2021-22 Trade Deadline Open Thread

3:17 pm: Looks like we can call it. Fun deadline! Thad. Still could use some shooting and a guard, but there could be buyout options. Thanks for joining me!

3:08 pm: Not over yet! No word that the Raps didn’t make another trade, so can’t call it yet.

3:01 pm: Theis back to the Celtics, lol.

2:51 pm: Nine minutes remaining. Really important note: trades can be announced after the 3 pm deadline, so it’s really more than nine minutes. Stay sharp, team.

2:38 pm: A biggie! Kristaps traded for Dinwiddie!

2:30 pm: Thirty minutes and counting. Haven’t heard a Raptors rumour in a looong time. Hmmm.

2:25 pm: Charlotte traded for Montrezl Harrell, so, that’ll fix the defense.

2:08 pm: The Rap Up is live! Watch the crew here:

2:06 pm: So some guys I really, really would have liked in Toronto just got traded. Derrick White to Boston (ooof that really hurts, considering they’re big competition for playoff seeding) and Jalen Smith to the Pacers. He’s more of a long-term play, but I like his future. Maybe it’s possible that Toronto is done dealing? I doubt it, but you never know. Not sure who else is on the table at the moment.

1:27 pm: Okay, my longer thoughts about Thad Young in Toronto. Big fan. Take a few minutes, nothing is gonna happen quite yet in all likelihood. Read about the basketball fit.

1:18 pm: James Harden for Ben Simmons is a done deal. Wow.

12:15 pm: I gotta hop on a podcast for a few minutes, but my initial take is that Toronto isn’t done moving today. Too many bigs, even for this team. And that Pistons’ second-rounder is a real asset, basically a first-round pick. I’ll be back soon, stay sane. My dog has finally fallen asleep. Good omens.

12:05 pm: Okay, the full details are out! Raptors acquire Drew Eubanks as well, who is a big center. He’s young and good on the glass. In exchange, the Spurs are getting a first-round pick, which will probably convey this season. The Pistons’ second-rounder will only be about 10 spots below Toronto’s first, so not a big deal at all, at all.

But the Raps are building the whole plane out of bigs!

Sources: Full Spurs-Raptors deal:

Raptors: Thad Young, Drew Eubanks, 2022 Pistons second-rounder

Spurs: Goran Dragic, Toronto 2022 first-rounder (protected 1-14, protected 1-13 in 2023, turning into future seconds)

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2022

11:48 am: The Raptors have been trying to acquire Thad Young for about a decade, and for good reason. He’s a really versatile big, great (seriously, great!) passer out of the short roll, good finisher and offensive rebounder, and solid defender. He makes immediate decisions. He’ll slot perfectly into Toronto’s schemes on both sides of the ball. He’ll maybe play 12-18 minutes off the bench, but he’ll be a big boost. I love this for Toronto. Going all in on this season without sacrificing anything for it.

Thad Young to Toronto! Great! On the other side of things, the Spurs will buy out Dragic, and he’s expected to sign in Dallas.

11:46 am: Wait, that trade also includes Donte DiVincenzo? Looks like the Bucks are acquiring Serge Ibaka in the same deal. Full deal here. Pretty complex! Doesn’t do much for Toronto though, and Thad, so I’m not going to go into it at all.

11:44 am: Another trade! Bagley to the Pistons! Another popular target for the Raptors as a second-draft candidate.

11:37 am: A small lull in rumours, so I want to explain my criticism of the rumoured Porzingis acquisition. One: he’s really bad. The Mavericks are significantly better with him on the bench than on the floor this year. He’s immobile as a defender and a terrible rebounder. He’s an inefficient shooter who loves the post but is really bad at operating out of it. He makes slow decisions and would fit horribly into Toronto’s system. He is not a good passer. He leverages his size with perhaps the worst ability in the league, taking almost no shots at the rim. Two: He may never be fully healthy in his entire career. Three: there are sexual assault allegations against him. He would be a disastrous acquisition for Toronto.

11:24 am: More news that the three-way deal bringing Toronto Horton-Tucker and Noel is unlikely. Importantly, the newsbringer is Michael Grange. The local boys finally getting a rumour!

11:20 am: Now a report that Goran Dragic and a pick isn’t close to getting Kristaps. Thank the lord.

11:11 am: Unlucky time for an unlucky rumour. Kristaps Porzingis to Toronto? Sure hope not.

11:06 am: Reports now are that the three-way trade mentioned earlier, wherein the Raptors would acquire Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel, have stagnated.

