While the Raptors have shown some cracks in their armor lately, they are still firmly thrust in the playoff picture, currently holding the Eastern Conference fifth seed at the time of writing. That being said, it is hard to watch this nerve-racking playoff race and not think back to the trade deadline.
Toronto’s lone deadline addition was Trayce Jackson-Davis. The front office clearly prioritized keeping future assets while allowing this young core to develop for the rest of the season.
That patient approach may prove to be the smarter long-term decision, but it is still difficult to watch this flawed team and wonder what could have been.
What is this team’s center rotation?
When healthy, Jakob Poeltl is the Raptors' undisputed starting center. Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili have worked together to fill the backup center role. Both players have been phenomenal this season, but neither is a true center.
Without a reliable backup center, Toronto has been forced into smaller lineups that can struggle on the glass and give up second-chance opportunities. That is manageable in the regular season, but it becomes a much bigger issue in playoff-style games.
For that reason, many Raptors fans wanted the team to acquire a traditional backup center behind Poeltl.
Instead, the team traded for out-of-the-rotation big man Trayce Jackson-Davis. He has played a mere total of over 43 minutes since being acquired. 25 of those minutes came in his first two games before TJD completely fell out of the rotation.
Meanwhile, Jock Landale, a backup center in Atlanta, was traded twice at the deadline. The second time he was moved for cash considerations only. Despite the low cost, he has been serviceable in Atlanta, averaging 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 42.2 percent from three and playing 18.2 minutes per game.
Toronto could have used that production.
Marvin Bagley III is another prime example. He was a throw-in in the Anthony Davis trade and has been impressive with the Mavs, averaging 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds while playing 21.8 minutes per game. That would have been valuable production behind Poeltl.
Neither player would have cost the Raptors significantly more than the 2026 second-round pick they gave up for Jackson-Davis, yet both likely would have added more on-court value.
Conclusion
It is unlikely that any single trade would have pushed the Raptors into championship contention. The front office recognized that and chose to keep as many future assets as possible.
Three years from now, that decision could pay major dividends.
In the present day, however, it is hard to watch this flawed team without thinking about upgrades that could have been made.
Even players like Jock Landale or Marvin Bagley, seemingly within the Raptors’ price range, were not pursued.
Time will tell whether Toronto's flaws will push them back into the play-in tournament.