Before the Toronto Raptors ultimately hit their best stroke of player luck at the 2025 trade deadline by acquiring former All-Star Brandon Ingram, the team explored other options for a scoring wing from Atlanta—De'Andre Hunter—who ultimately ended up with the Cleveland Cavaliers instead.
Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion on the whole Ingram transaction for Toronto. I've commented on both the good and bad outcomes, but I would 100% choose an injured Ingram over risking a similar amount of poker chips in a gamble for Hunter.
It was resident NBA insider Jake Fischer who wrote in his February 12 edition of "The People's Insider" for Marc Stein's Substack that "Toronto and Atlanta have discussed Hunter trades going as far back as the 2023 NBA Draft, sources said, when the Hawks were also among the teams most aggressively pursuing Siakam."
Raptors could've traded for De'Andre Hunter instead of Brandon Ingram
I definitely remember hearing those rumblings back then, and they were duly warranted. Don't get me wrong: I think Hunter is a great complementary 3-and-D piece for any contending team, and the championship-hopeful Cavaliers have a solid player on their hands.
You see what I just said there—the perfect piece for a contender—and this iteration of the Toronto Raptors is far from that. Fischer would go on to add: "Sources say that the Cavaliers viewed the Raptors as their foremost threat to landing Hunter while also being cognizant that the Pelicans and Hawks were discussing frameworks that could have sent Ingram to Atlanta and Hunter to New Orleans."
I can see why Toronto would want to add Hunter to the mix; much like other rumors were linking 3-and-D wing Andrew Wiggins to the Raptors, this makes sense to me.
However, there’s a ceiling to these player archetypes. They help hold the entire foundation of a championship core—or even a playoff core—together like a well-oiled machine. But in the Raptors' case, they were more in need of a true scorer at heart to help carry the load as a primary offensive threat.
That is precisely what Ingram's identity is as an NBA talent, and for the Raptors to seize a player acquisition opportunity that largely slips by them, it might be their golden ticket to some form of Eastern Conference relevancy once again.
For so long, it seems like the Raptors are always rumored to be in the star sweepstakes, and that continues to be the case. However, in the end, it often results in expectations being let down. As for the players Toronto can acquire, they may be solid talents, sure, but they’re never potential game-changers who can help turn things around. I don't want to overhype Ingram too much, but he's a night-and-day difference for this retooling Raptors squad compared to a Hunter-esque player.
I don't think adding Hunter would have been detrimental to the Raptors' future outlook, but I feel many in Raptors nation would've viewed the deal as a very lateral move, indicative of the front office's acceptance of being stuck in the middle of NBA purgatory. Hunter would've arguably swapped one mediocre situation on the Hawks for another in the Raptors, to be completely honest.
Ingram's stint with the Pelicans might not have churned out a ton of postseason success, but we've seen that he can be a number one option. In the meantime, while Ingram recovers from his injury and prepares to return at full strength next year, I believe this entire ordeal worked out perfectly for all the teams involved. Each team acquired the right pieces to meet their specific needs and hopefully it pays off.