I am a huge Toronto Raptors fan. I have followed the team ever since I can remember. However, I don’t ever recall a point in time where I’ve been so dissatisfied with the team’s direction than right now. The Raptors have now traded away two cornerstone players of the season, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. There’s a strategy at play, but it appears moving both shows the franchise is making mistakes.
Toronto Raptors Made Two Big Mistakes
Some might call what Toronto is doing a rebuild; however, a rebuild to me is a term used to describe a situation when you have older players on a team and there’s no chance of reviving that team to its former success. This situation is different. Trading away Siakam and Anunoby is baffling.
This is less of a rebuild and more Raptors President and CEO Masai Ujiri and General Manager Bobby Webster making a couple of big mistakes.
Trading Away Anunoby Was The First Strike
The first mistake was to trade away Anunoby. He’s a solid two-way player who was basically given away. The trade the Raptors made in the early hours of the new year was simply not well-executed. Despite his scoring average being down a bit from the previous season (2022-2023) and his field goal percentage also declining, there weren’t reasons to trade him. The deal involved the Knicks handing the Raptors R.J. Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a 2024 pick.
Some have argued that Barnes was not ‘gelling’ with Anunoby. I disagree. It was only Barnes’ third season and chemistry sometimes takes time to develop. Had they given it a whole season to decide, it could’ve been a different situation. With R.J. Barrett, you could argue he was a good piece. But I would argue Siakam was the better piece and the better of the two.
Trading Away Siakam Was the Second Strike
The deal involving Siakam was even worse than the Anunoby. Comparing the two top deals made in the season involving Anunoby and Siakam, it appears that the Siakam trade was executed more poorly. Siakam was putting up better numbers this season having his highest shooting percentage throughout this season (roughly 52%), having a usual assists average with roughly five per game and nearly six rebounds per game.
On January 17, 2024, the news of Siakam being traded broke. This deal was even worse because it was not an even exchange of players with Indiana. Indiana dealt Bruce Brown, Kira Lewis, Jordan Nwora, two 2024 first-round picks (via Pacers), and a conditional 2026 first-round pick via Pacers. Quantity doesn’t always equal quality and certainly giving away Siakam (a two-time NBA All-Star) for this group of players didn’t make sense. None of the players coming to the Raptors had comparable pedigrees.
Why Would Ujiri Make These Trade Mistakes?
It makes me shake my head and wonder why Ujiri would have bought into this so-called rebuild.
All in all, Siakam and Anunoby are also relatively young. They were young enough to further develop their skills and to work with and play alongside the up-and-coming superstar, Scottie Barnes. Siakam is 29 years old (30 in April) and Anunoby (26).
Additionally, the Raptors received 2024 picks – two in the Siakam deal and one in the Anunoby deal. Many are even saying that, even if the draft picks turn out to be good players, the trade was a backfire for two players with superstar potential.
In the end, although I believe the trades were mistakes, I guess I’ll have to hope the former Executive of the Year Ujiri knows a thing or two about the decisions he ultimately decided to make. I hope I’m wrong.
Next: Grizzlies Trade Steven Adams to Rockets for Victor Oladipo, Picks
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