San Antonio Spurs
1 Problem: Is now the time to make the transition to buyer?
At least through the first half of the season, the San Antonio Spurs look like a team that could be considered a year ahead of progress. Even though Victor Wembanyama is an incredibly talented player, I'm not sure there were many penciling the Spurs to be right in the playoff mix in the Western Conference. Nevertheless, at nearly the midway point of the season, that's exactly where San Antonio finds themselves. Heading into the NBA Trade Deadline, the Spurs have one big question they must ask themselves - is now the time to make the transition to a buyer?
On the surface, the answer may be yes. However, that's far from the right answer. I think it will truly depend on how the market develops over the next couple of weeks. Naturally, it would be great for Wemby to get more talent around him. However, the right talent is always more important than just more talent. At least for me, that's something the Spurs should be prioritizing heading into the future. Whether the front office believes that is something that must be sorted out between now and the trade deadline.
Toronto Raptors
1 Problem: The future may not be as bright as perhaps many believed
I'll be the first to admit that I did believe the Toronto Raptors had one of the best and most exciting young cores heading into this season. I'm not entirely sure if I'm off the Raptors bandwagon but they haven't shown much this season to make me feel that strongly about that previous statement. One thing the Raptors could attempt to figure out between now and the NBA Trade Deadline is whether their young players should be considered a strong foundational core. Why is it important for the Raptors to figure that out one way or another? Well, that way they can either embrace being a seller at the trade deadline or double down on this build and hope that next year it all begins to come together.
Right now, especially with how the Raptors have looked this season, I'm not sure they can confidently decide one way or another. Toronto has had some encouraging signs so far this season but I wouldn't go all the way to say that they're one of the up-and-coming teams anymore. I might've believed that but I still need to see more from this team overall before I defend that stance again.