At first glance, the Toronto Raptors look like they have all the makings of a team that thrives in today's NBA. Armed with a plethora of switchable wings with considerable skill, they look like a team that could make the lives of their opponents a living hell on both ends of the floor, capable of creating mismatch problems on offense and stifling opponents on defense with their multi-positional versatility.
Led by an impressive core of Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Scottie Barnes, there was simply no reason to expect the Raptors to be anything but playoff contenders. However, translating talent on paper to results on the court is never as straightforward as one hopes it would be.
For the entirety of the 2022-23 season thus far, the Raptors have played at a lesser level than the sum of their parts, a steep drop-off from their 48-win 2021-22 campaign. As a result, many around the league expect that the Raptors would become sellers if they're unable to turn their season around. Plenty of teams are coveting the likes of OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr., three assets that could be of huge help to franchises with championship aspirations.
However, the Raptors are only 1.5 games out of the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference with a 21-27 record. The playoffs aren't yet an insurmountable goal for Toronto. Still, to be stuck in mediocrity is one of the most unappealing fates for an NBA franchise.
Here is the Raptors' dream scenario for the 2023 NBA trade deadline as they try to strike a balance between retooling and contending.
Raptors acquire Deandre Ayton, trade away Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. for a boatload of first-round picks, and keep OG Anunoby
It sounds counterintuitive for the Raptors to trade away Fred VanVleet given their putrid three-point shooting and lack of depth at point guard. Malachi Flynn, simply put, isn't the answer at point guard. Flynn, the 24-year old point guard, has not been able to carve out a consistent, 20-plus minute role off the Raptors bench. However, it's all just a matter of asset management for Toronto.
VanVleet is a pending free agent; executives around the league expect FVV to decline his $22.8 million player option for next season. The Raptors could very well end up re-signing VanVleet anyway, since they have his bird rights. This means that they could offer the 28-year old point guard the most money come free agency.
Nevertheless, the Raptors will have plenty of competition for Fred VanVleet's services. The Orlando Magic, for example, appear to be preparing the path for an FVV arrival in Florida. Toronto would be better off not leaving anything to chance.
The same goes for Gary Trent Jr., whom many expect to decline his player option as well much like VanVleet. And with the two still playing at a high level, they should warrant a more than decent return in a potential trade. This would then allow the Raptors to stock up on even more draft picks so they could retool and add a long-term piece – like Deandre Ayton.
The Phoenix Suns have had plenty of problems this year. But at full strength, they remain one of the most competitive teams in the league. A trade for Ayton may not happen until the offseason, at the soonest. However, everyone and their mother knows that the Raptors have a glaring hole at center. And Ayton, for all his faults, is a 24-year old center who's averaging 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds for his career.
If the Raptors could trade away Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. for a ton of first-rounders, they could then turn around and trade those picks in exchange for Ayton. That would be a stroke of genius, no?
The Raptors could decide to trade for Myles Turner, but Turner is an impending free agent, so swinging a deal for the Indiana Pacers' center would bring a lot of uncertainty that Toronto would hope to avoid with VanVleet and Trent's upcoming forays into free agency.
But the most important piece of business for the Raptors would be to keep OG Anunoby. 3 and D wings with Anunoby's combination of size, length, shooting, and defense don't just grow on trees. Sure, Anunoby would bring back the greatest haul in a potential trade. Some even foresee that Toronto could acquire a Donovan Mitchell-like return in exchange for the 25-year old forward. At the very least, many expect that he would command a similar return to Dejounte Murray – three first-round picks and a pick swap.
However, an OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes core should set Toronto up for a quick turnaround as soon as next season, especially if they acquire a center of Deandre Ayton's caliber. Surrounding this core with shooters should then be a priority, and acquiring depth across the board would be ideal so as to not overburden the core much like Nick Nurse has done.
Still, turning dreams into reality requires taking a huge leap of faith. It remains to be seen if the Raptors become courageous once more on the trade front much like they were then they traded for Kawhi Leonard.
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