1. Anfernee Simons
Simons is the prize that every Raptors trade must include. With top pick Shaedon Sharpe emerging as a player who can essentially be a replacement alongside lIllard, Simosn could be sent away to a Raptors team that is in dire need of a player with this exact skillset.
Simons averaged 21.1 points per game last season, all while continuing his evolution into one of the game’s best young shooters and perimeter playmakers. With Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. both up in limbo, adding Simons and Scoot Henderson gives the Raptors a whole new backcourt of the future.
Anfernee Simons is perfect for the Toronto Raptors.
Simons may not be a very good defender right now, but is his lack of skill and potential in that area really enough to convince Masai Ujiri not to go through with this deal? If he continues holding onto this philosophy, he could miss out on a genuinely impactful player like Simons would be.
Ujiri may think he is a herald of the future of basketball by going all-in on positionless basketball, but that system will not have one iota of success unless the Raptors can find a player like Simons that can be trusted to go for 20 per game every night on the perimeter.