The Toronto Raptors are sliding down the Eastern Conference standings at the moment, putting them as close to the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes as they are to a top-six seed. Masai Ujiri and Nick Nurse know that this roster is incredibly flawed right now.
The Raptors need to be active at the trade deadline, going out of their way to engage teams on potential trades. Toronto is running out of time to plug these holes, as their current way of playing is so ineffective that they may have no choice but to waive the white flag.
The Raptors don’t seem like a team that is going to go into fire sale mode, so they need to figure out a trade that will both make sure they can improve in the short and long term without completely ditching their core group of stars. This is a very perilous set of weeks that Ujiri needs to nail.
Ujiri’s team has some very pressing needs that need to be filled with either a huge trade or multiple less bombastic moves. These three holes on the roster are so dire that Toronto could fall off the face of the NBA map if they aren’t addressed in a timely way.
Top 3 Toronto Raptors team needs.
3. Perimeter defense
While Nurse has acknowledged that there are some constraints with Toronto’s preferred style of play, the fact that Toronto’s defense is underperforming this season is as clear as day. During their six-game losing streak, Toronto was allowing just over 116 points per game.
Any acquisition the Raptors make needs to be scrutinized from a defensive point of view. As teams have proven time and time again during Toronto’s recent stretch of futility, one player serving as a weak link can be enough for the Raptors’ unique scheme to crumble.
The Toronto Raptors may need to add defenders.
Getting Precious Achiuwa back soon will be a boost for this team, as he is the team’s best post-defender and a quality rebounder. However, that alone will not be enough to get Toronto back to respectability. Trading for a defensive liability would go against Ujiri’s usual Modus Operandi.
Once Achiuwa and Otto Porter Jr. come back into the lineup, the defense should improve. However, the Raptors might need one more big name to make this unit more complete and effective. If that addition comes via a trade, Toronto might take a massive leap up the standings.
2. Rim protection
The Raptors dug their heels in and refused to get an experienced center with the height and rim protection skill to complement their aggressive style of defense. Toronto has tried to use Christian Koloko in that role, but he has hit a rookie wall in a fairly significant fashion.
Due to his recent improvement in San Antonio and the fanbase’s familiarity with him, Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl has often been hyped up as a potential trade target. While he will cost a lot, it’s understandable why so many are so locked in on one specific player.
Masai Ujiri must improve the Raptors’ interior defense.
The Raptors can play their aggressive style of defense as much as they’d like, but putting Juancho Hernangomez on the floor for heavy minutes and leaning on only one player taller than 6-9 is not a recipe for success. They got high on their own 6-9 supply, and the roster is suffering as a result.
The book is out on how to beat this Raptors defense, as teams are well aware of the fact that they can be in for a field day if Toronto isn’t going to force turnovers. Without a player like Poeltl or one of many Western Conference big men that could be available in a trade, this defense will continue to get ripped apart.
1. Shooters
In a league where the best teams all have multiple players who are averaging over 40% from beyond the 3-point line, the fact that Toronto is rolling out lineups that have no one player even close to that mark shows that this roster is painfully ill-equipped to contend for a championship in the near future.
Malachi Flynn is making 44% of his 3-point attempts, but no other player on the team is making more than 36% of their 3-pointers. That goes beyond unacceptable, as it is next to impossible to win games in the modern NBA with such pathetic spacing and perimeter scoring.
Masai Ujiri must get shooters for the Toronto Raptors.
The fact that Toronto has one of the worst half-court offenses in the league with Pascal Siakam being as dominant as he has been is a genuine shame, as they are wasting the best season of his career and the last of which before he gets a big supermax payday.
The only way to erase that downward slide is trading for some shooters.
The Raptors need bigs that can space the floor and covert catch-and-shoot opportunities, but they also need to find bench gunners that can either supplement what Gary Trent Jr. brings to the table or replace him if Toronto decides to get something of value for him in a separate move.