Toronto Raptors: Looking at the Team’s Trading Block

The 2015 NBA Trade Deadline is quickly approaching. The Toronto Raptors have until Feb. 19 to make any trades to help become more of a playoff contender. While the Raptors are in a good position so far this season (33-16), sitting in second in the Eastern Conference, GM Masai Ujiri will still want to fix a few key problems. The big issue: the Raptors lack interior depth. They need a solid, ideally veteran big man, who can protect the paint, pull down rebounds, and provide some leadership on the court.

Now that an inside source has confirmed the disappointing Terrence Ross is not for sale, it is important to note who may be on the trading block. The Raptors have an excellent core of fairly young difference makers. Many of the team’s key assets will not be traded anytime soon. Elite stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, up-and-coming contributor Jonas Valanciunas, and solid difference makers Lou Williams, Patrick Patterson, James Johnson and Amir Johnson will not be on the market.

Instead, Ujiri will likely be looking out of the spotlight for the right trade assets. He will be looking to trade a few of the depth guys for a solid backup centre or power forward who can rebound. Consider Greg Stiemsma, Landry Fields and Chuck Hayes on the market. Each of these players offers attractive benefits for potential trading partners.

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Stiemsma, a veteran centre with extremely limited offensive chops, is a cheap commodity for a team looking for emergency depth. Stiemsma is a solid shot blocker with a relatively high defensive I.Q. He is currently making $1 million and is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. He could be a temporary space holder for a team dealing with injuries.

Landry Fields is more of a interesting asset. Fields is a solid defender with a high basketball I.Q., who simply can’t shoot anymore. Because of a few surgeries, his shot has disappeared and he has had to alter his game drastically. He is a well liked team player with a good eye for passing and getting into position offensively. He is also being payed $6.25 million, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. Fields offers a great opportunity for a rebuilding team to shed some salary cap room.

Similarly to Fields, Hayes is in the last year of his $6 million per year deal, in which he has done a lot of sitting on the bench. Hayes is a strong interior defender, limited as a rebounder by his height. He has virtually no offensive game, but offers some depth at the centre position for a rebuilding team. He could be shed at the end of the season, freeing up room for teams to invest in something better.

If necessary, the Raptors could also look to trading point guard Greivis Vasquez. The Raptors are flushed with solid guard talent, and while he isn’t exactly expendable, his departure wouldn’t hurt the Raps too much.Whatever it takes, the Raptors need to do something. They are doing well right now, but in the playoffs, everything changes. If they want to make it past the first round, they need someone who has playoff experience and who can them improve their sometimes dismal interior defence.

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