Bleacher Report’s recent article “Every NBA Team’s Top 3 Offseason Trade Targets” proposes that the Raptors go after Trey Murphy III, who just played a strong game against them, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Michael Porter Jr. All three are good 3-point shooters and, notably, not bigs, which is a position the Raptors have been looking to upgrade.
Another thing that stands out about the article is how little the Raptors are represented. Only two of their players are mentioned as trade targets once each. Gradey Dick is listed as a trade target for the Pelicans, and Collin Murray-Boyles could be on the Kings’ radar. Expecting the Raptors to at least entertain offers for Gradey Dick, who fell out of the rotation for a while and still struggles to hit 3-pointers, is rather reasonable. But it would probably take a pretty great offer to convince them to let go of Murray-Boyles.
The lack of Raptors representation suggests that there aren’t many players on the roster who other teams would be really eager to trade for. That could limit the Raptors’ options on the trade market in the offseason.
The Raptors have to make some upgrades
The Raptors still have time to climb out of the play-in tournament and put up a fight in whatever first-round matchup they draw. Nevertheless, the Raptors have proven that they have several issues that need to be addressed. They cannot beat good teams, their already middling offense tends to fall apart in the fourth quarter, and they struggle to hit threes, to name a few issues. Some of those issues could be solved by shaking up the roster around Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram.
Since they were incredibly quiet at the trade deadline—they only traded Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets and brought in Trayce Jackson-Davis, who hasn’t played much yet—they need to use the offseason to change up the roster.
There are plenty of players out there who could help the Raptors and improve their chances of going from the bottom of the playoff race to the top of the Eastern Conference. The question is just whether the Raptors have any assets other than first-round picks that any potential trade partners would be very interested in.
When it comes to draft picks, the Raptors are set up well, though. They own all of their first-round picks through 2032. They also still own their second-round picks in 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030. That should help with any trades they want to make in the offseason.