Ranking the Toronto Raptors’ 4 most valuable trade assets
By Seth Quinn
The Toronto Raptors are heading toward the NBA doldrums, finishing with a 41-41 record. If you count the play-in loss to the 10-seed Chicago Bulls, they lost more games than they won just one season after Nick Nurse led the team to 48 victories.
Given the franchise’s recent success, this was unsatisfactory to Masai Ujiri, who decided to fire Nick Nurse once the season concluded. The team still hasn’t made any progress on a replacement, as they do not know which direction to pursue.
The Raptors have an intriguing mix of young players and veterans, meaning they have some tough decisions to make this offseason with how they want to get out of limbo. An evaluation of their top assets is in order.
Top 4 Toronto Raptors trade assets.
No. 4: Pick #13 in the 2023 Draft
While this pick won’t get a team an elite prospect like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, or Brandon Miller, it’s still a late lottery pick, meaning it has value to a good amount of teams.
If the Raptors decide to rebuild and look to the future, the No. 13 pick will likely be more valuable to them than other teams. However, if they do decide to push for a championship and attempt to improve the current roster, the pick will be a good trade chip as part of a bigger package for a high-level starter or on its own for a solid role player.
Will the Toronto Raptors keep No. 13?
A key talking point regarding what the Raptors do with the pick is what player they want to draft. They could also decide to trade up or trade down, which could be an alternative idea for trade packages including the 13th pick that would impact the current roster.
The 13th pick in the draft will never be viewed as a game-changer by NBA front offices and fans alike, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a valuable asset to be used on a solid young prospect or to improve the roster by trade.