NBA Trade Rumors: Toronto Raptors intersted in Bradley Beal

NBA Trade Rumors: The Toronto Raptors inquired about trading for Bradley Beal, but would they pay the steep cost for his services?

After a red-hot start to the season, the Toronto Raptors are still second in the Eastern Conference. They’re only half a game back of the top seed in the conference, and are still likely to have a say in who will make it to the NBA Finals.

Still, there’s no question that the team has struggled over the last couple of weeks. And a big part of that has to do with the fact that Kyle Lowry has missed nine of the team’s last 10 games. Over that span, the team is 5-5.

As the team struggles to find a replacement playmaker in the place of the injured Lowry, it has been reported that Toronto called the Washington Wizards about the potential of a trade centered around Bradley Beal.

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So far, though, the two sides haven’t really made any strides. Mostly because the Raptors feel that the asking price for Beal is simply too high. It would be interesting to hear what the Wizards have been asking for in any Beal trade calls.

It hasn’t been reported in depth, but I believe it’s safe to say that, at the very least, they’d be asking for a couple first-round picks. After that, they’d likely be asking for a couple of the Raptors’ young, promising players.

That’s probably where Toronto draws the line, especially if they’re not confident in their ability to keep Kawhi Leonard beyond this season. He’s a free agent after this season, and has time and time again been linked to Los Angeles.

Nevertheless, if the Raptors really are all-in on winning an NBA Championship this season, perhaps adding a player like Beal could be the ultimate x-factor that separates them from teams likes the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the East.

The hope is that Lowry will get healthy and return to the lineup on a regular basis, but adding a playmaker like Beal would go a long way in raising this team’s ceiling.