Grade the Trade pitch: Raptors get younger in 3-team deal to land East center

Grading the Trade for the Raptors

The Toronto Raptors would accomplish the goal of getting younger at center with this deal; Onyeka Okongwu is five years younger than Jakob Poeltl. He is also significantly less expensive, making $62 million over the next four seasons; Poeltl will make roughly that over the next three.

Okongwu is not as good as Poeltl at this point in their careers, and he is a bit undersized at center at just 6'8". Even so, he is an active offensive rebounder and instinctive shot-blocker, making up for a lack of titanic size with energy and movement. That hasn't translated into consistent impact yet, but it's not unreasonable to think a larger role in Toronto could unlock that.

The major question with this deal comes with De'Andre Hunter. The former Virginia Cavalier is entering his sixth season and hasn't delivered on the two-way upside he showed coming out of college. To his credit, last year he shot a career-best 38.5 percent from deep, but despite standing 6'8" himself he doesn't rebound well, is a terrible passer and isn't particularly skilled as a shot-finisher.

Add in that his defense is merely fine, and he rarely gets blocks or steals, and you get a player who is overpaid on his current deal, a contract that stretches for another three seasons and pays him $70 million over that span, an average of more than $23 million per season. The Raptors desperately need forwards, but paying Hunter more than they were paying Poeltl is a shocking proposition given Hunter's lack of overall development.

The second-round pick tossed into the deal is a nice sweetener but doesn't move the needle. To move from Poeltl to Okongwu should have netted the Raptors some sort of additional value, but instead they are saddled with Hunter's contract. He could unlock something to his game in Toronto, but the downside risk is massive.

This deal doesn't pass the smell test for the Raptors.

Grade: C-