Raptors Players Discuss NBA's Transaction Culture as Trade Deadline Nears

Garrett Temple remembers how it used to be.

He’d wake up early, rush to turn on SportsCenter, and catch up on everything that happened overnight. Who won? Who dominated? What were the top 10 plays? The league was about the action on the court, the highlights, the stars, the competition.

It was a different time.

“There was no social media, so we didn’t find out about trades until it came on SportsCenter,” the Toronto Raptors veteran said. “We definitely didn’t put [trades] in the trade machine. The one thing we did do was on video games, maybe 2K or [NBA] Live, where you’d put a trade in and see whether it went through or not. But you weren’t thinking that this trade would happen in real life ever.”

Now, everything moves faster. News breaks instantly, speculation spreads even quicker, and trade chatter dominates the league.

So much of NBA coverage revolves around what could happen. Who’s talking to whom? Rumors about deals in the works. Then rumors about deals that almost happened. A lot of it never materializes, but just the possibility fuels endless conversation. Player movement drives more engagement than the actual games.

Fans get caught up in what might be, what nearly was, and what could have been, sometimes more than what’s happening on the court.

For some, that kind of speculation was never worth the emotional investment.

“I wasn’t too big into that stuff just because I was very realistic. I was a Wolves fan, and I know how they operate,” said Raptors rookie Jamison Battle, a Minnesota native. “Especially when I was a child, seeing guys like K.G. leave and getting Al Jefferson, or Kevin Love leave again.”

But in video games, anything was possible.

“I was a GM, trying to make trades, not to build a super team, but to build a team that played well together,” Temple said. “I was trying to build a team that could coexist rather than just getting as many 99s as I could.”

For others, the fantasy of managing rosters wasn’t as compelling as imagining their own path to the NBA.

Raptors rookie Ja’Kobe Walter spent his time growing up in MyCareer mode, picturing himself on the big stage.

“I was always the main character,” Walter said. “It was always a dream since I was a kid to be in this position. Even now, walking out of the tunnels, it feels like I’m in 2K.”

Video games gave players like Walter a way to engage with basketball on a personal level. Instead of fixating on transactions or trying to build the best team possible, Walter saw the video game as a way to chase a dream.

That distinction, between those who see the NBA through transactions and those who focus on the game itself, has come to define modern fandom. The league has embraced a culture where roster moves generate as much, if not more, buzz than the games. Every trade deadline, every offseason, and every rumor becomes a spectacle, fueled by social media debates and hypothetical trades.

Temple — the vice president of the NBA Players’ Association — recognizes the shift but doesn’t see it as a bad thing.

“I think it's part of the growth of the game,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out how to reach people, younger audiences. If that's what they’re focusing on, keep dropping Shams bombs and let them have fun with it.”

If it brings in fans, grows the game, and keeps the league thriving, so be it.

“I think everybody has their own imagination,” Walter said. “That’s just the fun part of it. You can think about different ways the NBA could be.”

Some live in the world of transactions. Others dream of playing in it. Either way, the NBA has become bigger than the game itself.

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