Thursday is one deadline for the Raptors. It’s not the only one. Change is coming but, if the right deal doesn’t present itself, it won’t come this week. Opinion by bruce_arthur
The NBA trade deadline is real, in the sense that time is real, and in the sense that deadlines spur action. It’s also real that theare fielding enough calls to melt cellphones, and fans can and will lose their minds because vice-chairman Masai Ujiri pulls star forward Pascal Siakam aside in view of the media. Ujiri speaks regularly to his players but, right now, everything is freighted with potential meaning.might come true.
And while you can construct all the trades in the world, one key here is what the Raptors want. It’s not to be the Lakers or Mavericks or the Nets — all three are trying like hell to maximize superstars, even if the superstars are 38, 23, and 34, respectively. The Lakers reportedly threw their two first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 at the Nets for Kyrie Irving, and it didn’t work because Brooklyn and the Lakers are, fundamentally, the same team.
No, everything you know about this organization and how it works is that the Raptors are aiming for contention within about four or five years, and sooner if possible. Barnes is a guy., and it hasn’t been a straight line yet. But look at what he has done in crunch time this season; look at how he drove straight at Grizzlies shot-blocker Jaren Jackson Jr., who is inhaling NBA offences this year, and had the strength and timing to create space for a game-winner in Memphis the other day.
But this isn’t a patch job. It’s architecture, and it’s made more complex by the fact that Toronto doesn’t have to sell. All this frenzy, all the smoke, all the very real conversations, and they don’t need to untangle this group and tank, because the Raptors started Tuesday with the seventh-worst record in the NBA, and the summer awaits. My esteemed colleague Dave Feschuk made a compelling argument thatwhile they are at the centre of things, and the thing is, it’s true.
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