The Raptors could have blown things up after underachieving during the first four months of the season.
They have some prominent players headed to free agency and nearly every one of them saw their names in trade rumors.
Instead of hitting the reset button, the Raptors actually added a key piece before the trade deadline by re-acquiring center Jakob Poeltl from San Antonio.
The Raptors started to catch fire before the All-Star break and they’ve picked up where they left off. Prior to losing at Cleveland on Sunday, they had won four straight and seven of their last eight games. The Raptors, who entered Tuesday ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, bounced back with a 104-98 victory over Chicago.
Better health has certainly been a key, though Fred VanVleet hasn’t played since the break for personal reasons. Poeltl has been a major factor at both ends since his return to the organization, solidifying the troublesome center spot in the process.
Toronto essentially has six starters, though the reserve corps beyond Precious Achiuwa is suspect. Those seven players are all capable of big offensive nights, led by Pascal Siakam (25.3 points per game) and VanVleet (19.7 PPG). Toss is last season’s Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. and the Raptors have the firepower to scare any of the top Eastern Conference teams.
Newly acquired Will Barton, snagged off the buyout market, could fortify the bench.
This group may not be together for long. Poeltl will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, though the Raptors acquired him with the intent of re-signing him. VanVleet and Trent Jr. are expected to decline their player options in order to enter the free agent market in July.
That brings us to today’s topic: Considering the Raptors’ improved play this month, do you feel they made the right decision by holding onto their top players prior to the trade deadline? What do you think their ceiling is this season if their core players continue to remain healthy down the stretch?
Please take to the comments section to weigh in on this topic. We look forward to your input.
I have more respect for the Raptors, their deadline trades, and their team management than I do for the Nets, and trading a possible Title chase in Kyrie Irving’s last contracted year. Seems like they made an investment, and traded it away once it finally was earning. Thats a bad financial investment in any other business. Fans should feel more jilted by this, and Steve Nash than any mediocrity, or success the Raptors may, or may not achieve the rest of the season.
I understand your point, but love it or hate it (I’m in the latter camp), KI backed them into a corner. Again. We all know he’s more than capable of just shutting down and giving NOTHING for the money he’s getting, so I feel sure the Nets felt their choice came down to getting nothing from him on the court, or trading him and getting something for him while passing the headache off to someone else. Paying a guy who refuses to play for you isn’t a good formula for a title run.
Hard to wholesale it. With FVV and GTR, it can only be the right call if they intend to resign them. Poetl almost has to be resigned to justify the trade for him. Anunoby has another year, and while it’s unlikely his trade value will increase, he can be part of a very good team next year even if not extended.
For this season (after the Poetl trade), this roster has enough talent to be a top 6 team. But I don’t see the upside from there. The pieces don’t fit that well, and the unrealized upside of their players is limited.
Poeltl is essential to this team in any kind of playoff run. OG is overrated, way overrated… Maybe someone will offer something for him in the off season. Trent Jr. is hard to evaluate. An excellent shooter, but may be a better fit on another team where he has a bigger scoring role. I would try and keep him over FVV. If FVV agrees to a reasonable salary keep him otherwise let him go. Do not bid against yourself on any of these except Poeltl.
Trading for Poeltl was a solid move but the FO tried and failed to cash in its trade chips. They tried to turn OG into a young guard or a shooter plus a pick or two. Now they will move him this summer because he has hit his ceiling and is redundant with SB, Pascal, Boucher and Precious on the roster. They over-valued FVV and will now have to overpay him for cap management purposes. Gary is a niece piece for the right price as a starter/6th man but they may have to overpay him, too, for the same reasons. The team sill needs a shooter and a an alpha slasher/scorer in the mold of SGA. Much work to do.