Toronto Raptors: Potential trades that make the Raptors Eastern Conference elites

After two preseason games, it’s obvious the Toronto Raptors are a guard dominant team. Against the Charlotte Hornets, the Raptors’ offense was dominated by guard play, a position where they have many options. A trade could rebalance the roster and raise the team’s status in the process.

The Toronto Raptors just completed their first two preseason games, both in Charlotte vs. the Hornets, and it resulted in two wins. The early signs are good as the team’s identity as a defensive vault carried over from previous seasons in these games.

This team’s other clear distinction is it will rely heavily on guard play and long-range shooting taking 96 three-point shot attempts in the two games against Charlotte. However, for a team that ranked 21st in the NBA in 2020 with just 45.9 points per game in the paint and 14th overall in points scored, the team appears set to make the three-pointer 50 percent of their shot attempts compared to 42 percent in 2020.

The team needs balance. The two games in Charlotte also revealed that Malachi Flynn might be the real deal at point guard. This gives the Toronto Raptors three viable options on the roster at that position. The Raptors also have four good options at the shooting guard position. Even if they play small ball most of the time, the problem is that minutes will be hard to come by for many of these guards.

The Toronto Raptors need to consistently find easy high-efficient baskets if they want to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference, which had at least six other teams improve this off-season. The Raptors did get outscored 80-78 on points in the paint against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday and Monday.

At the moment, a trade may be the best way to rebalance the roster to be more diverse in their playing style.