Precious Achiuwa’s emergence could affect Raptors’ trade deadline level of activity

Precious Achiuwa may very well be in the process of re-shaping the core of the Toronto Raptors as we know it.

Of course, he won’t be doing it alone.

Since the departure of Kyle Lowry, the accepted core of this team has been the trio of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.

Scottie Barnes, after being chosen fourth overall in the 2021 draft, quickly joined that core in his rookie year. He was always going to join that group, he just did it quicker than most expected.

Achiuwa, who came over in the Lowry deal along with the short-lived stint of Goran Dragic, has always had the potential to join that core and made a strong case for it in the latter stages of last season and into the playoffs.

But as the season began, Achiuwa was coming off the bench and clearly not a part of that core just yet.

He struggled early on to find his form and then suffered a severe ankle injury that cost him 24 games. Upon his return, though, he has steadily improved to the point where head coach Nick Nurse is suggesting he’s not just back to the form he was at in that Philadelphia playoff series, where he was instrumental in making the Raptors competitive, he has surpassed that level.

In his past five games, three of them starts, Achiuwa has averaged 34.2 minutes, 18.4 points, and 10.2 rebounds. He has been a defensive mainstay for the Raptors more than holding his own in the one-on-one battles and changing shots at the rim with his size and athleticism.

Only 23 years old, Achiuwa is in his third year in the NBA and he has found his preferred pace. He doesn’t let the game speed him up anymore. He’s more in control and when he makes his move to the basket, there are few in the league who can keep him from getting where he wants to go.

He has started twice in place of Anunoby and once for VanVleet in the past five games.

But starting or not, he has led the Raptors in rebounding in four of those five games, and led them in scoring Saturday in Portland with a career high 27 points.

But as much as Achiuwa is forcing a full-time promotion to starting duties with his play, an opportunity that an opening could be coming in that group.

There are all kinds of rumours floating around at this time of year and one of them has the Raptors seriously contemplating trading Anunoby. The narrative goes that Anunoby is not happy with his current role here and would prefer a change of scenery.

Anunoby is currently out of the lineup with a sprained left wrist. He had an X-Ray in San Francisco where the injury occurred and the results came back negative. He then had an MRI in Portland, but the results of that procedure have yet to be made public.

In the interim, Achiuwa is filling in and prospering.

Only Anunoby’s representatives, Anunoby himself and Raptors management would know whether any of the discontent talk is real, and as yet none of that trio has said anything publicly.

But if that is the case and the Raptors are indeed weighing offers for their best man-on-man defender, Achiuwa’s play of late could factor into that equation.

He’s a solid defender with great feet, superior strength and athleticism. All he lacks is Anunoby’s experience and he’s gaining that on a daily basis.

So, if the rumours are true and there is some dissatisfaction with Anunoby about his role in Toronto, management can at least look to see the return on a player of Anunoby’s caliber knowing they have a guy who is doing a lot of what they ask of Anunoby — namely guarding the opponent’s best player while anchoring the Toronto defence.

Again, he’s not at Anunoby’s level yet, but Achiuwa is giving every indication that he is on the path to becoming that type of player, a guy a team can depend on to both contribute offensively and be a guy who can set the tone defensively.

Of course, having both Anunoby and Achiuwa on the floor at the same time going forward wouldn’t be a bad outcome either.

1. RAPTORS BLOG: Scottie Barnes has never been better than in January of 2023

2. Raptors rally from tough loss to lay beatdown on the Trail Blazers