Subscribe
Follow Us
The Toronto Raptors underperformed in the 2022-23 season. The Raptors entered the season with postseason expectations, but fast forward to the current day, and it's evident that they fell short of expectations.
The Raptors finished the regular season with a mediocre 41-41 record, just the ninth-best in the Eastern Conference. Because of the Raptors' down year, their three best players, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby, saw their names in trade rumors all season long. But Toronto didn't end up trading any of those three players.
And a recent rumor indicates a Miami Heat-related reason as to why the Raptors don't want to blow up their core with trades, per an article from Sportsnet's Michael Grange:
“Breaking things up and selling them off for parts has never been seriously entertained in private conversations I’ve had. Publicly the stance hasn’t been all that different. The Raptors don’t see themselves as all that inferior — if at all — to the Miami Heat, who have made the NBA Finals two of the last four seasons. The ‘lowly’ Knicks made the second round this year, and the Sixers, Bucks — and even the Celtics — have proven themselves beatable in the right circumstances.”
It's easy to understand why the Raptors believe in their core. After all, Siakam, VanVleet, and Anunoby all played vital roles on the 2019 Raptors team that went on to win the NBA title. Here's to hoping that with a new head coach leading the way, Toronto will be able to make another deep playoff run in 2024.
