The Toronto Raptors didn’t make the biggest trade deadline splash, but they still managed to free themselves from the shackles of Goran Dragic. The Slovenian veteran was traded to the San Antonio Spurs along with a first-round pick in exchange for Thad Young, Drew Eubanks, and a second-round pick.
Some Raptors fans weren’t thrilled with the deal, as adding another 6-8 power forward in Young doesn’t address the lack of rim protection or inadequate backup guard rotation behind Gary Trent Jr. and Fred VanVleet. However, there are reasons for optimism after the consummation of this deal.
The Raptors are currently in the playoff picture in the East, but they are doing so in spite of, not because of, their bench. Young coming to town gives Nick Nurse one wily veteran that fits in perfectly with Toronto’s scheme all while retaining his Bird rights ahead of free agency.
Toronto may not have brought a future superstar to Canada in this trade, but they should still be classified as the winners of this trade. Considering the possibilities this deal opens up in the immediate and long-term future, Toronto should be happy with what they got in return.
3 reasons the Toronto Raptors won the Thad Young-Goran Dragic trade.
3. Financial Flexibility
GM Bobby Webster knew that the Raptors needed to get away from the luxury tax line that Dragic pushed them near. Getting him out of town and creating a nice TPE as a result of the deal gives the Raptors a multitude of different directions they can go in over the next few weeks.
Justin Champagnie has had some impressive moments as a bench presence this season. The Raptors could use this as a chance to convert his two-way deal into a standard NBA contract. DJ Wilson impressed Toronto during their COVID-19 stint. Could he return thanks to this avenue?
The Toronto Raptors could go in one of many different directions.
Toronto figures to be active on the buyout market, meaning that players who were recently waived could end up getting another chance in the pros if the Raptors sign them for the remainder of the season. Perhaps this is how the backup point guard hole gets addressed.
The Raptors were extremely limited in how they could improve their team, yet they managed to add someone with years of experience that should be a seamless scheme fit. Young has been on Toronto’s watch list for years, and they finally nabbed him.
2. Raptors got more bench scoring
While the lack of a traditional rim protector or backup point guard is going to make this Raptors roster an unusual bunch when the playoffs come around, the main box the front office needed to check was improving bench scoring. The Young acquisition helps accomplish that goal.
Young might be averaging 6.1 points per game this season for the Spurs, but he’s also averaged 13.5 points per game over the prior 13 seasons. A lethal midrange shooter that can put the ball on the floor and muscle his way into the paint, Young might take Chris Boucher’s title of Sixth Man away from him.
The Toronto Raptors may have added a Sixth Man in Thad Young.
Young fell out of favor in San Antonio due to their youth movement, but he was a solid scorer for the Bulls last season and was a key contributor to several playoff teams in Indiana. The idea that his best days are already behind him might not hold up upon closer inspection.
A more experienced player than Boucher and a more diverse scorer than Precious Achiuwa, Young should be given a healthy dose of minutes right out of the gate. Toronto is dead last in the NBA in bench points per game, so there’s nowhere to go but up. Young will help take them in the right direction.
1. Raptors got a draft pick in exchange for Dragic.
Dragic has a strong pedigree in this league, but he was the very definition of a declining asset. A 35-year-old point guard and an impending free agent who voiced his displeasure with playing in Toronto, Ujiri was still able to grab a second-round pick in exchange for the disgruntled Dragic.
The second-round pick, originally owned by Detroit, is currently the first selection in that round and the No. 31 overall pick in the draft. With Toronto’s first-round pick currently situated at No. 20, moving down 11 spots in the order to dump Dragic and acquire Young is a good spot of negotiating from Ujiri and Webster.
The Toronto Raptors got something of value for Goran Dragic.
Fans that are amped up about the loss of a first-round pick need to get over themselves. No one was taking on that contract and the responsibility of buying him out without attaching a first-round pick this year, and the pick acquired from the Pistons is essentially a very late first-rounder given how bad Detroit has been this year.
Dragic gave an interview in which he claimed that he had “higher ambitions” than playing for the Raptors, and that somehow wasn’t the worst of it. Toronto languished for months with minimal bench talent while he showed up at Heat games. Getting the No. 31 pick like that for him should earn Ujiri a round of applause.