Once again, the Toronto Raptors hold the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline in their hands. They have All-NBA player Pascal Siakam in the final year of his contract. They have coveted two-way wing OG Anunoby, who is widely expected to opt out and become a free agent next summer. They have solid veteran guard Gary Trent Jr. who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
At 10-15 and outside even the play-in right now, Toronto will trade anyone they aren’t going to be able to re-sign, right? The Raptors aren’t going to let them walk for nothing... except that’s exactly what they did with Fred VanVleet last season (in fact, the Raptors became buyers at the deadline). And Kyle Lowry before that. Nobody around the league is sure if the Raptors will be sellers this trade season.
Teams are calling Toronto president Masai Ujiri, however.
The Pistons are interested in Anunoby as a long-term fit on their wing next to Cade Cunningham, reports James Edwards III at The Athletic.
League sources tell The Athletic that Detroit is expected to be active in the trade market over the next few weeks and are eying a forward. One player I’m hearing that the Pistons are interested in, as is the rest of the league, is Toronto’s OG Anunoby. However, it’s possible Detroit will wait to see if it can land Anunoby in the open market next summer — the two-way wing has a player option for next season that he’ll most certainly decline — and avoid giving up some of its young players. Tobias Harris, who is an unrestricted free agent after this season, is another name the Pistons could target sooner rather than later if he becomes available before the NBA’s February trade deadline.
Detroit has lost 22 straight, is bottom six in both offense and defense, and is hard to watch right now, let alone to see a path and plan going forward. Anunoby, 26, fits the Pistons timeline and unquestionably would help them. However, before the Pistons trade for Anunoby they have to know if he will re-sign and stay. There will be a number of teams coming after Anunoby next summer — possibly including the Philadelphia 76ers — and he will have options. It gives Anunoby some control over his trade market, if he tells a team he definitely would not re-sign there then that team would have to pull out of the bidding (it can’t give up what it would take to trade for him if this is just a half-season rental).
The Atlanta Haws still have their eye on Siakam and the sides had serious talks this summer, reports Jake Fischer at Yahoo Sports.
The Hawks held serious discussions with the Raptors on acquiring Siakam this past summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports... The Hawks stand as one of the more intriguing franchises to monitor as the trade deadline approaches, with plenty of optionality to choose different paths forward under a new leadership structure with general manager Landry Fields and head coach Quin Snyder in their first full season in Atlanta, which is still [10-14] in the Eastern Conference.
Siakam on the wing next to Trae Young and Dejonte Murray would make for a dynamic team, and Siakam’s defense ins needed in Atlanta. However, this is the same situation as Anunoby — because he will be a free agent this summer, if he tells a team he will not re-sign there it throws cold water on any deal.
If the Raptors become sellers at the deadline, things get much more interesting than watching to see if Chicago can convince anyone to take on Zach LaVine. Teams will call about Anunoby and Siakam, but will the Raptors pick up the phone?
