Stein is reporting that the Raptors are intent on tanking.
The Raptors, meanwhile, have been expected to be active in the trade market since the season began, with ESPN.com reporting since Nov. 1 that everyone on the roster apart from prized center Jonas Valanciunas had been made available.
New Raptors front-office boss Masai Ujiri has managed to trade away Andrea Bargnani and now Gay over the past six months to create financial flexibility going forward and — with Toronto apparently determined to avoid any accidental success in the Atlantic Division — is said to be happy to surrender veteran point guard Kyle Lowry next.
The priority in Toronto is clearly finishing as high as possible in the lottery with Canadian sensation Andrew Wiggins and several other top prospects expected to be available to teams picking at the top of the June draft. Lowry is in the final year of his contact at an affordable $6.2 million and believed to be eminently available because he’s not part of Toronto’s future plans.
If Stein is to be believed, then the tank is on.
As Tim Chisholm pointed out this morning, the Raptors did actually improve in the Rudy Gay trade, so if the ‘tank’ theory is to be believed then massive changes are coming because as it stands, the Raptors are in line to make the playoffs in the East.
