The Toronto Raptors' 2022-23 season has been marred with disappointment, and what they plan to do during the upcoming NBA trade deadline on Thursday, February 9 has been revealed.
Shams Charania of The Athletic recently put out a tell-all piece on everything surrounding potential trade deals and the Raptors, who are widely viewed as the team that could swing a potential title contender into title favorites if they decide to let go one of their core players.
"[R]ival teams have been informed that the franchise will make a decision about being a buyer or seller–or standing pat–near deadline day, according to league sources," Charania wrote.
Putting out such a statement from sources close to the situation likely means that the franchise would rather decide their fates after the next three games.
The Raptors will have a mixed bag of opponents between now and the trade deadline as they enter the last leg of their seven-game Western Conference road trip with the final three stops being the Utah Jazz on February 1, the Houston Rockets on February 3, and the Memphis Grizzlies on February 5.
This now begs the question of which players will likely be dealt.
As Charania noted, their "talented core of attractive pieces in Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, O.G. Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr." are the likeliest targets for other franchises.
Outside of Trent, all of those names are expected to command a treasure trove of picks and talented players in any trade situation because of their championship experience and ability to have strong performances at any given time.
The biggest problem for the Raptors currently is their lack of stability behind VanVleet, Trent and Siakam's spots on the depth chart.
Much has already been said of the Raptors' issues in the backcourt as they have no other legitimate point guard other than VanVleet while the defensive duo of Siakam and Anunoby, while potent, lacks the true scorer component of any championship-caliber team.
Netting a true two-way player in Kawhi Leonard, along with some luck, propelled them to the title in 2019.
Putting all of it together, it makes the most sense for the defense-heavy Raptors to move Anunoby over Siakam and everyone else on the roster.
But if they decide to take a massive left-turn and build around Scottie Barnes and Anunoby, the Raptors will be dealing Siakam instead.
Toronto has a lot of options on their hands and it will once again be up to president of basketball operations and full-time front office miracle worker Masai Ujiri to right the ship.
