The NBA trade deadline is now over. And the Toronto Raptors were not as active as everyone thought they would be. The Raptors made two trades but many fans were expecting more. Here’s what Toronto did and didn’t do at the trade deadline.
What deals did the Raptors make at the trade deadline?
Toronto sent Kira Lewis, Otto Porter Jr., and a 2024 first-round pick to the Utah Jazz for Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. In another trade, the Raptors sent Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young to the Brooklyn Nets for Spencer Dinwiddie who was eventually waived.
I like Agbaji. He’s a young promising player. Agbaji can shoot and defend. He’s currently shooting 42.6 per cent in field goals and 33.1 per cent in three-point field goals. Agbaji is also averaging 5.4 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, and 0.9 assists per game. Now that he plays for the Raptors, he has the chance to increase his stats.
In Utah, Agbaji shared minutes with Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Talen Horton-Tucker, Keyonte George, and Kris Dunn. Now that Agbaji is playing for Toronto, he will get more minutes. He’s only sharing minutes with Gary Trent Jr. Agbaji also has the chance to be the starting shooting guard. He’s a part of this core. Trent might not be a part of the Raptors next season.
Another player that Toronto got from Utah is Olynyk. He is a great playmaker who can also shoot. Olynyk is a free agent in the summer and the Raptors are probably looking to re-sign him. The front office wouldn’t trade for him if they didn’t want him beyond this season. He doesn’t fit with the team age-wise, but he can be a veteran for this team. Plus he’s Canadian.
With the Nets trade, Toronto gave up Schroder for cap space since they waived Dinwiddie. Not the ideal return package for Schroder. I would’ve liked a draft pick in return. At least Toronto has financial flexibility in the summer.
What trades the Raptors didn’t do?
Despite the two moves, the trade deadline felt a little underwhelming for Raptor fans. Fans were expecting this team to trade Trent, Bruce Brown Jr., and Chris Boucher. Brown was on the rumor mill so it was surprising that he’s still on the Raptors.
Toronto probably thought there were better trades in the offseason for Brown. And since Brown has a team option, the Raptors can wait in the offseason to make a trade. they can wait to move Brown before free agency starts or pick up his team option and wait until next year’s trade deadline to move him.
I also thought Trent and Boucher were getting traded, but they didn’t. Boucher not getting traded makes sense because he can get traded in the summer. he’s still under contract after this season. However, Trent is a free agent and I don’t see him re-signing otherwise he would’ve extended his contract last summer.
The Raptors are committed to rebuilding the team by trading Siakam and Anunoby. And it continued when Toronto traded Schroder for cap space and got Agbaji by giving up Lwis, Porter, and a first-round pick.
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