Flurry of deadline moves shuffles Raptors’ roster
TORONTO LANDS CANADIAN BIG MAN OLYNYK, YOUNG GUARD AGBAJI, SHIPS OUT SCHRODER
The Toronto Raptors were active on NBA trade deadline day Thursday. The club acquired Canadian big man Kelly Olynyk and prospect Ochai Agbaji — who was the 14th pick of the 2022 draft — in exchange for the worst of the three firstround picks acquired in the Pascal Siakam-to-indiana deal, along with Otto Porter Jr. and Kira Lewis.
The first-round pick going to the Utah Jazz is currently somewhere between the 26th and 28th pick of the 2024 draft, which has been projected as one of the weakest in years.
Then, the Raptors dealt point guard Dennis Schroder and veteran big man Thad Young for New Jersey Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, according to ESPN, getting Schroder’s guaranteed US$13.025 million off the books in 2023-24. Dinwiddie and Young are on expiring contracts.
Later, the Raptors waived Dinwiddie, who has averaged 12.6 points, six assists, and 3.3 rebounds over 48 games. He’s played more than 30 minutes per game for the Nets this season.
Toronto somewhat surprisingly did not move coveted swingman Bruce Brown and also held on to Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher. The team can pick up an option on Brown for next season and either keep him or trade him. Trent will become an unrestricted free agent, but Toronto has his Bird rights, while the remaining year on Boucher’s contract made him tough to move as teams adjust to punitive changes to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Olynyk, who will turn 33 in April, has long been coveted by the Raptors, who would retain his Bird rights when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer barring a followup deal.
He was born in Toronto before moving to Kamloops, B.C., and both of his parents worked for the Raptors at some point — his father Ken as an assistant coach, his mother Arlene as a scorekeeper.
Olynyk captained Canada’s bronze medal-winning side at last summer’s FIBA World Cup and is close with Raptors swingman RJ Barrett.
Agbaji, who turns 24 in April, played at Kansas before becoming a lottery pick, like Raptors prospect Gradey Dick. He has flashed a lot of defensive prowess, has good shooting form and has connected from the corners at a high rate in the NBA, but not from elsewhere beyond the arc. Agbaji led Kansas to the NCAA title and was named Final Four MVP as a senior.
Porter, a free-agent signing before last season, has been out of Darko Rajakovic’s plans for some time and was going to hit free agency again. Lewis was acquired in the Siakam deal and is now on the move again.
In other trades:
❚ The Charlotte Hornets sent often-injured small forward Gordon Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard Tre Mann, power forward Davis Bertans, point guard Vasilije Micic and two second-round draft picks, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The second-round picks will be in 2024 and 2025, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal had not yet been approved by the league.
The Hornets also traded P.J. Washington to the Dallas Mavericks for Grant Williams, Seth Curry and a 2027 first-round draft pick.
❚ The slumping Philadelphia 76ers acquired guard Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers for Marcus Morris Jr., Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round draft picks, a person familiar with the decision said.
The Sixers also sent Daniel House and a 2024 second-round pick to the Detroit Pistons, the source said. The House trade creates $4.3 million in cap space as part of the traded player exception. The trades have opened salary cap and roster space for the Sixers to pursue a player on the buyout market.
The Sixers are tumbling down the East standings without injured all-star Joel Embiid, 4-12 without the reigning MVP for at least month — if not much longer — following knee surgery this week.
Hield will earn $19.2 million this season in the final year of a four-year contract.
He averaged just 12 points this year in 52 games with the Pacers. He is a career 40 per cent three-point shooter. Hield made just 28 starts this year, but should see an expanded role on a Sixers team hit hard by injuries and illness.
The Sixers have lost seven of eight games.
Hield has been one of the top three-point shooters in the NBA for years in both volume and makes. He hit at least 260 in four straight seasons with the Sacramento Kings and made a career-high 288 last season with the Pacers.
The Sixers are shooting just 31 per cent from threepoint range this season and can only hope Hield provides not only a viable outside option down the stretch but can take some of the pressure off all-star guard Tyrese Maxey, who has struggled in Embiid’s absence.
Maxey has a combined 50 points in three games since he scored a career-best 51 last week against the Utah Jazz.
❚ The New York Knicks acquired some needed scoring punch in Alex Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic from the Detroit Pistons.
The Knicks are sending Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, former Raptor Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two secondround picks to the Pistons, a source told The Associated Press.