10:50 am: Let’s talk philosophy for a moment. Toronto isn’t, in all likelihood bringing in a star. In a similar vein, basically all of the starting lineup is off the table as an outbound piece; Toronto is not going to find equal or superior talent levels from the current stars. That means the Raptors really can only improve around the edges. What does that mean?

Well, this trade deadline will function as Toronto’s free agency. They won’t have a reasonable way to open up real cap space this offseason, so Toronto is acquiring bird rights as much as anything else. That means the Raptors are paying for an extended audition and a chance to re-sign that player if they really like him. Much like what they did with Gary Trent jr.!

So what type of players will Toronto be hunting? There are starter-plus centers that ought to be on the market, such as Myles Turner, Jakob Poeltl, or Richaun Holmes. Holmes, I think, is the best player of the three and also the most available. He played 11.5 minutes off the bench last night in a Kings’ win. With Sabonis in town and the center of the the future, what is Holmes to Sacramento? He would probably start in Toronto and be a huge upgrade on the three-headed hydra Toronto currently employs.

There are bench scorers out there, which is where the aforementioned Horton-Tucker slots in. He’s not much of a shooter, though. Is Duncan Robinson available? Again, Toronto’s not going to find a star, and it’s tough to find a player who can both help in the present and sign for the future. But Toronto’s searching.

Or the Raps could go for a second-draft candidate. Adon mentioned Jalen Smith from the Suns on the Rap Up, and I love that idea. Try for the future and made do with what you’ve got this season.

The Raptors don’t have a lot of assets they’re willing to trade. They can try to make something from nothing, but most likely if they do make a move, it’ll be quiet. Don’t get your hopes up for much.

Oh, and the dog park was similarly subdued. Millie didn’t really play much at all. Now she’s bugging me to go out again. Ridiculousness.

9:35 am: Some rumours seem to be making the rounds right now, namely that the Raptors are in pursuit of Talen Horton-Tucker and Nerlens Noel. Horton-Tucker is an athletic swingman with enormous length, yet he’s a non shooter and has never contributed to winning basketball. So, Svi with that big-market shine. I’m not sure where Noel would rank in Toronto’s three-center rotation. Perhaps third? Not sure how many minutes he would get.

As for me, I’m off to walk the dog. This’ll be my big outing away from the NBA landscape, but I’ll be back hopefully before anything wild goes down. Stay sane, friends.

8:12 am: Nothing going. So why am I writing this? Because I’m bored. Watching Canada-Germany in the Olympics, and my dog just bailed to go sit by herself in the other room. Her loss. There were cuddles to be had if she just came to say hi. These things don’t normally heat up until the pm, with the real action happening often in the last hour, so don’t hold your breath for the trades to start flying.

7:30 am: Hello and good morning! I hope you’re all looking forward to a placid day full of soothing activities. Yoga. Long walks. Puppy cuddling. For me, I’m refreshing twitter for the all of us with a cup of microwaved coffee at my side, new pot brewing as we speak. Let’s get it. The Toronto Raptors are on a seven-game winning streak, which sort of changes the texture of the trade deadline. This is a good team now, and if the Raptors want to do something to help them win this year, that’s feasible. They have all their own first-round picks, and a huge, hefty expiring deal in Goran Dragic to align the monetary components. The Raptors may want some scoring on the bench, perhaps a center who can shoot, and maybe even a scooch more shooting. Who knows what else is on the Wishlist? It’s trade deadline day; let’s see if the Raptors go shopping.

Resources: Adon wrote a monster piece about the deadline already, including possible targets, possible trades, and Toronto’s whole philosophy about the deadline.

Completed trades: There are some real pieces off the market in whom the Raptors might have been interested.

• Goran Dragic for Thad Young!
• Washington traded Harrell to Charlotte for Vernon Carey and Ish Smith.
• Jalen Smith to Indiana for Torrey Craig and a second. Seems very, very inexpensive.
• Ben Simmons for James Harden! The Nets are also getting picks, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond. Paul Millsap to Philly.

• The Indiana Pacers traded Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Domantas Sabonis and a 2023 2nd round draft pick to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson.
•  The New Orleans Pelicans traded Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Josh Hart, Didi Louzada, Tomas Satoransky, a 2022 1st round draft pick, a 2026 2nd round draft pick, and a 2027 2nd round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell.
• The Cleveland Cavaliers traded Ricky Rubio, a 2022 1st round draft pick, a 2022 2nd round draft pick, and a 2027 2nd round draft pick to the Indiana Pacers for Caris LeVert and a 2022 2nd round draft pick.
• A three-way trade: The Utah Jazz will acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker from Portland and Juan Hernangomez from San Antonio. The Spurs will acquire Tomas Satoransky and a second-round pick, while the Blazers will acquire Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and a second-round pick.