As NBA Insider Jake Fischer laid out in his most recent edition of "The People's Insider" for Marc Stein's Substack, he'd largely touch upon two teams generating buzz in the trade market: Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors.
The Pistons haven't really had the basketball gods on their side in what seems like an eternity. The '04 championship team, boasting a star-studded cast of some of my all-time personal favorites, including Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, and Chauncey Billups. Those were the days to be a fan of Detroit basketball, and then the dark cloud came over.
In the years since, Detroit would add some quality talent in Andre Drummond and Cade Cunningham, but unfortunately, they'd either be pressed between NBA purgatory or no man's land come draft lottery night, until they finally hit it big and got 1st overall in 2021.
But the misery can't last forever, and this season, the Detroit Pistons look like a very competent squad and franchise. It sure is a far cry from last year when the Monty Williams era got cut short after a generationally abysmal campaign.
What does this have to do with the Toronto Raptors, you're probably wondering?
Well, given the weak Eastern Conference landscape, the Pistons could easily make some noise as a middle-of-the-pack playoff squad. As a result, it's put a bit of a dilemma on their plans moving forward; stuck trying to figure out how to gain assets while also elevating a winning roster.
On the flip side of things now, you have the Raptors front office probably ecstatic about these new rumored developments over in the Motor City.
In the latest Fischer piece, he'd mention what one Eastern Conference executive said of the Raptors:
"They are as well positioned as anyone to facilitate a trade... If a team needs to send out four players to make the math work, do you send one to Toronto? "Anonymous Eastern Conference exec
Raptors expected to be major players involved in moves at trade deadline
But the Raptors wouldn't just be taking on salary to be nice; for Toronto, they're likely looking for draft capital to eat into their leveraged tax apron break. It appears they've handled things like an ace in regard to where their cap hold stands, and now this is where the virtuoso Masai Ujiri and company can ply their craft.
The overall conclusions largely lie on whether or not the Jimmy Butler saga will be handled effectively this year. If Jimmy Butler ends up stuck in South Beach thanks to butting heads, then Toronto kind of loses its dealing power in that regard. Then again, maybe there are other three-team or four-team deals where the Raptors can take in a large contract and a pick or two to suffice.
Given Toronto has a couple of unsure veterans like Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk, along with the hustle stalwart Chris Boucher, it could mean the Raptors emerge from the 2025 NBA trade deadline resembling Sam Presti's Oklahoma City Thunder, hoarding a ton of draft capital for the future.
The expectations sure run high after the Fischer scoop, but it's all up to the minds of Ujiri and his front office staff. The Raptors faithful have found themselves fooled before, sometimes learning the team hangs on to assets after all and remains unusually quiet in trade talks, despite the prior insider noise being deafening.
Positionally, the Raptors could make out like bandits, but actions speak louder than words. Is there, in fact, trade wizardry upon us?