The Toronto Raptors have been of the better teams in the Eastern Conference in recent history, having made the playoffs in 8 of the last 9 seasons. Barring a remarkable uptick in play in the second half of this 2022-23 campaign though, it seems unlikely they’d be adding to that tally.
The Raptors find themselves at 11th in the Conference with a 19-24 record and there have been murmurs for quite a while now that they might just blow it all up. They are reportedly listening to offers for their core players and CJ McCollum says some of the players aren’t happy either.
“There’s rumblings about certain players on the team not being happy and due to tampering, I can’t speak to that but I think they’re gonna move someone.” 👀👀👀
– CJ McCollum on the Raptors
(h/t @hoopshype ) pic.twitter.com/G46v1VOYZU
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 16, 2023
“There’s rumblings about certain players on the team not being happy and due to tampering, I can’t speak to that but I think they’re gonna move someone.”
– CJ McCollum on the Raptors
(h/t @hoopshype)
You do have to wonder who these players are. Fred VanVleet believed he was worth more than the contract that the team was offering him and he might feel he has a better chance of getting paid elsewhere. It is safe to say that a lot of eyes will be on the Raptors as we get closer to the NBA trade deadline.
Scottie Barnes Has Turned Things Around After A Rough Start
Scottie Barnes won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and the Raptors started viewing him as a cornerstone piece of the franchise amid his rookie season. They were even unwilling to include him in trade packages for Kevin Durant, which tells you how highly they rated him. Unfortunately, Barnes didn’t take a leap in his second season and struggled at the start of the campaign.
He has been a lot better recently, with three 20-point outings in his last four games. The Raptors if they do decide to go for a total rebuild, will be hoping that he develops into the star that they thought he would be after that fine rookie season.
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