Raptors: 4 trades with tanking teams that could make Toronto a contender
By Mike Luciano
Raptors trade No. 2: Toronto deals with the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota, who hired Toronto assistant Chris Finch as their head coach, are an impossibly unlucky situation. Not only do the Raptors have just seven wins despite the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and Anthony Edwards, but the Andrew Wiggins trade could force their first-round pick to transfer to Golden State.
Even amid all the losing, the Towns-Russell-Edwards trio is worth building around. If Toronto wants to flip a first-round pick in the hope of stealing someone away from Minnesota, then they could send a pick along with some veterans to the Timberwolves in order to land Culver and Davis.
Why would this trade work for the Raptors?
Culver, who was picked sixth overall out of Texas Tech two years ago, has been redundant by the selection of Edwards. Culver has improved his overall shooting percentage, but his 3-point percentage has gone down the tubes this season. Nurse might be able to fix him up and turn him into a long-term building block.
Davis offers little of value on the offensive end, but he is a tremendous rebounder, and he should give the Raptors the tough interior rebounder they need.