With Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto likely becoming official in the coming days, I decided to go back and watch some of the Raptors' 2019 Championship run. While Leonard’s pure dominance, Kyle Lowry’s captain-like presence, Pascal Siakam's breakout, and Fred VanVleet being the glue all stood out, Marc Gasol’s impact can’t be forgotten. Unlike the other players I mentioned, Gasol wasn’t a member of the Raptors entering the season, and it was Jonas Valanciunas holding down the paint instead.
Gasol was a deadline add as Toronto felt he could be the missing piece in completing their championship-winning puzzle. While there are a lot of differences with Leonard’s arrival this time around, one striking similarity is that the Raptors have the tools to pull off a deadline splash.
Now, Toronto didn't have to make this move; they were rolling at 39-16 heading into the deadline. However, they felt they had a chance to win it all and had the assets to make a massive splash. So for fans who enter next season with concerns about Jakob Poeltl starting at the five or Immanuel Quickley starting at the point, it’s worth noting that might not be permanent.
A Gasol-style trade can be in play for the Raptors
An NBA season is a roller coaster, and a lot can change with one bad injury or a bad stretch. This could result in a team with playoff hopes being out of the race and becoming sellers at the deadline, or even a star player asking to be traded. For the Raptors, this makes having bigger contracts like Quickley, Barrett, and Poeltl, along with a little bit of draft capital, such an advantage.
The two names I’d circle as potential Gasol-level additions this season would be Kyrie Irving, who has been linked to the Raptors recently in a ton of mock trades. If he returns healthy with Dallas this season, he could come in and provide experience, leadership, championship pedigree, and a talent boost over IQ.
The other name is Rudy Gobert.
While I expect Minnesota to be a playoff team next season, they do seem like a team that’s one injured starter away from being a hot mess. It wouldn’t shock me to see them look to sell at the deadline if things aren’t going well, and Gobert would be an obvious trade candidate.
He’s probably the closest thing Toronto could get to replicating that 2019 Gasol impact, with both players being Defensive Player of the Year in their careers. If you remember, Gasol’s counting stats weren’t great in the playoffs, especially offensively. But he shut down Joel Embiid in that round-two series against Philly and was a reliable anchor of the defense, averaging 2.0 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game in the playoffs. Gobert could bring that same type of impact, or maybe an even greater impact, as a Raptor.
As I said, the NBA season is long, and at this time it’s hard to tell who could be made available as we approach trade season. But for the Raptors, they should feel good knowing the franchise is in a position to go for it all if they feel compelled to do so.
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