Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Victor Oladipo? Aaron Gordon? Who Are The Best Trade Candidates for the Toronto Raptors?
Welcome to NBA trade season!
We're 25 days out from the NBA Trade Deadline and the buyers and sellers are beginning — albeit slowly — to separate themselves from one another. For our purposes, we'll classify the 17-17 Toronto Raptors as buyers considering they're tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference and just a half-game back of the New York Knicks for fourth.
So who is selling? Well, right now not many teams. The NBA's playoff picture is so jampacked with 11 teams between three games above .500 and three games below .500 that most of the league feels like it's not far from being a playoff team. There are, however, a few teams that are beginning to distinguish themselves as sellers.
Let's take a look at who they are and what they have.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have already made it known they're willing to part ways with centre Andre Drummond having taken him out of the rotation last month.
Toronto has repeatedly been linked to Drummond, but the mechanics of working out a deal for the 27-year-old upcoming free agent on a $28.7 million deal make it extremely unlike a deal will actually take place.
Alternatively, the Raptors might be interested in JaVale McGee. It wouldn't take much to pry the 33-year-old centre away from the Cavaliers and his $4.2 million contract makes a trade pretty easy to build. While McGee is by no means a significant upgrade for the Raptors frontcourt, he's an above-average defensive player and he could provide Toronto a low-risk boost off the bench.
Orlando Magic
If Toronto wanted to go all out at the deadline and eat up its cap space for the next few seasons, Nikola Vucevic would be right at the top of the list of big men to go after. He's having a career year, averaging 24.4 points per game, and his 41% 3-point shooting certainly fits the Raptors style of play.
Unfortunately for the Raptors, the Magic have reportedly shown no willingness to engage in trade talks for Vucevic who is under contract for two more seasons, according to The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor.
If Aaron Gordon hadn't body-checked Kyle Lowry earlier this year, he might be an interesting trade candidate for Toronto. But a trade for Gordon seems unlikely considering his history with the Raptors.
Evan Fournier could be made available later this month by the Magic considering he's on the final year of his deal. The problem with Fournier is his $17 million contract is quite prohibitive and the Raptors already have a surplus of players of his ilk.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are amid an 11-game losing streak and would be wise to start selling off assets to kickstart a rebuild that's already devoid of high-value draft picks. They've already done some of the work by trading away Robert Covington in the offseason and sending James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets in January.
Now Victor Oladipo — who reportedly just turned down a contract extension with the Rockets — and P.J. Tucker are candidates to be moved this month.
Trading for Oladpio would require the Raptors to give up at least Norman Powell, and considering Oladpio's injury history and the picks Toronto would have to kick in, that doesn't seem like a great move for the Raptors.
Instead, Tucker seems like a much better fit for his third stop with the Raptors. It wouldn't take much for the Raptors to pry the 35-year-old loose and he certainly fits Toronto's small-ball style. The Raptors could get it done without giving up a starter and all it would cost is a late first-round pick or a few second-rounders, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Finally, we've come to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team dying to acquire more long-term assets. Unfortunately for Toronto, Canadians Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort won't be made available any time soon, so the Raptors are left sorting through some aging short-term assets.
George Hill is probably the most attractive piece the Thunder can offer, but Toronto already has plenty of guards like Hill, and with $10 million due to him next season, the Raptors aren't the best fit for Hill.
So until Gilgeous-Alexander and Dort are on the market, the Raptors probably aren't going to be making any deals with Oklahoma City.
Further Reading
Here's what we know about the Toronto Raptors' COVID-19 issues
Any trade talks involving Kyle Lowry could put the Raptors in a bit of a bind
Kyle Lowry is carrying over a tradition from Michael Jordan & Kobe Bryant
