3 Raptors who could increase trade value in January and February
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors could have more power and influence over the 2023 NBA trade deadline than any other team. While they could obviously turn themselves into a more respectable playoff contender with some win-now moves, no one would fault them if they decided to trade away some of their starters and sell.
Now that January 15 has officially come and gone, players like Chris Boucher and Juancho Hernangomez can be aggregated in trades after signing with Toronto in the offseason. Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster have to be aware of the fact that this team needs some dire upgrades if they want to contend.
If the team goes in a different direction, they will need some of their more experienced and attractive assets to put some very impressive games on film in order to make themselves more sought-after candidates. Ujiri is not going to sell unless he gets top dollar for his collection of players.
The Raptors would be thrilled if this trio of players end up getting back on track and playing great basketball in the next few weeks, as it could give them more options at the deadline. Expect Toronto to be active, with these three players taking up most of the discussion time.
3 Raptors who could increase their trade value.
3. PF Juancho Hernangomez
Hernangomez might not be able to be moved straight up for someone else, but he could be an interesting throw-in as part of a larger deal. He was putrid to begin the season, but he’s played so well in the last few games that the experienced Thad Young has taken a back seat in the rotation.
While he hasn’t been everything Toronto expected from an offensive point of view, he adds value as a surprisingly solid rebounder and tremendous off-ball cutter. If the shot ever gets going, the NBA’s answer to Clark Gable might find a home with a contender.
Toronto Raptors: Contending teams could use Juancho Hernangomez.
The EuroBasket champ has shown, at the very least, that he is capable of being a fringe rotation player. However, if Toronto decides to get more quality guards on the bench and move to some smaller lineups, Hernangomez’s shooting ability becomes minimalized.
Juancho needs to go somewhere that will give him a very long leash, and a Raptors team coached by the league’s top Tom Thibodeau impersonator in Nick Nurse simply will not afford him that opportunity. That doesn’t mean the rest of the league won’t have an eye on him.