TORONTO — After completing the trade for OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri reiterated his words and seemed to be preparing himself just like everyone else.
“I don't know if you should call this a rebuild or a reset or however we want to say it, but a normal rebuild with any other team…takes five, six years. Do we have the patience for that?'' Toronto Raptors president Ujiri said. “Do we have the patience for three to five years to build a team? Somehow, somehow, we're going to have to have the patience. And what I'm telling you… One, 100 percent, I'm not going to air this to anyone, and that means I'm patient.”
On the surface, the Raptors' actions Thursday ignored that. He gave up a first-round pick just before the deadline for the third year in a row. The Dallas Mavericks are the only other team to give up a first-rounder. The Raptors can't seem to fully engage with the youth movement.
But Thursday was very different from the Raptors' deadlines in 2023 and 2022. What they did by acquiring Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji and shipping four players was essentially diversifying their asset portfolio around the team's core. The core of that will be Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and probably RJ Barrett.
“We're trying to find the right combination,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said in a post-deadline press conference.
In addition to trading Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis Jr., and a first-round pick to Utah, the Raptors also traded Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn and released Spencer Dinwiddie. , was quickly waived in hopes of seeing more of Burns and others. A young option with the ball in his hands.
“In my personal conversations with many teams in similar positions, (the consensus) is that young players need leadership,” Webster added. “And I think we lost a little bit of a veteran presence when we signed earlier.
“And we're trying to find that right fit of who can coach these players. Losing Thad is tough for us. … So we're trying to develop and develop our young players while at the same time… They're learning professional habits, they're being held accountable, they're understanding how to play basketball at the NBA level, they're creating an environment around them. They're learning how to win.”
The Raptors parted ways with veteran Thaddeus Young at the deadline. (Dan Hamilton/USA Today)
The two transactions served very different purposes. The Raptors wanted a player from Utah and decided it was worth giving up the worst of the three picks they received from the Pacers for Siakam. Olynyk's pending unrestricted free agent trade comes with risks. The Raptors did that with Young and Jakob Poeltl midway through the past two seasons, ultimately re-signing those players to player-friendly deals (though not terrible from a team perspective) to keep them. did. It's possible that Olynyk decides to move elsewhere, but the fact that he's Canadian and will turn 33 shortly after the regular season concludes limits the number of teams that would be interested in signing him. At first glance, a two-year contract near the mid-level exception seems reasonable and essentially fills Schroder's salary slot. Olynyk is eligible for an immediate extension, and Webster said Olynyk wants to remain in Toronto.
Translation: They are confident that they can find common ground regarding the contract.
“We were big fans of Kelly,” Webster said. “What we see in him specifically is he's a solid player and I think we've seen that on the bench unit, especially on the big team. He offers a skill set of a veteran presence.” Deaf, and that unit will provide a voice that we believe can be “helped.'' ”
Most of all, the Raptors seemed unwilling to invest any more in the 2024 NBA Draft. If their pick falls within the top six by Thursday, they will receive three first-round picks and one early second-round pick in what is considered a weak draft. It means that According to multiple reports, the New York Knicks offered Bruce Brown a 2024 first-round pick, but the Raptors didn't want to be overvalued in this draft class and wanted a future pick. It is said that it was.
The Raptors also gave up their least desirable pick, meaning whoever finishes better than the Los Angeles Clippers or Oklahoma City Thunder will ultimately get the pick. They still have the Pacers' pick and the Detroit Pistons' second-round pick, as well as a potential pick of their own. It's a good bet to land Agbaji, who is in the second year of his rookie contract, in a position of urgent need on the wing.
“I think Orchai’s energy will energize Scottie,” Webster said.
Keeping Brown means the Raptors are highly unlikely to have room under the salary cap to splurge on free agents. To get closer to $40 million in cap space, they would have to decline Brown's $23 million team option and let Olynyk and Gary Trent Jr. become free agents. Then again, there's no player on the market that seems worth it, at least to those who consider the Raptors a realistic option.
More likely, the Raptors will keep Olynyk, see the trade value of Brown this summer and next season, and consider bringing Trent back if the price is right. For now, Olynyk and Brown will stabilize the bench and give the Raptors some options to finish competitive games.
What about the future? Well, let's see who makes themselves indispensable.
Note
Webster said no one could meet the Raptors' offer for Brown, otherwise they would have done something. The Raptors' demands seem pretty clear, as they only moved two first-round picks that day.
-The Raptors also didn't move Trent. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent after picking up his player option for the 2023-24 season in a bit of a surprise last offseason.
“Gary is 25 years old and a 40 percent 3-point shooter. So you can start from there,” Webster said when asked if Trent is in the team's future plans. “He'll probably even admit that he didn't get off to as good a start as he would have liked, but he's calmed down now and we're looking at that. So I think it's still up in the air with Gary, but I I think we're watching him grow with this group. We're watching him pick his position offensively. I think you'll see him be a little more aggressive defensively, as he's been.”
Trent is young enough to receive more than a mid-level exception offer from some team this summer, but rather than a couple of second-round picks, they have the Bird Rights that could potentially keep him. is a defensive measure for roster management. not decided.
• The Raptors are down to 13 players on the main roster, meaning they have two open spots on the roster. One of the three players on two-way contracts – Jontay Porter, Javon Freeman-Liberty and Marquis Nowell – could be converted to a main roster contract or left out of the organization. The Raptors must fill one of the spots within two weeks. They want to see what Barnes can do in a more ball-dominant role, but there is a need at point guard either way.
• Finally, Webster could keep the pick the San Antonio Spurs owe Pourtre (top-six protected) in the next three drafts, with the Raptors having 31 games remaining. I was asked if it affects how I approach things. The Raptors entered Thursday's game tied with Memphis for the sixth-worst record in the league, but the lottery could obviously change the draft order.
“We're going to make it a priority to see this group play,” Webster said. “If we end up in the top six or out of the top six, there's not much point in trying to compete, especially in the new (lottery odds) situation. At the end of the day, it's It will be a lottery.
“I think the number one priority for us is to get that young group playing together. Add Grady (Dick) to that group and see how they fit together. We'll do that. That gives us more information on how to build this team.”
(Top photo of Kelly Olynyk: Troy Taormina/USA Today)
