B/R’s 3-team OG Anunoby trade is too wild for Raptors to pull off

While the Toronto Raptors and the rest of the NBA may have missed out on acquiring Kevin Durant, but that doesn’t mean that trade season has completely dissipated. Names like Donovan Mitchell and John Collins can still be moved for the right price on the open market.

Collins is a particularly interesting case. The Atlanta Hawks are clearly trying to make a playoff run. Still, the desire to continue leaning on Clint Capela and integrating Onyeka Okongwu into the starting lineup could prompt a deal for a player in Anunoby’s tier.

While the Raptors have been steadfast in their desire to keep Anunoby amid reports that he could be jettisoned for a star, that hasn’t stopped all the corners of the internet from trying to pry him away from Toronto.

Bleacher Report concocted a trade offer that would make the Raptors a provably worse team. Anunoby would head to Atlanta, while Collins goes to Miami. All Toronto would get in return is the same Tyler Herro-led package Heat fans have been trying to offload for months.

The Toronto Raptors should not trade OG Anunoby.

Let me get this straight. The Raptors, who value positional versatility and hard-nosed defense as much as anyone in the NBA, are going to trade away one of the best defenders in the Eastern Conference (on a manageable contract) for two of the worst? Makes sense!

Herro would be a tremendous scorer to add to the pot, but his value would be cut in half because he would have a much more limited diet of shots in Toronto. Robinson would help Toronto on the perimeter, but many of the same defensive questions remain.

Losing Anunoby and Young would deprive the Raptors of two standout veteran players, one of whom is being tasked with leading a revamped bench, for the sake of some players that don’t necessarily fit Toronto’s scheme. Whatever benefit Johnson may add isn’t enough to help this trade materialize.

Masai Ujiri is almost certainly not going to trade Anunoby. If he did, OG would be the focal point of a deal that helps land a star. Trading him to a play-in contender like Atlanta and getting two volatile assets that lack defensive potential is not going to make them a better team.