NBA Trade Rumors: Raptors Undecided on Direction amid VanVleet, Siakam, Anunoby Buzz

The Toronto Raptors have yet to chart the course for an offseason that figures to significantly shape their short and long-term outlook, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

Windhorst said at the 38:09 mark on his Hoop Collective podcast the Raptors have a "fascinating situation" because people outside of Toronto believe the franchise remains undecided on its direction.

In an effort to continue contending, the Raptors could re-sign Fred VanVleet, who's eligible to become a free agent and extend Pascal Siakam's contract beyond the 2023-24 season.

Windhorst noted they could also choose to embrace a rebuild by letting VanVleet walk and entertaining trade offers for Siakam and O.G. Anunoby.

After how this season unfolded, the fanbase might prefer the latter.

In a bid to boost its playoff odds, Toronto acquired Jakob Poeltl ahead of the trade deadline and resisted overtures for Anunoby, reportedly turning down offers that included multiple first-round picks. The team still finished 41-41 and failed to make it out of the play-in tournament.

Maybe hiring the right replacement for Nick Nurse is all that's really required to significantly boost the Toronto's fortunes on the court. You can't help but feel the front office is prolonging the inevitable if it forges ahead with the current core, though.

It's not a coincidence the Raptors' championship window effectively closed as soon as Kawhi Leonard left and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. They haven't had another player as good as him since then.

Siakam, who earned his second All-Star appearance while averaging 24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists, is simply not the kind of star who lifts his team to a title. There's a reason the Raptors were at least linked with Kevin Durant after he requested a trade last offseason.

Toronto hasn't truly bottomed out for a long time, and it wasn't necessarily the organization's choice when that did happen. Injury problems for Vince Carter and his eventual trade to the New Jersey Nets triggered a fallow period in the early 2000s, and Chris Bosh's departure in 2010 did the same.

The Raptors are stuck in a place where they either need to make a blockbuster trade and sacrifice valuable long-term assets for the present or embrace a rebuild. Half measures are likely to keep them in the middle of the Eastern Conference.