Toronto Raptors: Should Raptors have held onto Terence Davis after hot start to Kings career?

While the Norman Powell move was obviously the highlight of the deadline for the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri was able to recoup a few second-round picks by offloading Matt Thomas to the Utah Jazz and Terence Davis, a restricted free agent at the end of this season, to the Sacramento Kings.

Davis was averaging 7.6 points per game with the Raptors this season, but his shooting percentages were down when compared to last year. Throw into that the ugly legal situation that hung over him for most of the season, and Davis’ relationship with fans degraded to the point where he wasn’t even mentioned by name on Twitter.

For most of the year, Davis has been known as “Redacted” on Twitter.

Davis has started to play better in Sacramento, however, as he put up 27 points in a game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Davis is averaging 12.0 points in five games with the Kings, all the while shooting 50% from the field and 42% from 3-point range. Where was this Davis on the Raptors?

With Davis starting to find his stroke from deep, and the Raptors still in possession of one of the worst benches in the league, are there any Raptors fans that regret the fact that they traded him? Perhaps, but getting rid of him was the right move 100 times out of 100.

Should the Toronto Raptors have kept Terence Davis?

Davis was not going to be back next year anyway, even though he is a restricted free agent. He was brought onto this team to provide offense off of the bench, and he simply wasn’t doing that. Turning 1.5 years of an undrafted player into a draft pick is some solid work from the Raptors.

Purely from a basketball point of view, the addition of Gary Trent Jr. and the plethora of talented guards in the lottery means that even if Davis did stay in Toronto, he would likely struggle to make it onto the court for extended chunks of time. It appears as though he has landed in a favorable situation in Sacramento.

On a Kings team with an offensive-minded coach in Luke Walton and one of the worst defenses in the league, Davis has been given the green light. Davis has likely found a home for 2021 and beyond, while the Raptors get some more draft capital. A win-win trade if there ever was one.

Davis might be playing well in Sacramento, but there are reasons on and off the court that point to the fact he would have had a very difficult time returning to Toronto. With the Raptors looking to stay financially flexible and the fanbase firmly against him, it’s best for all parties that Davis got a fresh start in Sacramento.