last season, their offense has been bad with VanVleet on the bench the last 2 seasons, with the departure of Kyle Lowry. According to stats.inpredictable.com, the Raptors were 315 points better with VanVleet on the court vs off last season and they were 251 points better with VanVleet on the court in 2021-22. The team has shown they cannot score when VanVleet sits, and Schroeder is not replacing that production. Which is why maybe trading one of their star wings for future assets is the right move.
Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are free agents at the end of the season, and I think the team should try and cash one of them in for assets via a trade. My favorite Siakam team was the Atlanta Hawks, the fit with him and Trae Young was one that could have been awesome but with Dejounte Murray signing his big extension, the Hawks eliminated themselves from the running. The Indiana Pacers have expressed interest in upgrading their 4 position all summer but with the drafting of Jarace Walker and the trade for Obi Toppin, Indiana has filled that void and probably won’t be trading for Siakam. The Kings could get involved but would need to trade Kevin Hueter, Malik Monk, and Keegan Murray to match salaries and even before adding draft picks, that feels a tad too rich for Siakam, who can just leave as a free agent at the end of next season. The Knicks could make an offer of Julius Randle, Isaiah Hartenstein, the 2024 protected Mavericks 1st round pick, and 2nd round picks via the Pistons in 2024 and 2025. However, is trading for Julius Randle the move Toronto wants to make right now? Is that even enough for the Raptors to take alongside Randle to justify swapping Siakam for him? I think the answer to both those questions is no, they probably shouldn’t trade for Randle and if they did, that is not enough to go along with him, and I am not sure how much more the Knicks would be willing to put in any deal. It is easy for us to say ‘the Raptors should Pascal Siakam’ but I just am not sure I see the deal that gets it done with the Hawks taking themselves out of the running.
If Siakam is not the player who is going to get dealt, then Toronto could turn their attention to an OG Anunoby trade. Anunoby is not as good as Siakam is but has more positional flexibility and has a smaller contract, likely making him easier to trade. Many believe there is a leap that Anunoby has to become one of the better offensive players in the NBA along with his already great defense, though I am skeptical. The first team that could kick the tires on an Anunoby deal is the Boston Celtics. The Celtics can send Toronto Malcolm Brogdon and a handful of draft picks and see what Toronto says and I think the Raptors would take this offer, based on what picks the Celtics put in a deal. The Indiana Pacers could also get involved in the Anunoby sweepstakes by offering Buddy Hield and picks, but I am not sure the Pacers would want to do that right now since Anunoby can opt-out of his contract next summer. If the Heat don’t get Damian Lillard, is Anunoby someone they would consider pursuing a trade for? With his smaller salary, $18.6 million, position flexibility, and what many think is untapped potential, Anunoby could be a very attractive player on the trade market.
The Toronto Raptors could be at a very important part of deciding their franchise's future. After moving on from Nick Nurse and Fred VanVleet, Toronto needs to make decisions on Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. What they decide to do is the question we all want the answer to.
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