Why Raptors Didn't Go Bigger at Trade Deadline

Raptors Weren't Willing to Pay the Price

The Raptors held seven tradable first-round picks over the next seven years, but the team was unwilling to move on from any of them for the players that were made available to them. It's a fair assessment, especially with how every team values first-round picks. Toronto clearly values its future draft capital because all three of the last first-round picks are still on the roster.

The last time the Raptors traded their first-round pick was in 2022 when the team acquired Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks from the San Antonio Spurs for Goran Dragić and a first-round pick that selection ultimately turned into No. 20 overall pick Malaki Branham, who is struggling to catch on to a team as a young guard this season.

The Raptors trust their draft process, and the team might need a good pick in this year's draft, even if it is a little bit lower than where they have been drafting in recent years. Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja'Kobe Walter and Gradey Dick are all on the rise, and there could be room for one more prospect in this summer's draft. That was more valuable to the Raptors than acquiring a big like Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks or even Sacramento Kings All-Star centre Domantas Sabonis.

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