Raptors Again at Center Stage As 'Trade Season' Begins in NBA With Players Suddenly Available

Let’s peel back the curtain on Toronto Raptors media for a moment.

On non-game days, Toronto usually practices at the OVO Athletic Centre. Media members are told to show up when practice is expected to end and take a seat in the waiting area for the time being. At some point, a member of the Raptors PR team will walk in and ask who the media would like to speak to that day.

Almost without fail there’s a joke made.

Masai Ujiri? Maybe Bobby Webster?

By now the PR team is used to it. Both parties know the wish won’t be granted. Toronto’s executives speak a couple of times a year at key moments and not on a Thursday afternoon in December.

But, hey, it never hurts to ask.

As the calendar hits Dec. 15, all eyes are on Toronto’s top decision makers. It’s the start of the league’s so-called “trade season,” if you will, when the vast majority of players who signed new contracts in the offseason are now eligible to be traded. For the Raptors, that means Jakob Poeltl, Dennis Schröder, Jalen McDaniels, and Garrett Temple are all now eligible to dealt.

It was hard not to notice the conversation being had in the middle of the practice facility Thursday when Toronto’s practice did wrap up and the media walked in. Not that it was particularly unusual, but Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković and Ujiri were engaged in a long conversation that was, unfortunately, out of earshot from the media.

What was it about?

“Always a great conversation with Masai,” Rajaković said when that question was put to him, of course, unwilling to reveal whatever was said.

The Raptors are as you’d expect, tight-lipped about what their plans are moving forward. They’ve spent the past year evaluating this group and by now it’s become apparent the core isn’t good enough to really contend for a playoff spot, let alone playoff series wins. They’ve gone 51-55 over their last 106 games and even this year it’s not as if bad injury luck has the team sitting at 10-14.

Decisions are looming.

Pascal Siakam’s contract is set to expire this summer. OG Anunoby is almost certainly heading into free agency this summer. Gary Trent Jr. and Malachi Flynn will also be an unrestricted free agent. Precious Achiuwa will be a restricted free agent and Toronto’s roster currently has just six players whose contracts have guaranteed money for next season.

The next steps, however, aren’t exactly clear.

There’s little chance Toronto opts to run it back with this same group for next season both because the talent just isn’t good enough and because it’ll be too costly to do so. That said, the Raptors don’t have incentive to tank this year considering they’re almost certainly going to be without their first-round pick this year. Sure, they could try to sneak into the top six in the draft to keep their pick but eventually, Toronto is going to have to pay the price with a first-round pick and this year’s draft class is considered to be worse than either of the next two.

What’s certain is the next two months ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline are going to be filled with speculation. Toronto was at the center of all the trade chatter last year when the trade deadline rolled around and their continued stasis has only further pushed the organization toward a pivot point.

“We’re talking about everything transparently and openly,” Rajaković said when pushed a little harder for details of his conversation with Ujiri. “At the end of the day, the front office has their jobs to do and I have absolute trust in Masai and Bobby to do their job.”

The next time Ujiri or Webster will speak will be right around the trade deadline. Neither will say much to tip their hand as to what will unfold in the coming days but their actions will speak for themselves. This team hasn’t been good enough and if the Raptors realize that, changes are coming soon enough.