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Hypothetical Raptors trade with every team: Eastern Conference edition

By Mike Bossetti

CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 19: Semi Ojeleye #37 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 19, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 19: Semi Ojeleye #37 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 19, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 7: Serge Ibaka
TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 7: Serge Ibaka /

With the draft over and free-agency quickly approaching, we are officially in trade season. So we fired up the trade machine and proposed one hypothetical trade with every team, starting with the Eastern Conference.

The NBA draft has come and come gone, and the Toronto Raptors are no different. The team was absent from the offseason’s most important night after trading two picks a little less than a year ago.

With no draft pick, the Raptors are left two remaining options to improve their roster, free-agency and trades. The former seems unlikely; Toronto currently sits more than $26 million above the cap and that is before a probable Fred VanVleet pay raise.

The team does still have its Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception worth approximately $5.3 million. That’s enough to gain a rotation-level contributor, but certainly not enough money to significantly impact the future of a team.

If Toronto elects to return as presently constructed, they are staring down a significant tax-bill for a team that has no realistic shot at an NBA championship. A tough-sell for ownership and fans alike, watching a team that has reached its hypothetical limit while other conference foes like the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers continue to improve around them.

Unlikely to run-it-back, with limited options to impact the roster, the Raptors will need to make a trade. Who that trade will be with is still very much uncertain. Everyone is looking to improve, and teams with different needs and different timelines, can swap pieces in order to mutually benefit both squads.

As the Raptors survey the trade-market, we decided to join them proposing one hypothetical trade with every team, starting with the Eastern Conference.