Countdown to the NBA Trade Deadline 2022
With only 4 days to go until the NBA trade deadline, are there any deals worth watching, either for the Raptors or the league generally? Well, yes, in fact, for both.
When Masai Ujiri told reporters at the beginning of the season that ‘this year isn’t our year,’ it seems like he forgot to tell Nick and the players. 51 games in, almost 2/3 of the season done, the Raptors have scrambled out of the basement and are now in 7th place, just half a game behind the Brooklyn Nets (a column for another day perhaps) and on a 5 game winning streak that has included 2 games against Miami, 2 games against Atlanta and a game against Conference leading Chicago. Additionally, Coach Nick has been riding his starters hard, in fact 4 of the 5 Raptor starters are in the top ten minutes played with Fred, Pascal and OG playing the most minutes of any starters on any team in either conference. Certainly, the coach and the players aren’t giving us any indication that they want to do anything but win. Come on Masai, time to get on the bandwagon.
To that end, Masai may well have been converted. In the last 2 weeks the Raptors have been quoted in many trade talks around the league. It started perhaps even before that, after Pascal came out of the early season still not looking himself. Rumours began to rise that the Raptors were in talks with the Pacers for a potential Siakam for Sabonis deal. But the embers of that trade rumour never seemed to ignite and before long Pascal was beginning to round into all-star form and the rumours died out.
More recently, the hunt seems to be coalescing around the Raptors landing a big man for the expiring contract of Goran Dragic and filler. The loudest knocks came from the Pacers and Miles Turner, but after he broke his foot, that noise went away. Today, there is a lengthy list of big men being targeted by the Raptors if all the rumours are to be believed. Names such as Atlanta’s Danilo Gallinari and Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic have been bandied about and here at Bob and Jim.ca, we’d love to see one of those fellows suit up for the Raptors. As well, Boston’s Robert Williams, Houston’s Daniel Theis, Spur’s Jakob Poeltl, and Brooklyn’s Nicolas Claxton have all come up as targets of interest. From this list, we’d pick Jakob Poeltl as quick as we could. Formerly a Raptor number 9 draft pick, Jakob was sent to San Antonio in the DeMar DeRozan, Kawhi Leonard deal in 2019. We were sorry to see him go. He was quick, intuitive with a great touch around the basket and Jim and I believed he has what it takes to keep getting better year after year, well into his 30s.
But don’t expect to see any of the core in any trade at this trade deadline. Masai, Bobby and Nick are all very happy with Fred, OG, Scotty, Gary and Pascal and you can expect this core to get an extended run well into the next season or two. They will be around for awhile unless something extraordinary drops into the Raptor’s lap. That’s why we believe the Raptors are not at all likely to be looking to upgrade at any other position other than the five.
Around the league more generally, there is much smoke, but not much fire. The Blazers and the Clippers traded role players and while many folks believe the Clippers won the trade, 6 for a half dozen won’t likely make much difference to either team. However, if there is any one situation to keep an eye on it would be James Harden from the Nets to Philly for Ben Simmons. Sure, both teams have said that they are content to wait until the offseason, but the reality is very different. Harden has said openly that he will test the waters this offseason with only a single player option left on his deal. There has been much speculation why Harden would want to leave the Nets including not liking the city to not liking the way the team is coached to not liking part time players. With that trifecta, the Nets brass would be silly not to ensure they get something substantial back right now and not leave the door open for him to simply walk away.
On the Philly side, GM Daryl Morey has been adamant about what he wants back for Simmons and his openness to wait for another offseason if needed to get it. However, Joel Embiid is having a season for the ages and Philly could be in a great spot for a deep playoff run if it could secure Harden now. Moray does have a relationship with Harden due to their time together in Houston and it’s said they are good friends. So much so that several rival GMs have called for an investigation for tampering between Moray and Harden. Certainly a trade before the deadline would quell any further talk of that.
With 5 days to go, it will be very interesting to see if any other blockbuster deals emerge.