The Raptors Trade Deadline Moves Were Surprising But Sensible

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 12: Kelly Olynyk #41 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the second half ... [+] of a game against the Toronto Raptors at Delta Center on January 12, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

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Many expected that the 2024 trade deadline would serve as a way for the Toronto Raptors to tie up any loose ends they left lingering since trading away franchise cornerstones Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.

That didn’t necessarily happen.

Bruce Brown is still a Raptor, as are Gary Trent Jr and Chris Boucher. Meanwhile, the Raptors moved Dennis Schroder in a salary dump-motivated transaction. They used one of the first-round picks they acquired in the Siakam deal to trade for Canadian big man Kelly Olynyk and wing prospect Ochai Agbaji from the Utah Jazz.

Each deal is surprising in its approach but sensible in its end conclusion and the deals they didn’t make for Brown, Boucher, and Trent, leave more wandering questions for the Raptors as they head into the off-season.

Let’s dissect the trades and try to understand Toronto’s reasoning.

Olynyk And Agbaji To Toronto, 1st Round Pick and Salary To Utah

Jazz Acquire: Kira Lewis Jr, Otto Porter Jr, and a 2024 1st round pick (worst of Houston/LA Clippers/OKC/Utah)

Raptors Acquire: Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji

On a surface level, trading a 1st round pick is bizarre for a team that is currently 18-33 and 4 games back of the final play-in spot in the East. But the Raptors were never going to keep all 3 of their picks in the 2024 draft. Masai Ujiri said as much in his press conference following the Siakam deal. One of the 2024 1sts they acquired from Indiana, which is expected to land anywhere from the 28th to 30th pick in a weak draft, was re-routed to acquire the Canadian big-man Olynyk and the 23-year old prospect Agbaji.

The 32-year old Olynyk, who was one of the hottest names at this years trade deadline, makes a lot of sense for the Raptors who desperately needed a back-up center behind Jakob Poeltl after waiving Christian Koloko (who’s dealing with blood clots, wishing you the best Christian), and losing Siakam, Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, three players who could eat innings at the position occasionally. Olynyk gives the Raptors a legit 6-foot-11 big who can shoot the ball (he’s knocking down 43% of his threes this season and is a career 37% 3-point shooter) and is one of the best-passing bigs in the league pound-for-pound, dishing out over 4 assists per game this season in Utah. Besides, he is a journeymen who is beloved by his teammates wherever he goes and should serve as a great voice in the locker room for a team that is trending younger and younger with every transaction they make.

It’s also worth noting that Olynyk, who is set to his free agency this summer, is extension eligible right now and the Raptors could work out a deal to keep him in Toronto long-term, where he started his basketball journey. If an extension goes down, expect a shorter term deal with a balloon payment that gives Olynyk a nice lump-sum initially and gives the Raptors control via a team option down the road. The Raptors could also do a longer term deal with more money divided up through more years to give themselves more cap space this summer. But as long as Olynyk is willing to play ball, there’s a level of flexibility here for a player that should be a seamless fit with the roster.

As for Agbaji — it’s all a bet on development and potential. The second-year player out of Kansas is a 6-foot-5 wing with a 6-foot-11 wing span and a good frame that gives him boatloads of upside on the defensive end. Coming out of college as a four-year player, Agbaji was projected to be a marksman, knocking down 40% of his threes in his final year in college. And while that hasn’t necessarily translated in his two seasons in Utah, he has had stretches where he’s been able to space the floor. He knocked down 35.5% of his threes in his rookie year and has slumped back down to 33% this season. If he can improve his 3-point touch and develop as a defender — he would be the prototypical 3-n-d wing that can play alongside the Raptors core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley.

For the Raptors, according to a source, Agbaji was “essentially a 1st round pick” who was a known entity that they could try and develop. And so, they acquire Olynyk, whom they’ll try to keep, and Agbaji, who they’re big fans of, according to Raptors General Manager Bobby Webster.

Schroder and Thad Young to the Nets, Dinwiddie Waived

Raptors Acquire: Spencer Dinwiddie (He was waived later)

Nets Acquire: Dennis Schroder and Thad Young

This one is a little more perplexing. Dennis Schroder was owed just over $13M next season and the Raptors had enjoyed his ability to manage games off of the bench thus far this season. From all reports, he was a welcomed veteran presence who helped serve as a voice on the court for rookie Head Coach Darko Rajakovic. As was Thad Young who, according to Rajakovic himself, was helping with the development of Scottie Barnes.

So what changed?

That’s unclear. Maybe Schroder grew tired of his backup role. The Raptors, according to a source, had signed him this summer with the promise that he’d be able to start and lead his own team but that quickly changed when Quickley came into the fold after the Anunoby trade.

Or maybe, in lieu of them not being able to find suitors for their big-man Boucher, who is owed $10M next season, they instead used Schroder’s contract to clear up extra space, over $3M more than they could by using Boucher’s contract.

In that regard, this trade did its job. The Raptors should have just over $40M in cap space next summer to work with, giving them more than enough breathing room to not only sign Barnes to an expected rookie max extension, re-sign Quickley and Olynyk and maybe add some talent on the fringes of their rotation.

They could also go big fish hunting this summer with guys like Nic Claxton or Malik Monk on the open market, but there are tons of options available to the Raptors this summer, whichever route they choose to go.

Besides, they’ve also opened up two roster spots by waiving Dinwiddie, so maybe there is a subsequent buy-out move to be made here.

And if all else fails, they still have the option to bring back Brown for the final year of his contract or try and re-sign Trent Jr. Which leads me to my next thought...

Why Didn’t The Raptors Trade Boucher, Brown or Trent?

All signs pointed to Brown being the most likely trade candidate from the Raptors at this deadline. But, as it has in the past, things didn’t work the way Toronto expected them to.

The Knicks, according to a source, were more than willing to offer a 2024 1st-round pick for Brown but the Raptors weren’t looking to add to their 2024 draft arsenal. They wanted a future pick and so the Knicks instead opted to trade Quentin Grimes and a couple of seconds to the Detroit Pistons for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic — two players who will give them a much-needed scoring punch off of the bench. The Los Angeles Lakers, another potential Brown suitor, had started to get cold feet on the idea of trading away D’Angelo Russell, who has started to play well for them. The Milwaukee Bucks were another team said to be in on Brown but those talks never gained traction because of the lack of pick equity on the Bucks side of things.

The deals just weren’t there for Brown. Besides, the unique flexibility his contract provides could make him an intriguing target for teams at the NBA draft or in free agency to inquire about. And if, somehow after the free agency dust settles this summer, and Brown is still on the team — maybe the Raptors are good enough to keep him on the roster?

As for Boucher and Trent not being dealt with at the deadline, well, that is a little more perplexing.

Trent has his fans in the Raptors front office, and the way he’s maturely dealt with his constantly oscillating role is something that he’s constantly been credited for by any person I talk to.

For Boucher, the last bastion of the 2019 championship team, it’s unlikely that the market ever materialized, especially given that he still has one year remaining on his contract after this season. The Raptors likely will attempt to move off of his salary either this summer or at next year’s deadline.

And so, after the dust has settled post-deadline, questions still loom for the Raptors.

But one thing is undeniable:

They have opted for maximum flexibility this summer — with tons of expiring contracts, only 7 players on the books for the 2024-2025 season, and still, multiple picks in the 2024 draft.

At least for now, despite the loose ends still lingering, with no deadline looming anymore, the Raptors can get back to focusing on the actual product on the court.