Raptors need to move with caution on trades
You don’t have to go very far to find the suggestion Raptors GM Masai Ujiri has to do something at the trade deadline to ensure his team gets a first round win in the upcoming playoffs.
The presumption seems to be if Ujiri doesn’t do something at the trade deadline by upgrading either the small or power forward position, this team leaves itself open to losing a first-round series 30 games from now and suffering an even worse public backlash than they did a year ago in getting swept by Washington.
This presumption normally doesn’t allow for any fall-off elsewhere in the lineup, which a difference-making pickup like this would necessarily create or even the likelihood of a deal even being possible.
Rarely does it explain just what salaries the Raptors could send back in order to match what is coming to Toronto, something the fan base rarely takes into account when suggesting trades.
The truth of the matter is anything Ujiri might want to do between now and 3 p.m. Thursday when the trade deadline expires is extremely limited.
Short of parting with any of his core pieces, bringing in any one of the rumoured available players is going to be very tough.
Consider the often-touted answers to the Raptors (again presumed) lineup deficiencies. In no particular order they would be Ryan Anderson, Thaddeus Young, Kenneth Faried, P.J. Tucker, Markieff Morris and Al Horford.
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski has been reporting the Raptors aren’t interested in Morris so that leaves Young, Anderson, Tucker, Faried and Hereford.
Tucker with the smallest ticket would appear to be the most makable trade assuming the Suns are making him available.
He is also shooting 34 per cent from beyond the arc, plays tough, inspired defence and would provide the Raptors insurance should DeMarre Carroll have trouble coming back from his knee scope.
The fact that there has been no indication Carroll is experiencing anything but a measured rehab makes this kind of move perhaps unnecessary.
Young is shooting just 21.7 per cent from three-point range this year and has never played on a winning team. He would not be an upgrade on the tandem of Luis Scola and Patrick Patterson that currently hold down the power forward position.
Anderson, a 38 per cent threepoint shooter this year, would provide help there but whatever gain you would get would be given back on the defensive end, where he is not as strong.
Faried has a history with Ujiri who knows him well, but he doesn’t shoot threes and therefore doesn’t bring the floor-spacing kind of upgrade the Raptors would be looking for. There’s no denying his defensive bona fides but with a ticket almost as big as Horford’s the latter would appear to be the better option.
Finally, there is the question of messing with the good thing the Raptors have going.
The only name thrown out there that definitively makes the Raptors better is Horford. In order to get him, the Raptors would have to part with a significant portion of their depth and even then throw in draft picks — which they are well suited to do with two first round picks in addition to their own over the next two years.
This one makes sense assuming you can find the salaries to match it and Atlanta really is shopping him.