The Toronto Raptors had a tumultuous week as they seek to learn their new identity coming out of the NBA Trade Deadline. The week began with an upset victory over the Indiana Pacers, balancing the ledger after losing Pascal Siakam's homecoming the week before. That win last Tuesday was followed by a pair of competitive games against the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors that ultimately ended in double-digit losses.
Finally, the Raptors took down the Charlotte Hornets while playing without several key players, signaling their intentions to continue fighting in every game down the stretch. 21 games and five weeks remain in the regular season and will decide whether Toronto is still playing or heading on vacation once the clock strikes midnight on the season.
Let's dig into everything that happened and some of the best things written from the past week of Raptors basketball. It's Tuesday, so it's time for Raptors News!
How the Raptors make the playoffs
The Toronto Raptors owe a top-6 protected first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs from the Jakob Poeltl trade, and if their goal was to try and keep that pick they would be going through roster and lineup shenanigans to tank. Instead, even when short-handed, the Raptors are clearly trying their best to win basketball games.
Will it be enough to make the postseason? They currently sit 3.5 games back of the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks, and they will need to pass both Atlanta and the Brooklyn Nets to qualify for the Play-In Tournament. They will need to take advantage of a beatable schedule ahead of them, and one way to boost their chances is for head coach Darko Rajakovic to lean into this strategic decision in the games to come.
Kelly Olynyk signs extension
NBA teams not pushing for playoff contention rarely trade for veterans on expiring contracts, but that's exactly what the Toronto Raptors did when they brought in Kelly Olynyk at the Trade Deadline. The 32-year-old Canada native was a sought-after player at the deadline by a number of contending teams, but the Raptors outbid them all to bring in the stretch big.
Rather than wait for free agency, Toronto and Olynyk agreed to a contract extension, a two-year $26.5 million deal with the maximum five-percent raises allowed under the league's trade-and-extend rules. Olynyk grew up in Toronto and has expressed his desire to stay with the Raptors, so it was hardly surprising that the two sides hammered out a deal.
Olynyk's start in Toronto has been an incredibly rocky one, but his skillset as a stretch big is a valuable one and should unlock a variety of lineup options for the Raptors over the coming seasons. Bench lineups pairing Olynyk with Scottie Barnes' rim-protection at the 4 seem like a likely option down the road.
Raptors trade possibilities
The Toronto Raptors finally broke the seal and moved off of key players before they hit free agency. OG Anunoby went to the New York Knicks and Pascal Siakam went to the Indiana Pacers. As the Raptors continue their rebuild this summer, would they be open to trading other veteran pieces?
One potential trade floated by Bleacher Report would see Toronto moving off of Jakob Poeltl and Bruce Brown in exchange for another Canada native, Andrew Wiggins. The theory behind the deal is reasonable: the Raptors could look for assets for their veterans, and a team like the Golden State Warriors would be looking to make win-now moves at the tail end of Stephen Curry's prime. But does this specific deal make any sense for Toronto?
We analyzed that deal in detail and...let's just say this deal did not pass the test.
Injuries piling up for Toronto
Friday night the Toronto Raptors hosted the Golden State Warriors and came out of the game with both a loss and an injury to their star player. Scottie Barnes fractured his hand and is out indefinitely. We discussed the injury prognosis in the aftermath of the game, and more information came Monday when it was announced Barnes underwent successful surgery. That indicates a longer recovery timeline, one that could take him all the way to the end of the regular season.
Barnes' injury is not the only one this team is dealing with, either. Bruce Brown will miss tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans nursing a knee injury, while Jakob Poeltl suffered a dislocated finger against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday and is listed as out for tonight's game as well. That trio of injuries essentially eliminates the Raptors' three-best defenders and suggests that Zion Williamson and the Pels may roll tonight.
With Barnes out, the Raptors' hopes of making a run at the Play-In Tournament are essentially extinguished. If Poeltl misses any amount of time the fire is not just put out, it's had a bucket of water dumped on the embers.
What's Next
The Toronto Raptors have one more game remaining on their homestand, tonight's contest against Zion, Brandon Ingram and the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans is 10-4 over the last three weeks and in a tight battle in the Western Conference standings. That game tips off at 7:30 PM.
From there, Toronto embarks on a West Coast road trip. They play the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday and the Denver Nuggets on Monday. A 1-3 week is most likely for Toronto, and would all-but-doom their postseason chances.