Round one of the 2026 NBA Draft is officially over, and the Raptors have another defensive-minded forward on the roster—with a solid 3-point shot this time. That pick still leaves the Raptors with a lack of guard play and looking for a center upgrade.
But, fortunately, the draft isn’t the only way to add talent to a roster. There is still free agency and the trade market, and Raptors GM Bobby Webster suggested that he could finally be ready to part ways with some of the carefully accumulated and guarded assets to upgrade those two positions—or at least one of them, depending on the scale of the trade.
Many Raptors fans were disappointed when the front office didn’t make any major moves at the trade deadline—all they did was add Trayce Jackson-Davis, who barely played, and send Ochai Agbaji to the Nets—even though the Raptors had been connected to some big names. Now, we could finally see some meaningful trade activity. While drafting Allen Graves means that the Raptors don’t necessarily have to re-sign Sandro Mamukelashvili in free agency and can target guards that way, the only way to get real upgrades is via trades.
“What we’ve been stockpiling and what we’ve been patient on over the past couple of years, having a lot of assets, having our first-round picks, having players under rookie-scale contracts, that’s allowed us to build and be the youngest team in the playoffs,” Webster said when asked about the possibilities in free agency and the trade market in a media availability after the first round of the draft. “At a certain point, we want to be opportunistic in the trade market, so we’ll look to do that over the course of the summer and even into the trade deadline next season.”
The Raptors have found themselves in several trade speculations already
The Raptors are reportedly looking for a center upgrade after a disappointing season from Jakob Poeltl, who dealt with a back injury and put together his worst statistical season in years. One center they have been frequently linked to is Myles Turner. He can space the floor and protect the rim, and could be very available after the Bucks finally sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami.
Other than that, the Raptors have been linked to Kings center Domantas Sabonis, which goes back to their interest in the three-time All-Star at the trade deadline. Jake Fischer reported recently that the Kings were interested in the Raptors’ first-round pick this year. Since they used that pick to draft Allen Graves, there’s no knowing whether the two teams are even still in trade talks for Sabonis.
Moreover, there have been some speculations (no official reports) about a potential trade with the Spurs to bring De’Aaron Fox to Toronto, and Kyrie Irving quickly caught fans’ eyes, but the Mavericks have since made it clear that he’s not available after all.
With the Antetokounmpo trade saga over, Jaylen Brown is the next big fish who could be available after the Celtics considered moving him in a failed attempt to get Antetokounmpo, and there have already been calls for the Raptors to make an offer for the 2024 Finals MVP.
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