The Toronto Raptors are a team many people thought would be active ahead of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. They certainly lived up to that billing, already completing one trade with the Utah Jazz.
But, it wasn’t the deal many people were expecting to see from Toronto. The Raptors are acquiring center Kelly Olynyk and forward Ochai Agbaji in exchange for Kira Lewis Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and a 2024 first-round pick.
Trading away a first-round pick is certainly shocking as the team is in the midst of a rebuild. They traded away OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam earlier this offseason, signaling a waiving of the white flag of sorts.
So, sending out a first-round pick is certainly peculiar. Ogbaji offers some upside as a 2022 first-round pick, so they could see it as flipping one asset for another as early reports are positive about him.
But, conventional wisdom would lead people to believe that the Raptors had another trade lined up that would net them some more draft compensation. Alas, that doesn’t sound to be the case.
Despite having several other players available, such as Bruce Brown, Gary Trent Jr. and Chris Boucher, all things are quiet on the Raptors front following the trade with Utah according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.
The Raptors reportedly had an offer on the table that included a first-round pick for Brown. Many people hypothesized that the offer was from the New York Knicks, but they are no longer a suitor for the versatile wing player.
The Knicks acquired Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic from the Detroit Pistons, addressing the needs on their roster moving forward. There is still a few hours for things to change in Toronto, but it sounds as if Brown and the other aforementioned targets will be staying put.
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