Toronto Raptors: Should Masai be surveying the trade market for bargains?

The Toronto Raptors are led by Masai Ujiri, a brilliant and hard-working man. He is tasked with improving the team constantly. Is there a trade which which would help?

The Toronto Raptors have lost just one of their first eight games, so I approach this topic with some trepidation. The team isn’t perfect, though the holes aren’t large. Regardless, Masai Ujiri wakes up every day to wonder “How can I improve this team?” That leads to a stroll through the trade market.

I cooked up a trade for Jimmy Butler, the Minnesota T’Wolves uber-disgruntled point guard, before the season began. Given how well Kyle Lowry is playing, there’s not a snowball’s chance in Hades I’d move him now. So Butler, the NBA’s most coveted trade candidate, isn’t part of this examination.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are suffering through a dismal beginning to their season, and there’s little reason to believe the situation will turn around. They finally got their first win after six defeats by beating the equally hapless Atlanta Hawks, then promptly lost their next outing. Coach Tyronn Lue has already been fired, they can’t manage to name a replacement bench boss, and J.R. Smith, an aging gunner, wants to be dealt.

Smith has been told he’s out of the rotation. Such is not the case for fellow long-range threat Kyle Korver, but he’s also on the block according to reports. Would the Raptors want either of these guys? If so, at what price?

Smith is an easy decision – No. Masai has been exceedingly careful not to add disruptive personalities to the Raptors’ roster. While Smith isn’t as combustible as Butler, he’d still arrive with lots of baggage, and 2 years left on his contract at over $14 million per. Double No.

Kyle Korver off the bench?

Korver is a more interesting option. He’s considered one of the top ten 3-point shooters in NBA history (a conclusion I agree with, otherwise I wouldn’t add the link) and still has the touch. Korver is 37, so we’re not getting a long-term solution at small forward. He is signed through next season, after which one assumes he’ll hang up his Chuck Taylors.

A deal which works on the Trade Machine is a straight-up swap for Norman Powell. The Raptors would get just over $ 1.8 million of cap relief as well. The trade has no effect on the win totals of either team!

The question for Masai becomes one of deciding whether Norman’s lengthy funk is over, and we truly want him around, or whether we’ve got buyer’s remorse after signing him to a contract extension. Trading for Korver will be a leap of faith in his shot-making, and in Nick Nurse’s ability to “hide” him on defense. He’s a career 43.1% maker, so I wouldn’t be too worried about his marvellous gift starting to fade. Getting him open looks would be a bigger challenge.

For Cleveland, the deal makes sense given their obvious need to rebuild and get younger.

Masai need take no action at the moment. I doubt Korver is going anywhere quickly, and the jury on Norman’s future remains out. This trade, if it happens, won’t occur until only a few days before the trade deadline of February 7.

In the interests of completeness, I’ll mention Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic. Trade rumors have been swirling around him since Justin Trudeau’s father was Canada’s Prime Minister, or so it feels. Given how well both of our centers are playing, I’m not even slightly interested in acquiring the defensively challenged Vucevic.

All of the above can be viewed as a GM’s due diligence. There isn’t a pressing need for the Raptors to make any deal at all.