NBA Trade Rumors: The Toronto Raptors are eyeing a big move for Deandre Ayton or Myles Turner ahead of the trade deadline.
The Toronto Raptors are in danger of falling into NBA purgatory. At least this season, the Raptors are not good enough where they can make much, if any, noise in the Eastern Conference playoffs and they aren’t bad enough where they’re going to get a good enough pick to jumpstart a retooling even if they miss the postseason.
All that has led to much intrigue surrounding this team heading into the NBA Trade Deadline in which many believe that the Raptors could emerge as a surprise seller over the next few weeks.
However, perhaps the move that the Raptors end up making is not one that suggests a seller. Instead, what if the Raptors make more of a buyer’s big move?
According to a recent report, in hopes of making a big move at the trade deadline, the Raptors have expressed an interest in acquiring either Deandre Ayton from the Phoenix Suns or Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers.
From an objective perspective, making a move for Ayton or Turner would suffice as a big move for the Raptors.
All eyes are on the Toronto Raptors ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline
It’s no surprise that all eyes are on the Raptors heading into the deadline. They have a trove of good players that many teams would be interested in if they suddenly became available. That said, I still believe it would be extremely surprising if the Raptors emerged as sellers at the deadline.
Despite their struggles this season, this is still a roster that is probably a superstar away from being a true title contender in the Eastern Conference. Whether or not they’ll be able to retain this core heading into the offseason is the bigger question, I would assume.
Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. could both leave in free agency and there are still questions about some other key players heading into the summer. Both OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam are essentially expiring contracts after next season. Though, you would assume that the Raptors will try to lock them up at some point during the offseason.
Just a few months ago, the narrative around this team was that they were one move away from perhaps being a title contender. Now, I’m not sure if that’s so much of a foregone conclusion.