It’s trade deadline day! Teams have until 3 p.m. to consummate deals that will push them over the top, stock the cupboard for the future, or shed salary for future seasons. Here’s a quick look back at what we’ve learned to this point.
- Wednesday’s rumor roundup, which doesn’t provide a ton of new info.
- Tuesday’s rumor roundup, which has a great deal more
- Wednesday’s mailbag, which answers a lot of questions about potential deals, non-deals, targets, and so on.
And now here’s a quick spin around the league from Wednesday as it pertains to the Raptors, directly or tangentially.
Practice notes – Ibaka’s first session, Patterson’s return, Sullinger and 905ers present
Serge Ibaka practiced with the Raptors for the first time on Wednesday and seemed to be in high spirits after the fact. With the All-Star break separating his acquisition and his debut, Ibaka’s been given a bit of lead-time to help him catch up, and the Raptors gave him homework in the form of a video package of the team’s offense. That’s going to take a bit of time, and Ibaka admitted that learning his teammates will be the biggest learning curve. Defensively, though, Ibaka doesn’t expect things to take long.
“I’m gonna pick it up quick,” he said. “You know, defense, most of the things I already know how to do. Little change, but not really a big change.”
Ibaka’s existing relationship with assistant coach and defensive lead Rex Kalamian is expected to help things along, too, and Ibaka noted that his experience should make things easier on the defensive side. The early returns are encouraging.
“Excellent. Good work today,” Dwane Casey said. “It’s always difficult the first. You’re throwing a lot at the young man. But he’s comprehending a lot. Defensively, he added a buzz to the team, just his communication, his speed and quickness, reaction, understanding where to be. It was a good first night.”
Expect some potential bumps on the offensive end as Ibaka nails down the sets and figures out where to be and when to get out of his teammates’ way. (Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were excused from practice so they had an actual break, by the way, but they’ll be back for Thursday’s session.) Another day of full practice should have Ibaka in a good place to contribute when the Raptors get back to action on Friday.
*Patrick Patterson is expected to return Friday, barring a setback. Casey almost seemed jokey about how long Patterson’s been ready to go.
“Pat did well, had a good practice tonight, as he did the past couple of weeks,” he said. “Unless something happens in the next couple of hours, he looked good.”
Patterson was also credited with helping Ibaka a good deal, essentially working as a coach opposite him during practice, instructing and correcting him despite the fact that they were *against* each other in practice terms. Patterson’s communication might be missed more than any of his other skills right now.
*Yes, Jared Sullinger was at practice as a full participant.
*The 905ers – Pascal Siakam, Bruno Caboclo, and Fred VanVleet – were at practice on Wednesday but will almost surely be sent back down for tonight’s 905 game. The team didn’t even bother to formally announce the recall, so I doubt they’ll announce the re-assignment.
Competitors making moves – Wizards and Hawks make additions
The Wizards added Bjoan Bogdanovic to their bench (and shed some future salary), while the Hawks added Ersan Ilyaosva to theirs. The Raptors struck first in the East by landing Ibaka, and their competitors in the meaty second tier have responded with smaller moves to fortify their depth. The Celtics have, umm, not. Toronto probably won’t overreact to these small reactions to Toronto improving, but it’s worth noting nonetheless, and Bogdanovic was a potential target on paper.
All quiet on potential targets – No hard rumors on frequently asked-about names
There hasn’t been much buzz about what the Raptors are up to, specifically, but multiple reporters continue to report the same things: The Raptors are following logic, looking to add a wing with some size/defense or shooting (preferably both), and they have Jared Sullinger to attach an asset to in order to make a deal work. Michael Grange, meanwhile, says things are quiet right now but that things could change fast. It’s all the same stuff I wrote in the immediate aftermath of the Ibaka deal, and what we’ve been writing for over a week continues to be the case in terms of Raptors’ targets and asset availability.
*The Lakers are only seeking a second-round pick for Nick Young, per Marc Stein of ESPN. I know, it’s Nick Young, and Dwane Casey would murder him. But he’s also a terrific 3-point shooter on a huge volume of attempts, has good size for the wing, and has actually been really good this year. Crazier things have happened, and that’s a terrific price for a bench piece.
*The Raptors still have interest in P.J. Tucker, per The Vertical on Facebook Live, but the Suns are still hoping to get a first-round pick for him. That might be too high an asking price, and the Raptors’ second – likely in the 50s – might be too low.
*The Nuggets continue to ask far too much for Wilson Chandler, when you factor in the salaries the Raptors’ would also have to give up to make the salary cap math work. Chandler’s a nice piece, but with the Raptors no longer needing minutes from small-ball fours, shedding multiple assets for him would seem a poor allocation of resources, committing $27 million next year to a pair of small forwards and possibly bumping Norman Powell back out of the rotation. The Thunder are out on Chandler, according to Sam Amick, so maybe the price comes down with fewer suitors? It sounds like the asking price is similar on Danilo Gallinari, who is questionable to play Thursday due to a groin injury.
*A few people have asked me about Moe Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu. While it’s true that they unloaded one salary and are objectively bad, they’re also just two games out of a playoff spot, and an executive walking back multiple moves, even if logical, might be too risky from a self-preservation perspective. It’s also been very quiet on the Portland front. Does that mean they won’t make a move? Absolutely not, and Aminu (great size, good defense, poor shooting) and Harkless (great length, improving shooting, iffy contract) both fit to varying degrees. But they’d probably be costly, and the Raptors don’t really seem like their in a place where adding signficiant future salary is on the table for a non-star, given the luxury tax crunch that’s coming. But hey, maybe!
Keep dreaming – You’re not landing a star at this point
The Raptors aren’t getting Jimmy Butler or Paul George. It would be amazing, but assuming the team wanted to keep Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Serge Ibaka, there’s no package that you could put together that makes sense. (I’m assuming DeRozan would be off the table for non-basketball reasons, and Ibaka can’t be paired with other players in a deal until the summer, anyway.) It is fun to dream on, though.
More on Valanciunas-Drummond
Stein and Brian Windhorst confirm earlier reports that the Raptors had “exploratory” discussions about Andre Drummond. It doesn’t sound like this was ever anything all that major, beyond signalling that Jonas Valanciunas is very much in play. That probably means he will be this offseason, too. I’m not sure Drummond is the right guy, given he has similar limitations, might not embrace the limited role in the same way, and make nearly 50 percent more, but it’s interesting that the Raptors were active in this way. They also, remember, reportedly floated Valanciunas and a first for DeMarcus Cousins. Anyway, it sounds like this is dead now and was firmly pre-Serge Ibaka.
