Toronto Raptors: Is there a path towards trading for Kristaps Porzingis?

The Toronto Raptors have an incredible opportunity to upgrade their roster at the upcoming NBA draft. Picking fourth overall should allow the team to add an impact player. Toronto could also potentially add another starter via an offseason trade. Does Dallas Mavericks starter Kristaps Porzingis fit the bill?

Known as The Unicorn, Porzingis has not developed into the dominant on-court presence he was believed to become. His stock has plummeted but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still have the tools to be a valuable contributor. This could be where the Raptors enter the conversation.

Porzingis’ stat line doesn’t read like a player who is a burden to his squad. In 43 regular-season games this year, he averaged 20.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game.

Porzingis also had a 47.6% field goal percentage and a 37.6% 3-point percentage on an average of six attempts per game. Those numbers dipped in the playoffs. He averaged 13.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in the seven games he played against the Los Angeles Clippers.

There are two reasons that the 25-year-old has fallen out of favor with his team, the Dallas Mavericks. Those are his salary and the trade that brought him to D-Town. The 7-3 power forward and center just finished the second season of his five-year $158,253,000 contract. Yikes.

Should the Toronto Raptors make a move for Kristaps Porzingis?

While Porzingis is no longer one of the hottest commodities in the NBA, there is a possibility that his production could have been impacted by a problem he had in the Mavs locker room. It’s been reported that the Porzingis and Luka Doncic don’t like each other.

While Porzingis denies the accuracy of the rumor, if true, this would have made playing in Dallas more difficult. A change of scenery might be exactly what he needs.

The Raptors have shown that under Nick Nurse’s leadership, they are able to bring the best out of their players. The evidence of their success in this area is overwhelming. When Khem Birch was with the Magic, his best season saw him average 4.8 points per contest. In his short time with the Raptors, they helped convert him to a player who averaged 11.9 points per game.

This level of improvement is something that was seen with Chris Boucher and the 2019 NBA Most Improved Player, Pascal Siakam. If the Raps could use that magic to rehabilitate the Unicorn’s game, he could become a serious threat once again.

If the Raptors believe that Porzingis could be a significant upgrade in their frontcourt then they may be interested in bringing him north of the border.

In doing so, they would also demand additional compensation to make the transaction work. Toronto may be willing to make the deal if the Mavs were to package their 2022 first-round pick (which would likely be near the end of the draft if they have the success they’re hoping for) along with Porzingis.

The Raps would be making this trade to help Dallas unload the Latvian. The difficulty of making the deal work is finding salary to match since Toronto doesn’t have bloated contracts on their roster.

Fred VanVleet will earn $19,675,926 and Siakam will make $33,003,936 next year but Bobby Webster isn’t going to consider including either of them in a potential transaction without a much greater return.

That means, to make this trade work, the Raps would need a sign and trade. The Mavericks would be the ones to negotiate with a player’s agent and agree to the terms prior to Toronto being the team to actually sign the paperwork.

What would a Kristaps Porzingis trade look like?

Victor Oladipo might be a target for the Mavs so that Dallas can upgrade its backcourt. The Raptors can sign and immediately ship him along with Aron Baynes in order to make the money work.

This is a risky move for the Raptors. If Porzingis doesn’t show his potential, they will be still be stuck with him for two additional seasons. In his final season under contract, 2023-24, when he’ll be 28 years old, Porzingis will be paid $36,016,200. That is a sizeable portion of the salary cap.

However, if the gamble works and Porzingis is able to return to form, the Raps should be able to feature him along with their current stars and their young draft choices. This could make them a dangerous club in the Eastern Conference.