Why Raptors Didn't Go Bigger at Trade Deadline

The Toronto Raptors had a tame trade deadline, but there were other plans in the works.

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic reacts during a play against the Minnesota Timberwolves. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors made some moves at the trade deadline, but they were far from the greatest around the league.

Several star players were dealt, including Anthony Davis, Jared Jackson Jr., and James Harden. The Raptors were involved in rumoured deals, but none came into fruition. They made two small deals, sending Ochai Agbaji to the Brooklyn Nets and acquiring Trayce Jackson-Davis from the Golden State Warriors.

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said the team was in discussions to make a bigger trade, but they ultimately opted to go against it.

“By the time we got to Thursday, we did the Agbaji trade Tuesday, we did Jackson-Davis Wednesday, so we have Thursday free so we [could] kind of make some fun calls and see what was out there,” Webster said of the timeline of the trade deadline negotiations on TSN1050.

“But nothing came close to the deadline. I think there was a couple of things on Monday and Tuesday [that] we felt were bigger deals that maybe put us in a different group, but the price got a little too rich for us.”

Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster looks on as his players warm up. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Raptors Weren't Willing to Pay the Price

The Raptors held seven tradable first-round picks over the next seven years, but the team was unwilling to move on from any of them for the players that were made available to them. It's a fair assessment, especially with how every team values first-round picks. Toronto clearly values its future draft capital because all three of the last first-round picks are still on the roster.

The last time the Raptors traded their first-round pick was in 2022 when the team acquired Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks from the San Antonio Spurs for Goran Dragić and a first-round pick that selection ultimately turned into No. 20 overall pick Malaki Branham, who is struggling to catch on to a team as a young guard this season.

The Raptors trust their draft process, and the team might need a good pick in this year's draft, even if it is a little bit lower than where they have been drafting in recent years. Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja'Kobe Walter and Gradey Dick are all on the rise, and there could be room for one more prospect in this summer's draft. That was more valuable to the Raptors than acquiring a big like Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks or even Sacramento Kings All-Star centre Domantas Sabonis.