3 Likeliest Raptors to Be Traded Ahead of Deadline

The Toronto Raptors have a few players on the trade block.

Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji drives to the basket against the Golden State Warriors. | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are just days away from the NBA trade deadline, and they have a few players that could be on the block.

Here's a look at the three players that the Raptors are most likely to trade going into the deadline:

Ochai Agbaji

Out of everyone on the roster, Agbaji is the likeliest to be traded. In fact, there is a better chance that he will be dealt instead of being kept, which is a hard thing to say for anyone at this stage in trade season.

Agbaji is a free agent at the end of the season, and the Raptors are in need of ducking the tax. Trading Agbaji is a simple fix for all of this. If the team is looking for ways to make a deal, Agbaji has the right salary for a move and could be of interest to any team looking to acquire expiring contracts.

Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji dunks the ball against the Sacramento Kings. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Jakob Poeltl

Poeltl is someone that will be difficult to trade, but the Raptors should have interest in moving him because he has not been able to live up to his contract this season. Poeltl has been spending most of the season on the sideline with a back injury, and the Raptors have found a way to be successful without him.

The biggest move for the Raptors would likely involve acquiring someone like Anthony Davis or Domantas Sabonis, so in order for Toronto to be able to bring on a big man, they will need to part ways with one, especially with a contract like Poeltl's.

It will be hard to trade Poeltl's contract, especially with him being injured for so long. But there aren't very many Raptors that have a high potential of being traded at this point.

RJ Barrett

Barrett is in the same boat as Poeltl, though he has not been as absent as the starting centre of the team. Barrett has returned to the Raptors for the last two games of the road trip. He has played for the team in limited minutes, but he is still an important part of the Raptors.

It's hard to imagine the Raptors trading Barrett, however he has been linked to the Sacramento Kings in a potential Sabonis trade, largely in part due to the fact that former New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry is with the front office in Sacramento. Barrett was drafted with the No. 3 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by Perry and the Knicks.