Toronto Raptors Urged To Pursue Offseason Zach LaVine Trade

The 2023-24 NBA season turned out to be a rebuilding one for the Toronto Raptors. After being reluctant to rebuild in recent seasons, Toronto finally accepted their fate as a team that needed to re-tool the roster.

The Raptors traded their two best players, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam, during the season. Anunoby was traded to the New York Knicks for a package that included RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, two building blocks for the franchise.

Siakam was traded to the Indiana Pacers in a deal that was more focused on draft compensation. Toronto received three first-round picks in that deal along with Bruce Brown, who could be flipped for more assets during the NBA offseason.

With Barrett already locked into a long-term deal and Quickley due one this offseason, the Raptors can start building the foundation for their new core around Scottie Barnes. It will be interesting to see the approach they take, as the Raptors could be back in the mix for a spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament at the very least by next season.

If they want to push some of their chips into the middle and make acquisitions as buyers, the opportunity could present itself. One player that could be readily available at a relatively cheap price that the Raptors could pursue, in the opinion of Shervon Fakhimi of Clutch Points, is Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls.

Given the contract LaVine has and his injury history, the Bulls won’t be able to get much value in return for him. But, he could be moved in a cap-clearing transaction as Chicago needs a rebuild similar to what Toronto is going through.

While there are some overlapping skills between LaVine and Quickley, LaVine is a two-time All-Star with multiple seasons of his prime remaining. He also brings some much-needed offensive firepower to the table for Toronto, who was near the bottom of the NBA in several categories this season.

“The Raptors are 27th in the NBA in three-point percentage this season. A year ago, they ranked 28th in that category. Toronto ranks 24th in the NBA in offensive rating, a direct result of their inability to space the floor and connect from deep,” wrote Fakhimi.

Some salary relief and a draft pick could be all it takes to pry LaVine from Chicago. That is a price the Raptors can pay, but should they? It will be interesting to see what route they opt to take as a teardown rebuild won’t be occurring given the returns they received for Anunoby and Siakam.