The Toronto Raptors 2021-22 season is just a few games old, and Masai Ujiri may already be working on finding a solution to some of their issues. Ujiri and Bobby Webster are never ones to turn their backs on a potential impact addition.
Chief among the concerns for this team is three-point shooting, their lack of size vs. length and wingspan, their halfcourt offense, and experience. The Raptors do have three holdovers from their 2019 NBA title but there are a lot of new faces on the roster.
Several scenarios are developing around the league that could help or hinder the Raptors should they wade into the drama. If Ujiri is in a very risky mood, he could decide to part with some assets in order to swoop up a disgruntled star or potential depth piece on the trade market.
With Toronto in need of some extra size and some more young athletes to add to their big cauldron of athletic skills, will they go after one of these targets?
Should the Toronto Raptors go after these 3 available players?
3. Marvin Bagley III, PF, Sacramento Kings
This deal would bring a 6-11 power forward in Bagley to Toronto. He was the second overall draft choice of the Kings in 2018, and it seems as though his time there has come to an end. After three tumultuous losing seasons in California, Bagley was unable to secure an extension to his rookie deal making him a free agent this coming summer.
Bagley won’t arrive in Toronto, if a deal is reached, without concerns. During the COVID-19 shortened season, Bagley was diagnosed to have a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb. Expected to miss shortly more than a month, he only played 13 games before the season was suspended.
Bagley managed to play in 43 of 72 games last season amid a myriad of rumors about his desire to stay in Sacramento and the team trying to trade him. Now, the Kings aren’t starting him, and he appears to be on his way out. Bogdan Bogdanovic wound up signing as a restricted free agent with Atlanta after Sacramento also bungled their handling of him.
Could Marvin Bagley help the Toronto Raptors’ frontcourt?
The Raptors would claim a true big by conventional standards for their frontcourt. Already somewhat injury-prone, he has averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for his career. Unfortunately, he’s a horrendous defender, and that might not mesh with Toronto.
It’s not even that his stats are bad, but he hasn’t shown much progression or ability to do more as he has averaged 14 points per game every season. The Raptors could use his rebounding and size, especially in the east with teams like Philly, New York, and Brooklyn all employing tall bigs who can dominate in the paint.
Bagley is an interesting piece of the puzzle if management in Toronto feels they can coax anything more out of the power forward. With him effectively benched, his conditioning and readiness to play may be affected, and he’d need time to acclimate to head coach Nick Nurse’s schemes.
Verdict: Soft Pass.
2. Dwight Powell, C, Dallas Mavericks
This transaction would get Goran Dragic to Dallas and bring a Canadian to Toronto. He seems to be doing the professional thing now and playing the situation out as a veteran leader, but he’ll still likely be traded.
Dragic has already moved to the bench, and considering the idea that lottery pick Scottie Barnes may be a floor general someday running the offense, giving minutes to Dragic isn’t wise. Barnes has already recorded a double-double just a handful of games into his career, and adding Powell would give Barnes more reps on the perimeter.
Dwight Powell could play well for the Toronto Raptors.
The 6-10 Powell would instantly become Toronto’s tallest frontcourt player and at 240 pounds provide some needed size and girth. The 30-year-old Canadian would be slated for the bench as a serviceable big who has averaged over 20 minutes of playing time in three of the last four seasons.
Powell tallied 11 points in 25 minutes during the Mavericks’ triumph over Toronto.
The true trouble with this deal is Dallas has been rumored to want to keep the popular Powell, as reported here.
Powell is not an All-Star type center, but on a young team that wants to run and push the tempo, battling for position and rebounding are important to the Raptors’ goals offensively. If this deal is to come to fruition, it may not happen until closer to the trade deadline. Still, Powell would be a solid addition in exchange for Dragic.
Verdict: Pursue.
1. Ben Simmons, PG, Philadelphia 76ers
This transaction does not feel appropriate on any level. First, Philadelphia’s general manager Daryl Morey wants the moon and the stars for Ben Simmons. The 6-10 comes with flaws. Simmons seems thin-skinned and can’t take criticism or direction on what to do or how to improve his game.
This doesn’t necessarily change in a new locale. Efforts to unlock the as yet unseen potential of Simmons cost head coach Brett Brown his job in Philadelphia after the bubble in Florida. Simmons is now seemingly emotionally so put out by head coach Doc Rivers’ inference that Philadelphia might not be able to win with him as their point guard.
Rivers’ statement this past spring on his ability to help Philly win as a point guard has become infamous. It was probably meant to fire up the player to come to training camp raring to prove he is an elite NBA talent.
Instead, Simmons has spent the off-season feuding with Philadelphia at all levels. He is unwilling to play with teammate Joel Embiid as well. At one point, he was not playing for Philadelphia ever again. With the season now underway and Simmons attending training camp late, he was disengaged at practice.
A subsequent one-game suspension earned last week resulted in Simmions informing the team he is not mentally ready to play.
Ben Simmons may be broken, and the Toronto Raptors shouldn’t add him.
The true problem here is Simmon’s last stint of basketball was horrible. He was good defensively but especially in the playoffs against Atlanta was gun shy refusing to take three-pointers, missing free throws, and was an offensive liability to his team.
It is with that performance last spring and the temper tantrum he has embarked on since that Morey is faced with trying to trade the point guard.
Ultimately, anything the Raptors give up in a deal for Simmons would be excessive and potentially dangerous to the harmonious chemistry dynamic the young roster is building.
Both Fred VanVleet and Dragic are dependable guards emotionally, and Simmons is not. Mortgaging the future whether it be two or four first-round picks will handicap the team’s future.
The return is a player who cannot shoot at all. At $30 million a year, his willingness to defer on a dunk to create a harder shot should be troubling as well. The Raptors are already expected to struggle with their halfcourt offense and Simmons would accelerate the struggles. Simmons seems broken and it’s not his physical talents.
Simmons’ stat line regressed last season dropping to 14.3 points and 6.9 assists per game. Career-wise he is a horrible 14.7% on three-point attempts. The Raptors are already trying to develop the long-range shooting of several players on the team. Simmons would only add to that weakness.
This is a situation that doesn’t get easier for Philadelphia especially the longer it drags on. It would also be severely unwise for the Raptors to help out a divisional rival by mortgaging the present and the future for Ben Simmons.
Verdict: Hard Pass.