Toronto Raptors Trade Rumors: 10 Moves The Raptors Should Make Before February
The Toronto Raptors have been a very unpredictable team so far into the season. Standing with an 11-20 record, the Raptors are not faring as they were expected to, but at the same time, they are not playing well either. Some games, they give a good effort whether it is a win or a loss, and other nights, they do not play at all.
The Raptors' most recent trade was a blockbuster that sent PG Jarett Jack, PG Marcus Banks, and C David Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for PG Jarry'd Bayless, and SF Peja Stojakovic. This trade gave Toronto their point guard of the future as well as a player who has a very big expiring contract.
The questions surrounding the Raptors are whether or not they should trade away Peja's expiring contract to get another player, or keep it to have a ridiculous amount of cap space in the offseason. The same question follows PF Reggie Evans, whose contract is also about to end.
In the next slides, I will showcase some players who the Raptors should target in order to get themselves back in shape.
Steve Nash
1 of 11
The Phoenix Suns, just like the Raptors, are in rebuilding mode, and are rumoured to be shopping former MVP Steve Nash in order to start from scratch for the future.
Nash would be the ideal candidate for the Raptors to pursue as he can add some much needed veteran experience and can help teach the players some lessons. He is one of the league's best passers and one of the best PG's.
Although Nash is past his prime, he can still play at an elite level and will be a good addition to the squad.
O.J. Mayo
2 of 11
Mayo had an outstanding rookie season, and although his numbers dropped in his sophomore season, he was still a top player on the Grizzlies' roster. Nowadays, Mayo is sitting on the bench to start games off. He has been inconsistent so far this season, but having a change of scenery might get him back to form.
DeRozan has not been a terrific player, as he is unable to convert points from mid-range jumpshots even after working on them the entire season.
The Raptors can give away one of their PGs to the Grizzlies and shift Leandro Barbosa to the PG position. DeRozan still has potential so it would not be a very smart move to trade him away, but it would be better for him to start games sitting on the bench and watch how the other dominant SG's are playing.
Andre Iguodala
3 of 11
Iguodala has been a name in trade rumours for a long time now. This is because of his huge decline in offensive production from his last few seasons in Philadelphia.
I am going to keep bringing up the problem of not having a consistent wing player, and that is why Iguodala would be a good fit in Toronto. Like most players on this list, Iguodala could see an increase in his stats just because Toronto has very good team chemistry.
The Raps would send Peja's expiring contract to the 76ers because Philly is in need of some cap space for this coming offseason if they want to sign big name contracts.
Gerald Wallace
4 of 11
The Raptors are in dire need of a consistent wing man and who else would be a better choice than Gerald Wallace? He is a great producer offensively and defensively, and is also consistent unlike Linas Kleiza and Sonny Weems.
Wallace has been in trade rumours these past few months and would it not be better for him to end up being dealt to the Raptors? He would be a great addition and could hopefully bring the team up to a 7th or 8th place finish in the Eastern Conference.
He could also be the next Chris Bosh in terms of hair.
Elton Brand
5 of 11
Reggie Evans has been a downright beast on the boards for the Raptors, offensively and defensively, but his lack of scoring is the reason he and his expiring contract could be sent away for another PF in Elton Brand.
Although Brand is not playing like he used to back in his Los Angeles Clipper days, he is a step further in terms of offense and defense over Evans.
Brand can help rookie Ed Davis on his offense as Davis is not a very good mid-range shooter, and can hopefully help Andrea Bargnani in his rebounding game.
Hasheem Thabeet
6 of 11
As much of a bust as Thabeet was this past season, he might be able to redeem his image in a Raptors jersey. He would be a great backup for Bargnani and will hopefully increase his stats in Toronto.
Thabeet is not worth a lot, so the Raptors could make a trade for him without giving much in return.
There is not much to say about Thabeet except for the fact that he was the highest pick in the NBA Draft (2nd Overall) to be sent to the D-League.
Greg Oden
7 of 11
We all know the story of Greg Oden by now. He was selected first overall before Kevin Durant and has only played 82 games out of three and a half seasons.
This may be a crazy trade considering Oden is not able to stay healthy for a vast majority of time, but there are some more details included with Oden.
It is rumoured that the Trailblazers are not so sure on whether or not they should keep Oden and wait for him to become healthy. Also, whenever Oden is healthy, he is an amazing defender and it is hard for opposing players to drive it into the paint without seeing Oden waiting to swat the ball out of their hands.
He could play the power forward position with Bargnani playing center, or vice versa. Bargnani will be the outside threat offensively and sometimes inside. Oden will be the inside threat on offense and on defense.
Samuel Dalembert
8 of 11
Another great inside threat who can be of help as Bargnani's backup. He is not very gifted offensively, but that is completely washed away with the fact that he is a great shot blocker and post defender.
As mentioned, he can play backup to Bargnani or he can play at the powerforward position and be a help for rookie Ed Davis.
Did I mention Dalembert is Canadian? It would be a great opportunity for him to play in front of his home-contry crowd and help them in their rebuilding stage.
Yao Ming
9 of 11
There have already been four big men in this list, but this is exactly what the team needs in terms of rebounding. Andrea Bargnani is an amazing offensive player, but his rebounding and defending are not the best assets of his play. And if his rebounding and defending improves before February, expect this trade to have a 0% chance of happening, although it is already very unlikely to happen in the first place.
Yao Ming is out again for another full season. This was supposed to be his comeback year, but unfortunately, it is not happening.
Ming is like Oden; trades for these two can be very consequential as they are both injury prone, but when healthy, they are fantastic players.
Ming has been in some recent trade talks these past few weeks, and Toronto would be a nice place for him to settle and the Chinese community in Toronto is indeed a very big one.
Vince Carter
10 of 11
I was planning on organizing the slides from the one-position all the way to the five-position, but decided to keep this slide at the end just to keep a little surprise for Raptor fans.
Vince is still not done, and he can still provide the scoring opportunity that our wing players do not do very often.
He is hated in Toronto, and as a huge Raptor fan, I will always disagree with other Raptor fans on the topic of Vince Carter being an enemy. For those who do not remember, Vince was the reason that the Raptors even contended for the playoffs early in the 2000's. He was the reason Toronto had a winning record, and finally, he was the reason Toronto managed to stay in the NBA unlike their Canadian counterpart, the Vancouver Grizzlies (now the Memphis Grizzlies). Although he had his bad moments, most of his time spent in Toronto were positive memories.
Bringing Vinsanity back would make some fans confused, but make those same fans breathe a sigh of relief if the Raptors make it into the 7th or 8th spot in the playoffs.
Carter was just part of a very huge trade that sent him packing to Phoenix, but there are rumours floating around that he is still involved in trade talks.
Thank You For Reading
11 of 11
I hope you enjoyed reading this slideshow.
Although many of these trades are unlikely to happen, anything can happen, anytime, so there is always hope for such stars to come to Toronto and play for the Raptors.
I understand that there are many big men on this list, but that is what the Raptors need right now, an offensive and defensive presence in the low-post. Ed Davis is a rising player, but a veteran who can score and defend is needed to show him how to play basketball at his best.
The Raptors also need wing players who can shoot the three and make the ball go in the net. That is what the current wing players for the Raptors are struggling to do, as many of them are over-the-rim players such as Demar DeRozan and Sonny Weems.
I also understand that the first round pick we acquired from the Miami Heat and Peja Stojakovic are mentioned a lot in what Toronto could trade, but those are the only two main trade assets the Raptors have.
Please leave any suggestions for what trades you would like to see the Raptors make in order to get them back into the playoffs.
Happy New Year!
