The Toronto Raptors made one of the more show-stopping moves at the NBA Trade Deadline, trading away Norman Powell to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a package headlined by Gary Trent Jr. While most of the conversation surrounded Kyle Lowry, that didn’t stop Terence Davis and Matt Thomas from getting tossed in the rumor mill.
Davis and Thomas have both slipped out of the lineup over the last few weeks, as the former has suffered from a lethal combination of disappointment on and off the field and the latter has lost his 3-point shot.
Needing to recoup some later draft choices and interested in potentially freeing up roster spots, Masai Ujiri decided to trade both Davis, who has become such a hated figure on Raptors Twitter that he has earned the nickname “Redacted”, and Thomas to the Western Conference.
Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Davis has been flipped to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for a 2021 second-round draft pick previously owned by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Toronto is trading guard Terrence Davis to Sacramento for a future second round pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
This comes just moments after Thomas, who was out of the rotation for a large chunk of the season, was traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for the Golden State Warriors’ 2021 second-rounder that Utah owned.
Toronto is trading guard Matt Thomas to the Utah Jazz for a future second-round pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 25, 2021
Terence Davis and Matt Thomas struggled for the Toronto Raptors in 2020-21
Davis, just recently saw charges of sexual assault against him dropped, is averaging 6.9 points per game on 41% shooting. Those numbers are a steep downturn from what he put up during his rookie season, and his failure to step up has been hard to watch.
Thomas, averaging just 2.7 points per game, could get some playing time in Utah, one of the league’s best 3-point shooting teams. However, given his poor defense and lack of versatility, he could be just as likely to end up on the street as a result of this deal.
The Raptors were able to take two guards off of the scrap heap and turn them into quality role players, but they were unable to make them long-term pieces. Instead, they’ve been packaged elsewhere for two more spins at the second-round lottery wheel.
While Thomas may be remembered fondly in Toronto due to his sweet-shooting and ability to get hot, Davis ruined whatever goodwill he engendered due to his behavior off of the court and vanishing production on it.
Safe to say, no one will be sad to see him go.