3 most tradeable players, contracts on the Toronto Raptors roster
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors are not done reshaping their roster just yet. While players like Scottie Barnes and Fred VanVleet have helped them pile up some impressive wins, a bench led by players like Chris Boucher has snatched away quite a few victories this season.
The Raptors could go in one of several different directions at the trade deadline depending on how deep Masai Ujiri believes they can progress in the postseason. They could either trade away veterans for draft picks or look to aggressively chase bench pieces that can help them win.
Toronto’s starting unit is locked in for the foreseeable future, as all five usual starters are under contract for the 2022-23 season. However, the Raptors have plenty of pieces that could be moved in a trade should the front office decide to get risky and make a win-now move.
These 3 Raptors players could be used as trade pieces no matter what direction they go in. Expect Ujiri to be active when the trade season starts to draw closer, as he could help remake the Raptors on the fly and help them load up for a postseason push.
3 Toronto Raptors players that might be traded this season.
3. Goran Dragic
This one is almost a formality at this point. Dragic is away from the team at the moment, though that hasn’t stopped him from staying in shape by practicing at the Heat facility in Miami. With over $19 million in salary, Dragic could prove to be very difficult to move before the deadline.
While he played just five underwhelming games for the Raptors this season, Toronto might still be able to find a taker for him. After all, he is coming off of a very productive season in Miami, and the odds of him just forgetting how to play basketball in one offseason are infinitesimal.
The Toronto Raptors will need to move Goran Dragic.
Dragic has had Dallas on his mind for some time, but there are plenty of teams that could use a player with Dragic’s history of success in the pros. The Raptors could get some enticing players for the back end of their roster if they end up finally getting this deal consummated.
If the worst-case scenario becomes reality and Ujiri is unable to find a buyer, Toronto might be forced to just buy Dragic out. At least that will give Toronto the space to add a player on a much cheaper contract that actually wants to be here. That’s better than Dragic being away from the team.