The Toronto Raptors are just outside the play-in tournament range, but they are closer to winning the lottery and earning the right to select Victor Wembanyama with the top pick than they are to winning a postseason series. Masai Ujiri is close to completely turning his current roster upside down.
While Ujiri has very rarely been involved in tank jobs, the Raptors might be sitting on a potential gold mine if they decide to trade away their best players. The Raptors would get a treasure chest of unprotected first-round picks and several up-and-coming young players.
The Raptors need to start tearing things down to the studs as soon as possible if they want to “catch up” with the likes of tankers like the Pistons, Rockets, Hornets, and Spurs. With a robust teardown and a few lucky ping-pong ball bounces, Wembanyama or consolation prize Scoot Henderson could come to Canada.
If the Raptors want to waive the white flag on this season and move further into their quest to add a top talent, they need to accomplish these three goals and reorient their roster to be less win-now than ever before. If they end up with Wembanyama, it will all be worth it.
3 ways the Toronto Raptors can get Victor Wembanyama.
3. Trade Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr.
The Raptors may find it hard (and impractical if the team wants to be competitive in 2023) to trade both of these players, but the only way they can secure the best possible odds at Wembanyama. They aren’t exactly going to be short on suitors if they do make that move.
Buzz from Bleacher Report suggests that one-quarter of the league could have an interest in either acquiring VanVleet in a trade or going after him in free agency. Marc Stein, meanwhile, says that Trent is the most likely of the Raptors’ five usual starters to get traded.
The Toronto Raptors might need to trade their starting backcourt.
The combination of OG Anunoby’s injury history and exorbitant price tag might make it tough to find a trade partner for him. Pascal Siakam is clearly the best player the Raptors have on the roster, but there is no way to get adequate value for him in a trade.
Toronto is always going to have issues attracting top talent in free agency, meaning that trades and the draft are the two best ways to restock talent and get one-half of the Wembanyama/Henderson diad the complementary role pieces they need to eventually become stars.
2. Give Pascal Siakam some rest
In a league where stars are playing less than ever before as load management starts to kick in, Siakam is routinely playing upwards of 35 minutes a night without taking one night off unless his health makes it impossible. The Raptors are riding him until the wheels are falling off.
Siakam will still be a no-doubt All-Star (despite the best efforts of the Inside the NBA team), and he will also be the cornerstone of this team in the next few seasons. What benefit is there to grinding him into the dirt for a team that isn’t going to win anything?
The Toronto Raptors must rest Pascal Siakam.
Siakam has been very good lately, but he hasn’t been the All-NBA lock he was at the start of the season. Playing 40 minutes and taking 20 shots every night puts a huge physical burden on you, and the Raptors should be more cautious about Siakam is utilized.
Siakam resting more would go hand-in-hand with giving Scottie Barnes even more offensive leeway. We know Siakam is fantastic, but giving him some veteran rest days will help Toronto answer some of the burning questions surrounding this team.
1. Lean on Scottie Barnes and the young players.
This is one area that has literally no downside. If Barnes becomes a dominant offensive force and the young guys end up showing that they can be high-end two-way players consistently, that’s fantastic! If their numbers don’t translate into wins, that will only help the Raptors in their pursuit of Wembanyama or Henderson.
Barnes is playing some of the best basketball of his career in his new point-center role, but he is still running into difficulties flexing his offensive muscles due to the lack of shot attempts he receives as a starter. The second half of the season needs to be all about making Barnes the featured attraction.
The Toronto Raptors need to make sure Scottie Barnes develops.
Why not let Malachi Flynn and Dalano Banton, both of whom are frozen out of the rotation? Christian Koloko has been pounding G League competition into submission like a meat tenderizer against a tough cut of pork, showing that he should be back in the NBA with regularity.
The Raptors may not be a team that can compete for a championship right now, but it is very clear that they have many of the necessary pieces to accomplish that goal eventually. Developing Barnes should be at the top of Toronto’s list of second-half goals, but Koloko and Flynn could also put some encouraging moments on film.