"The Raptors have been linked to every player to hit the trade market in the past two months, everyone from Anthony Davis to Ja Morant to Domantas Sabonis. Should they bring DeMar DeRozan home? Is LaMelo Ball on the market? Can they justify Karl-Anthony Towns? Toronto has faced an uphill climb from the start as it goes star-hunting. They are a good team right now, but no one truly considers them a title contender despite their top-4 record in the Eastern Conference."
"All of their matching salary is either untouchable (Scottie Barnes) or underwater; few teams around the NBA want to pay Immanuel Quickley $32.5 million per season, or Brandon Ingram $40 million, or Jakob Poeltl anything -- let alone the $100 million he just added to the end of his contract paying him for another five seasons. To make a deal, the Raptors were going to need a trade partner motivated to sell,"
"Now all of that is put on hold. The teams with a star-type player they are willing to move on from are now considering whether that player can be a part of a Giannis trade package. Other teams are waiting for the dust to settle to determine the best available trade, putting a deal with Toronto on ice. It's not like the Raptors are going to trade for Giannis, either."
Giannis Antetokounmpo has publicly requested a trade, redirecting league attention and stalling the Toronto Raptors' trade-deadline approach. The Raptors pursued many star targets but lack an attractive package to acquire one. Matching salaries are largely untouchable or undesirable: Scottie Barnes is off-limits, while Immanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram, and Jakob Poeltl carry expensive long-term deals. Toronto planned to include future draft picks to offset onerous contracts and to persuade a motivated seller to absorb those salaries. Teams are pausing other trades to evaluate Giannis-related opportunities, putting potential deals with Toronto on hold.
Read at Raptors Rapture
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]