The Toronto Raptors were atop the basketball world in 2019 by knocking off the Warriors in six games to capture their first championship. Led by superstar Kawhi Leonard, there was a chance something special was brewing in Canada.
But it didn’t happen as Leonard forced his way to LA to play for the Clippers, and the Raptors haven’t been able to recover since that point. The year after winning the title, the Raptors won 53 games in the COVID-19-shortened season but got bounced in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in seven games against the Boston Celtics.
In 2020-21, they missed the playoffs entirely with a 27-45 record. In 2021, they rebounded with a 48-34 record but were eliminated in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers. Last season, they went 41-41 and blew a late lead in the play-in tournament against the Chicago Bulls to miss the playoffs.
Now, the Toronto Raptors are in full rebuild mode, as they fired Head Coach Nick Nurse and hired Darko Rajakovic. Rajakovic previously was an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2020-23. They have since lost All-Star Point Guard Fred VanVleet, who signed with the Houston Rockets in free agency.
Toronto has lost talent over the past couple of years, and it sounds like the Raptors will trade away this star player.
Report: The Toronto Raptors Could Trade a Cornerstone Player
Gradey Dick‘s draft-day suit will be the bright spot of the Toronto Raptors this year, but this team simply isn’t going to be good.
NBA writer Mark Medina thinks it would be in the Raptors’ best interest to trade away Pascal Siakam for this reason, via GIVEMESPORT:
“It seems inevitable the Toronto Raptors will deal Siakam. It’s become increasingly clear the Raptors are not currently constructed to become a serious playoff threat. So what’s the point on running on empty calories just to finish in the middle of the standings?
It seems unpredictable, however on when the Raptors trade Siakam they expect a strong deal in return in the form of quality rotation players, expiring contracts, and draft picks all qualities that help accelerate a rebuild.”
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on a trade offer by the Atlanta Hawks that would send Siakam to the Hawks for De’Andre Hunter, AJ Griffin, and drafted compensation. The Raptors rejected that deal.
The Raptors should make this move. They didn’t adequately upgrade their roster by only signing Dennis Schroder in free agency and have had droves of talented players leave the organization for a bigger payday. Siakam will likely be the next talented player to depart the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto isn’t in a terrible spot; they can build around Scottie Barnes and focus on returning to contention in the next few years.
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