Sometimes the scariest thing to do is nothing at all. That's the route the Toronto Raptors ended up taking at this year's NBA trade deadline. They conducted a few very minor moves, like adding center Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Warriors and sending Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets, but there was no splashy moves like plenty of fans expected after the Raptors were connected to multiple big-name players leading up to the final buzzer.
By Thursday afternoon, though, the Raptors rumor mill had slowed down to a churn. Both the minor moves felt like precursors to something bigger, and yet... Nothing bigger came. The deadline passed with but a whimper for the Raptors, as a few Eastern Conference competitors like the Knicks and Cavaliers made win-now moves (but others like the Magic, Pistons, and Celtics also mostly stayed put).
So despite tons of smoke, there was never a fire. Bobby Webster and the rest of the front office is showing trust in the Raps current roster, and asking you to do the same.
Raptors' front office shows ultimate trust in current roster
Of course, the most common rumors in the lead up to the deadline was the Raps interest in stars Giannis Antetokounmpo, Domantas Sabonis, and Ja Morant (if you would still consider Ja a star). Those deals always felt like long shots, although the Sabonis rumors felt awfully real, especially with how much the Kings reportedly value RJ Barrett. Still, there were tons of moving parts in that deal, too.
However, there were plenty of available players who could have helped this team without breaking the bank. Luke Kennard, Buddy Hield, or Jared McCain would have greatly helped this team's 3-point shooting woes, for instance, and Kennard and Hield were gotten for pretty low prices. A blockbuster wasn't necessary to improve this team, and I think this team not making the small, obvious moves is what hurts the most.
There has never been a perfect NBA roster. Raps fans don't expect this team to be perfect. But in a year where the Raptors have a real chance at something special — and some obvious deficiencies holding them back — a quiet deadline feels much riskier than it normally would. With all due respect to Trayce Jackson-Davis, I understand why fans are feeling disappointed in how it all went down.
Maybe a move on the buyout market is coming. But the time for big moves has passed, and now trusting the Raptors as currently constructed is all fans can do.