WOLSTAT: Raptors positioned well to take advantage of NBA’s asset stockpiles at trade deadline

We've never seen so many teams with so much to offer

Are we there yet? There being the NBA’s trade deadline? No, not quite yet, but we sure are getting close. That’s why the rumour mill has been incessantly churning, reaching a fever pitch. Get used to it. For another week that’s how things are going to be. After that there will be some post-mortems: How teams did, what else was on the table, where do various teams go from here.

And that’s probably a good thing, because we’re running out of on-court things to talk about when it comes to these Raptors. They are what they are: An underperforming group that lacks enough joiners. Consequently you see Pascal Siakam wearing down, frustrating loss after frustrating loss and every step forward is paired with at least one in the other direction. 

Wisely, nobody has hired me for an NBA job, but if they did, here’s what I’d recommend:

— Hold on to Scottie Barnes and Pascal Siakam. You just don’t easily find players that talented. Usually it takes years to get one, let alone two players of this quality. Yes, Siakam is seven years older than Barnes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build around both, at least for the early part of Barnes’s time in Toronto.

— Probably hold on to Fred VanVleet. That’s assuming outrageous offers aren’t out there and assuming in discussions, he sounds at least like an even bet to re-sign long-term in Toronto.

— Move Gary Trent Jr., unless you can’t get at least one solid piece back for him (ie. not a probable late first-round pick or a handful of second rounders. Either an intriguing young player, the way Trent was when Norman Powell was traded for him, or a late-lottery first).

— Move O.G. Anunoby. He’s an excellent player with a year left on his contract, but it’s clear he’s always going to be a player that misses a good chunk of every season due to injury. It’s also obvious that the fit in Toronto isn’t ideal offensively, that Anunoby appears to want more. His value will never be higher and a change is needed. Unless the rumoured offers simply aren’t what’s really out there, it’s time to deal him, even though the coach and front office have long been big-time Anunoby admirers.

— The preferred suitors are obvious: New Orleans and Memphis have ridiculous draft pick capital built up, plus solid young talent they can peddle with picks. New York can offer a good centre like Isaiah Hartenstein and picks (and maybe if you can get a bidding war going, talented guard Immanuel Quickley too). Orlando has a lot of assets that would help Toronto and Magic general manager Jeff Weltman is close with the Toronto front office, having worked with them previously for years. Indiana will always be tied to Anunoby, given where he played college basketball. The Lakers have picks to spare. Oklahoma City and Utah are ahead of schedule, but probably not yet ready to make a big splash.

It’s a seller’s market and more teams have stockpiled assets than we’ve ever seen before. Toronto is in an ideal position to take advantage.

AROUND THE RIM

THREE STARS

1 Fred VanVleet

2 Walker Kessler

3 Lauri Markkanen

Honourable mention: Pascal Siakam, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley, Chris Bouchern