The Milwaukee Bucks hired former Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as their new head coach. Griffin also hired fellow Raptors assistant Nate Mitchell to be a part of his staff. Fans can expect that these two moves will be the extent of the Bucks’ involvement with the Raptors organization this offseason.
While the Bucks are certainly working the phones and talking trades with multiple franchises, it is not likely that Griffin’s former team is one of them. In fact, not many teams are going to be thrilled with doing business with Toronto this year.
The Toronto Raptors Were Named the Most Difficult Team to Work With
According to Matt Moore of Action Central, “Multiple sources have described the Raptors as frustrating to work with.” Of course, this indicates that multiple teams have tried to do business with Toronto already this offseason.
And that makes sense. Toronto has several coveted players on its roster and they are in a weird hybrid rebuild-yet-trying-to-contend situation. According to Marc Stein, several teams have reached out to them regarding OG Anunoby:
“The Raptors’ position on trading OG Anunoby, as described by one team interested in trying to acquire him, could be summed up as “strong reluctance.” Anunoby is generating tons of external trade interest, as seen this time last year and again at the February trade deadline, but the signals — so far — suggest Toronto remains unwilling to part with the two-way swingman.”
In addition to Anunoby, Paskal Siakim is an intriguing player. Fred Van Vleet is a free agent, so any team that wants to acquire his services will not necessarily have to deal with Toronto.
Will the Milwaukee Bucks Try to Do Business with the Toronto Raptors?
As mentioned, the Raptors have several intriguing players. With a new head coach in the building, they could be on their way to a full roster reload after a disappointing season last year. However, none of their current players may interest Milwaukee.
The Bucks are rumored to be a team that wants to trade into the first round of the upcoming NBA Draft. Toronto holds the 13th overall pick this year, which may be too rich of a slot for the Bucks to try to acquire. Milwaukee may settle for an early second round pick, but the Raptors have no picks in the second round.
In short, the Bucks’ front office may avoid calling the Raptors for a while.
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