The NBA’s trade deadline is 15 days away, on Feb. 18, and we’re beginning to hear rumblings about players the Toronto Raptors might be interested in. Yesterday, two Phoenix Suns — Markieff Morris and P.J. Tucker — were reportedly being targeted by the Raptors, coincidentally just one day after the two teams played each other. To me, that raises questions about the validity of those reports, but they’re from people far more intelligent and connected than I, so I’m inclined to believe them.
However, it also raises another question: Do the Raptors even need to make a trade this season?
The Raptors currently sit at 33-16 in the Eastern Conference, they’re 9-1 in their last 10 games and 12-3 in their last 15. Those wins came without the team’s major offseason acquisition, DeMarre Carroll, and while a good number of those wins came against bad teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, the Raptors also beat some fairly good teams, like the Los Angeles Clippers and Detroit Pistons.
The Raptors have exceeded preseason expectations by a significant margin, and they’ve already made me look like a fool. Earlier this season, I pondered whether or not they’d even get homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Clearly, they will, and I’m humble enough to admit that I was wrong. (Modesty, on the other hand, is not something I’m known for.) Then again, most of us were wrong. The Raptors have persevered through injuries to key players and beat the teams they’re supposed to beat. Players we were worried about, like Terrence Ross and Patrick Patterson, have come around and are now key contributors to a winning team.
The Raptors are good. They’re very good. And it’s for that reason I’m not sure they should make a trade before the deadline. Not a major one, anyway.
There are three reasons to make a trade in the NBA: One, to upgrade on existing talent; two, to offload contracts hindering the team’s financial flexbility; and three, to acquire assets that have value in the future, not the present. The Raptors have no need to acquire picks or young pieces, and their cap sheet is fine. Yes, they could certainly upgrade on existing talent, but that presents another problem.
Chemistry.
The Raptors’ success the last few seasons has been based on exceptional chemistry, with not one player on the roster being regarded as anything but having high character. Jack Armstrong, the Raptors’ color analyst, said as much a couple of weeks ago at Hoop Talks in Toronto. He said he’d never seen a group with as much character and chemistry as the Raptors’ current roster, and credited general manager Masai Ujiri with building an environment in which the team can grow internally rather than by bringing in new pieces. I’m paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of what he said.
We’ve all seen the dozens of vines and YouTube clips of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry clowning each other and the Snapchats of Bruno Caboclo and Lucas Nogueira. And that’s the norm with the Raptors. They adore each other. There’s no beef, no egos, none of it.
If the Raptors were to make a trade — especially mid-season — they run the risk of jeopardizing what they’ve ever so carefully constructed.
Am I overstating the value of chemistry? Perhaps. There’ve been teams in the past comprised of players that hated each other but routinely won, with perhaps the most glaring example being the Los Angeles Lakers of the early ’00s. But the Raptors aren’t lucky enough to have two of the best of all time at their respective positions, and that’s reason for concern.
There’s been quite a bit of discourse about how Morris would affect the Raptors’ chemistry if he ends up in Toronto. For those unaware, the Morris twins have a bit of a history of being difficult to handle, especially when separated. The duo picked up felony aggravated assault charges after reportedly attacking a man at a recreation center in Phoenix. A few months later, Marcus was traded to Detroit. Neither brother responded well to the situation, with both publicly condemning the Suns for splitting them up. In fairness, the nature of their contract negotiations the prior year (they were given a lump sum of $52 million and told to split it as they saw fit) probably led both to believe that they’d be together for the foreseeable future. So yes, dick move on the Suns’ part. But neither Markieff or Marcus handled the trade well, with both taking to the media to voice their displeasure.
And neither’s performed all that well since they were split up. Maybe all they need is a change of scenery. That’s entirely possible.
Unfortunately, Josh Lewenberg of TSN reported that while DeRozan and Lowry are on good terms with Morris, the rest of the team’s not all that fond of him. Still, there’s no denying Morris is a very talented player. It’s just that the Raptors could be making quite the gamble if they trade for him.
But hey, Morris is a bit of an outlier. Most players don’t carry the baggage he does, and most are just happy to be playing basketball for a living. However, developing a level of trust with not just the players, but the coaches, takes time. There’s a playbook to learn, too.
And if the Raptors are this good already, why take a chance on the unknown? Don’t get me wrong, the Raptors definitely need to address the power forward spot. Luis Scola is productive but old, Patrick Patterson appears to have a low ceiling, and Bismack Biyombo will never play power forward unless he develops some sort of touch from at least 15 feet, which isn’t going to happen. I wrote extensively on this earlier this season.
But the fact remains: Right now, the Raptors are very, very good.
There’s no need to rush into a trade when this season looks to finish just fine. If you can get a great piece at an unbelievable discount, sure, go for it. If you’re just looking to flip someone at the bottom of the bench for another role player, sure, that works too. But if the plan is to address both the present and future with a big move, it might be best to wait until the offseason.
