Don't lie.
No matter how bad you want to see Cooper Flagg as a member of the Raptors, there's no doubt you had a nice, big grin on your face after seeing Toronto beat two quality, championship-bred teams.
Watching Toronto beat the Warriors is one thing, as it has a storied history behind it, of course, but the Celtics too? In a masterclass no less? That, my friends, is peak Raptors basketball.
But alas, with the victory smoke now cleared, the Raptors need to stay on course and keep the tank rolling, perhaps adding a little sprinkle of this recent momentum on their side.
A couple of wins here and there are certainly doing wonders for the team and Raptors nation, but there are bigger fish to fry. This season is almost set in stone as a dud, with Toronto likely out of the playoff race by a significant margin. Therefore, the next goals in mind are the highly touted 2025 NBA Draft and the subsequent offseason.
Sure, the Raptors have shown this season, whether healthy or not, that it can be tough for them to even put up a fair fight against opposing NBA teams. However, as of late, especially with an unforeseen uptick in veteran Chris Boucher's performance, there is something brewing in this Raptors squad that might hinder their draft odds and their chance to add a franchise-altering talent like Cooper Flagg.
So how do you fizzle out to the bottom without making it blatantly obvious that it becomes punishable? Well, you get your front office to focus on dealing out the veterans, and at this point, it should be done ASAP.
Raptors need to start trading now or risk losing out on Cooper Flagg
NBA Insider intel has already sparked enough buzz to suggest that Toronto has more than a few veterans on the trade block, but now it's just a matter of which team will bite the bullet and work out a deal.
As of now, there are five names that have been brought up as possible trade candidates for the Raptors: Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, Kelly Olynyk, Davion Mitchell, and Jakob Poeltl.
Mitchell and Poeltl are definitely the most uncertain out of the five, with Poeltl being highly coveted as a Raptors asset for the future. However, it might be best to maximize value now during his career season. Olynyk is a bit of an anomaly; he could have a market, but it remains to be seen what his value is. Meanwhile, Brown and Boucher are almost certain to be gone by the February 6 deadline.
Boucher is helping the team win with his energy and hustle, Mitchell is helping the team win with his relentless defense, and Jakob Poeltl is helping wins with an improved interior presence; maybe it'd be nice to keep them around for a hopeful playoff run, but the fundamental goal is to 'Capture the Flagg'.
For the other two, they're sort of non-factors, so whether they leave or stay doesn't make much of a difference anyhow. As we've gone over before in other pieces, the 2025 NBA Draft pool is jam-packed with talent that could be helpful nonetheless, but for Toronto, a generational prospect like Cooper Flagg doesn't come around often.
If there aren’t any external factors keeping Flagg out of the North, he could be just what they need. Unless Toronto is plagued by a massive injury bug that cripples their roster again, the only way to ensure that losing remains on their radar is by trading away quality veterans and focusing on developing their younger, unexperienced talent, at least for now.
What the Raptors faithful would need to do in response is keep their patience and recognize that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Hopefully, the endless losing will pay off in the end. While it isn't certain, there are definitely ways to improve your odds, and getting the trade market brewing is usually the first step.
It's time to get to work, Toronto.