Raptors stellar trade looks even better after former player is dumped in new deal

The Toronto Raptors sure didn't want Jalen McDaniels.

That is, they certainly wanted him in the summer of 2023, when they signed him to a two-year, $9.3 million deal. McDaniels had a solid 2022-23 season between the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers, and at 6'9" with a long wingspan and good defensive chops, he was the exact sort of versatile forward it made sense to "buy low" on.

The problem was that Toronto actually bought high - way high - on him, as he was one of the very worst veteran players in the entire league last season. He played in 50 games for the Raptors but only averaged 10.8 minutes per game as he was essentially the "last man" in the rotation. He shot 34.4 percent from the field and a ghastly 16.9 percent from 3-point range. Never much of a passer, he had just 37 assists in his 50 games.

McDaniels was never going to factor into the Raptors' rotation this upcoming season, even with their lack of forwards on the roster. He could barely make it onto the court last season amidst the cornucopia of injuries and absences. It looked like he was in line to be dead salary or even waived heading into the season.

The McDaniels Hot Potato

One of the underrated benefits of the draft-day trade the Raptors made with the Sacramento Kings was getting off of McDaniels' guaranteed salary for this season, roughly $4.7 million. The Raptors could wipe their hands of his salary and his roster spot. It made sense for the Kings to take a flyer on McDaniels; just 26 years old, it was at least possible he could bounce back, and the Kings had (and have) a lack of depth at forward.

That didn't last long, however, as McDaniels was just traded once again - not to a team trying to buy low, but to a team willing to take on his salary as dead weight. The Kings saw McDaniels during offseason workouts and training camp, put him onto the court for two preseason games and concluded that he was not worth the roster spot.

It's hard to disagree with their assessment. McDaniels made his debut for the Kings last week against the Golden State Warriors; he played 21 minutes, shot 2-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-4 from deep, and was a -13 in a 10-point loss. He then played just four minutes in the Kings' second game and was a healthy scratch in their third game.

The Kings attached a 2031 second-round pick and likely enough cash to cover McDaniels' salary to the Spurs, who will take him into their room exception and then waive him. At that point, it seems very unlikely that another team would sign him at this point in the offseason. He could look to sign overseas, or perhaps catch on with a G League team and hope to play well enough for a midseason call-up on a 10-day contract.

Regardless, his NBA career is on life support. The 76ers didn't want him enough to retain him, the Raptors were happy to get rid of him, and the Kings just paid to offload him.

The Raptors won that trade

So to come back to the Raptors, they entered the NBA Draft with a forward they didn't want making $4.7 million. They used their space under the luxury tax to take on money from the Kings and received draft capital in the process; here is all that they got back:

Davion Mitchell is on an expiring contract for $6.45 million and could be re-signed or traded. Jamal Shead was one of the best defenders in college basketball last season and seems poised to grow into the backup point guard role. Sasha Vezenkov's salary was the main reason that the Kings needed to make the deal, but he agreed to a buyout and his salary was completely wiped away. And they have a pick likely to be in the top 5 of the second round next season from Portland.

Now it gets even better; not only did the Raptors get off of McDaniels' money for their own flexibility, but it's clear just how negative his contract was, as the Kings had to send cash and another second to the Spurs to completely dump him. If the Raptors had wanted to do the same they would have been out multiple assets.

The Raptors absolutely fleeced the Kings in this trade; it's a relatively small scale -- this isn't the Celtics getting Brooklyn's entire draft for a pair of aging stars in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- but Toronto won going away, and with each new development it only looks better.