The Toronto Raptors are in a tough spot to decide what they need to do with their team. After making a run to the fifth seed last year when people expected them to tank, the Raptors came into the season with a lot of hope given their young core just got a year more experience added to them.
Sadly, the Raptors just haven’t been good this season. The team is in need to make changes around the roster for it to better use the skill of its players, or make space for any future additions they need. As a result, it seems shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. may be surplus to requirements.
For now, sportsbooks still think Trent will remain in Toronto following the trade deadline and have made the Raptors a -200 favorite, conveying a 2/3rds likelihood he is not traded this year. If he is dealt, Washington and Chicago are the two most likely landing spots at +450, according to Bodog, implying nearly a 20% chance for each team. They’re followed by Atlanta at +600, implying nearly a 15% chance, and Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers at +750 each, implying about a 12% chance. (h/t Sports Illustrated)
Whatever package the Warriors have will be more attractive for the Raptors, given their core of young players and having their entire future asset pool secure. The Lakers will most likely offer Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn and a first-round pick that won’t convey until 2027 at the earliest. The Bulls and Wizards might be more realistic destinations for GTJ.
Are The Toronto Raptors Going To Start Trading Their Players?
Outside of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Scottie Barnes, it doesn’t look like the players on the Raptors team are untouchable. Barnes has had a poor season which has given the Raptors the opportunity to go for a soft tank This would entail them trading many veterans off their roster for assets or cap space.
These players could include the likes of Thaddeus Young and sadly, Gary Trent Jr. GTJ is still very young and could provide a lot more to the thin Lakers’ squad than to the Raptors or even the Warriors. Masai Ujiri is cold-blooded and if the Warriors outbid the Lakers, he’s bound to send GTJ to Golden State.
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