This has been a disastrous season for the Toronto Raptors. Pegged as a would-be playoff contender this season, the team has fallen apart from the get-go. Pascal Siakam is having one hell of a season, and that hasn't mattered at all. They sit 1.5 games behind a Play-In spot, and that frankly seems meaningless now.

The futility of the Raptors this season has led many front offices and fans to speculate about potential trades this team can do. Let's look at what could potentially be the worst-case scenario for Toronto as the trade deadline approaches.

Indecision from the Raptors

The absolute worst thing that can happen to the Raptors at the trade deadline is if they do nothing at all. The Raptors sit at a crossroads right now, with virtually only two outs: they could either go all-in on this roster and make trades around their core. OR, they can blow it up now, trade everyone they can and collect assets for the future.

This Raptors roster is inherently flawed, partially by design. Masai Ujiri envisioned having a roster full of switchable forwards who can create for themselves and be disruptive on defense. Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes fit that mold, and they have a bevy of wings that have that similar archetype. However… they arguably went a little overboard on this experiment, since their guard rotation was completely neglected.

If Masai Ujiri truly believes in this roster, he must do everything he can to make trades around the core of this team to make them a contender. The most logical option for Toronto, though, is to simply just blow it up and trade their players for a bunch of draft capital. Perhaps they might consider keeping Siakam or Barnes as the centerpiece of the team. However, everyone else should fetch a decent price on the trade market from contending teams.

Staying put at the trade deadline and letting this season play on will doom the Raptors to the eternal wasteland that is the NBA purgatory. This team knows all too well the pain of being not good enough to contend for a title, but also not being bad enough to land a lottery pick. Making a decision at the trade deadline to either blow it up or go all-in will help give this team direction not only for this season but for future seasons.

Doubling and Tripling Down

The Raptors very well could decide that this season is worth continuing and try and trade for pieces to improve their roster. After a rough start to the year, Scottie Barnes is playing like his old self again. Pascal Siakam continues to be a shining beacon on this lineup, playing at an All-Star and All-NBA level this year. In theory, all this team needs is a couple of players to improve their chances at a play-in, or even an outright playoff spot.

However, the Raptors need to be careful about who they trade for at the deadline. Their roster flaws are so painfully obvious, that it should be an easy fix. Their guard depth is completely shot, forcing Fred VanVleet and other key players to log heavy minutes. The bench unit is very hit-or-miss, partly due to the lack of a true playmaker on that lineup.

Selecting the perfect targets to address these issues is of utmost importance to the Raptors. They can't give up major assets for mediocre talent, as that would only hurt them more than it would help them.

Raptors ask for too much

Masai Ujiri is known as one of the most prolific trade dealers in the NBA today. The Raptors front office has done a tremendous job making trades that have benefitted the team for the most part. However… there's a fear that Toronto might value their players way more than other teams, and ask too much for their players.

This is almost similar to our first point about the Raptors not doing anything at the trade deadline. In this hypothetical scenario, though, Toronto would miss out on potentially getting high draft picks because the front office tried to haggle for more picks. We've already seen the asking prices for some of their key players, and they're pretty damn high.

The Raptors front office need to recognize when they have a good deal on their hands and pull the trigger when they see it. After all, they wouldn't want to be left holding on to players they so desperately want to trade, right? We'll see how Toronto navigates this difficult portion of their season.