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The Toronto Raptors are talented enough to sniff the play-in, yet far from the inner circle of contenders. The front office has been aggressive in securing talent, but not necessarily in building a long-term plan. This is a team that feels stuck in basketball purgatory. They have paid premium prices for “good” without knowing how to reach “great.” Now, with the roster expensive and the pathway to contention unclear, a shake-up may be inevitable.
Big Money, Little Clarity
The Raptors’ decision to hand Jakob Poeltl a three-year, $84.5 million extension feels steep. It locks him in until he’s 34 and came a full two years before he was set to hit free agency. It’s unclear what the rush was. Sure, Poeltl is coming off his most productive offensive season. However, his defensive impact has noticeably declined since his San Antonio days. Waiting another year to gauge his trajectory before committing would have made more sense.
Bigger picture, Toronto’s salary sheet is already overloaded. As things stand, they’re several million over the luxury tax for a roster with no clear All-Stars and no playoff series wins in five years. Nearly every core player is being paid at the high end of the market. Consider that the Pelicans spent almost a year shopping Brandon Ingram before settling for a return of just one poor first-round pick. And yet, Toronto gave him $120 million over three years.
Immanuel Quickley’s new deal will pay him $130 million over four seasons. That's not far from the $156.5 million earned by All-Star Jalen Brunson. The Raptors’ approach lacks a clear vision. They’re piling up solid-but-not-great players, overpaying them, and hoping something clicks. This offseason should have brought direction. Instead, it left the team with more questions than answers.
Here we will look at and discuss the players who are way-too-early Toronto Raptors trade candidates in 2025-26 season.
RJ Barrett: Productive, but Possibly Redundant
RJ Barrett’s 2024 campaign with Toronto was arguably the most complete offensive season of his career. Averaging 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists, he displayed improved playmaking alongside his scoring punch. Still, his availability was an issue. He suited up for just 58 games due to injuries and personal matters. The numbers are promising, but his 63 percent free throw shooting remains a glaring weakness, especially for a primary scoring option.
The bigger question is fit. With Scottie Barnes entrenched as the franchise cornerstone, Brandon Ingram newly signed, and Gradey Dick emerging as a young sharpshooter, the Raptors have a logjam on the wing. Barrett’s $28.7 million salary for 2025 takes up valuable cap space for a team already flirting with the luxury tax. That’s a steep price for someone who may become the third or even fourth offensive option.
From a trade perspective, Barrett’s value is complicated. On one hand, he’s still just 25, with a track record of scoring in bunches and the potential to get even better. On the other, his $57.3 million owed over the next two seasons and his streaky efficiency may limit the market to teams with a specific need for wing scoring depth.
If Toronto’s early season shows they’re more play-in hopeful than playoff threat, moving Barrett could be a way to regain flexibility and recoup draft capital. His departure wouldn’t be a white flag—it could be a strategic step toward rebalancing the roster around Barnes and the team’s true long-term needs.
Jonathan Mogbo: A Buy-Low Big Man with Untapped Upside
Jonathan Mogbo may not be a household name yet, but Raptors fans who watched closely last season saw flashes of a very intriguing player. Drafted 31st overall in 2024 out of the University of San Francisco, the 6’9 forward-center blended defensive versatility with surprising passing instincts. His rookie year hinted at a modern two-way big man capable of impacting games without dominating the ball.
The problem for Mogbo isn’t performance. It’s opportunity. Toronto’s frontcourt is suddenly crowded. The team’s top 2025 draft pick, Collin Murray-Boyles, offers a similar skill set with higher draft pedigree and a longer runway to develop. Poeltl’s big-money extension locks down center minutes for years. Meanwhile, Barnes occupies the four whenever the Raptors go with their best lineups. Even offseason signing Sandro Mamukelashvili adds another layer of competition for minutes.
For Mogbo, the depth chart is bad news. For rival teams, it’s a potential bargain. His rookie contract is team-friendly. His combination of size, mobility, and feel for the game could thrive in a system that gives him consistent minutes. If Toronto doesn’t clear a path for him, the front office may decide it’s better to convert his upside into draft picks or a positional need elsewhere.
The danger for the Raptors is trading him too early and watching him blossom into a valuable starter elsewhere. However, if they remain committed to their veteran-heavy rotation, Mogbo might never get the runway he needs in Toronto. Sometimes the best way to unlock a young player’s value, whether for your own roster or as a trade asset—is to acknowledge when the fit isn’t there.
The Bigger Picture
The Raptors’ current roster construction feels like a deck of decent cards without the ace they need to win big. Barrett and Mogbo represent two very different trade possibilities. One is a high-salary established scorer whose departure could reset the team’s cap sheet. The other is a low-cost, high-upside project blocked by the team’s own logjam.
Neither move would guarantee an immediate leap forward, but both could help Toronto define its direction, whether that’s retooling around Barnes or breaking down parts of the roster for a longer-term build. The 2025-26 season may have just tipped off, but the clock on making those decisions is already ticking.
