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Toronto Raptors: Trade Value Rankings on Deadline Day

By Ben Fisher

TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 05: Kyle Lowry #7 and Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors talk to an official during the first half of an NBA game against the Houston Rockets at Scotiabank Arena on December 05, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 05: Kyle Lowry #7 and Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors talk to an official during the first half of an NBA game against the Houston Rockets at Scotiabank Arena on December 05, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. 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 the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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Malachi Flynn, Toronto Raptors
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 08: Malachi Flynn #8 of the Toronto Raptors (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

10. Yuta Watanabe

Another nice early season story seems to have fizzled out a bit, as high-energy G League grad and top jersey seller Yuta Watanabe hasn’t brought much to the table for the Raptors of late. Watanabe has made just one of ten three-point shots since the end of January after initially emerging as a reliable deep threat.

While it might be a little overly simplistic to suggest he’s been affected by getting posterized by Anthony Edwards, some of the shine has clearly come off. In fact, even as the Raptors desperately searched for warm bodies to plug into the lineup, the 26-year-old was sparsely used.

Watanabe’s motor could offer a nice little boost of the bench for another team, but if he can’t stay on the floor with Toronto, then which contender could actually be in a position to offer him minutes?

9. Matt Thomas

It wouldn’t surprise me to hear of other teams kicking the tires on three-point specialist Matt Thomas. The shooting guard’s field goal percentage is more than 100 points lower than his rookie campaign, but that severe decline can be explained by his inability to carve out a role in Nurse’s rotation.

For whatever reason (probably lack of defense), the head coach hasn’t given the one-time EuroCup champion much of a chance this season, affecting his confidence and keeping him from getting into any kind of rhythm.

Thomas hasn’t lost the ability to shoot and, with a non-guaranteed $1.78 deal for next season, isn’t necessarily a rental. Although no GM will pay a premium to land a player shooting 38% while playing 7.5 minutes on a bad team, the 26-year-old offers enough bounce-back potential to be intriguing.

8. DeAndre’ Bembry

The on-again, off-again nature of DeAndre’ Bembry’s status in Nurse’s rotation is distinctly off at the moment. Upon finally getting on the floor after a trio of DNP’s, Bembry promptly drew two technical fouls and was ejected after just six minutes of playing time on Monday (he looked considerably better in 21 minutes against the Nuggets, mind you).

Still, Bembry’s place in Nurse’s doghouse doesn’t mean he doesn’t hold some value. If new Milwaukee Buck P.J. Tucker was in demand as a tough wing defender, then surely a team can find some use for the former Atlanta Hawk as a poor man’s version of Tucker. He also isn’t a rental, with a team-friendly non-guaranteed $1.9 million contract for next season.

7. Chris Boucher

Much like Johnson and Watanabe before him, Chris Boucher’s storybook 2020-21 season has stalled somewhat amid a decline in on-court performance, even as the personal achievements continue. After showing signs of new life in the early stages of the protocol-related absences, SlimmDuck has taken another step back, recording just 13 points over the past three games.

Inconsistency aside, there would surely be executives out there placing a call to Ujiri and Webster if Boucher is made available.

Chris Boucher could net the Raptors a ton of assets

The Montreal native’s hot stretches, such as consecutive recent games against Boston and Atlanta in which the big man scored 59 points on 21/30 shooting, highlight the three-point threat and match-up nightmare he can be, even if that player doesn’t show up every night. At $7 million for next season, many teams would surely be willing to take that risk.

6. Malachi Flynn

You don’t get sure things with the 29th pick of the 2020 NBA Draft, but that’s just what Malachi Flynn felt like. A feisty, aggressive leader from San Diego State, Flynn seemed to be cut from the same hard-nosed ball handler cloth as Lowry and Fred Vanvleet. In that sense, we probably let ourselves count our chickens before they hatched.

G League Flynn looked like that type of fearless player; NBA Flynn has not. The rookie point guard appeared to lose confidence in both his shot and decision-making capabilities soon after joining the Raptors and hasn’t been able to get it back despite getting opportunities (just not if you ask his dad).

That said, any NBA executive who saw the 22-year-old at San Diego State and with Raptors 905 knows there’s something there, which is precisely why it doesn’t make sense for the Raptors to give up on him yet.