Tim Leiweke emphasized the need to re-brand the Toronto Raptors as Canada’s team, but they are not going to generate a whole lot of interest in the country unless there is a recognizable Canadian star (or stars) on the team. Former GM Bryan Colangelo did try to acquire an ageing Steve Nash during the summer of 2012, but that process left the Raptors with an undesirable contract in Landry Fields.
With Nash nearing the end of his NBA career, the Raptors have another chance to get some home-grown talent on the roster. Basketball prodigy Andrew Wiggins (Newmarket, Ontario) will surely be one-and-done and is expected to enter the 2014 NBA Draft. For the Raptors to have a shot at drafting him, they will have to sacrifice (or tank) next season.
They have to take a step back to take a big jump forward. This means moving some of their best talent for more youth in order to position themselves in the lottery to land Wiggins. They can start at the 2013 NBA Draft where there are three Canadians up for grabs.
ANTHONY BENNETT – 6’7″ FORWARD FROM BRAMPTON, ONTARIO
KELLY OLYNYK – 7’0″ FORWARD/CENTRE FROM KAMLOOPS, B.C.
MYCK KABONGO – 6’2″ POINT GUARD FROM TORONTO, ONTARIO
The Raptors have no pick as of this moment (the Oklahoma City Thunder own their pick), but GM Masai Ujiri has expressed interest in re-entering the draft. There are several ways for them to acquire a pick: trading a future pick, buying a pick, or trading a player (or multiple players) for a pick.
Trading a future pick for one in the 2013 NBA Draft isn’t a smart idea simply because the future draft classes are expected to be much stronger than the 2013 one. Buying a pick will have to wait until July – when the 2013-14 season officially begins – since they have already sent all of their 2012-13 tradeable cash in the Rudy Gay deal. The final option is to trade their current players for picks.
TRADE 1: RUDY GAY TO THE WIZARDS FOR THE 3RD PICK AND 38TH PICK
The Washington Wizards have a gaping hole at the small forward spot and their third pick is rumoured to be available in trade talks. The most recent rumour had the Wizards sending the pick along with salary filler to Chicago for Luol Deng. An older rumour had them discussing a deal with the Bucks that would have netted them Ersan Ilyasova for that same pick.
They are aiming to make the playoffs next season, and while both Deng and Ilyasova would be upgrades over what they have right now, Rudy Gay is a much better option. He is a Baltimore area native and the Wizards had interest in him before he got dealt to the Raptors.
A deal that sends Gay to Washington for the 3rd pick and the 38th would set them up nicely for a playoff run next season. Salary fillers like Trevor Ariza, Jan Vesely and Trevor Booker will have to be added to make the trade work.
With the third pick, the Raptors would then select Anthony Bennett to bolster their power forward spot. He had a great freshman year at UNLV and showed a lot of versatility on the offensive end.
The Raptors would also pick up point guard Myck Kabongo with the 38th pick. His stock has taken a hit because he didn’t full expectations at Texas (as well as his off-court issues), but he has potential and fills a position of need.
TRADE 2: KYLE LOWRY TO THE JAZZ FOR THE 14TH PICK
Utah has no point guard under contract and Lowry would be a better point guard option than any point guard prospect at the 14th spot. There is no guarantee that Lowry stays in Toronto after next season, so this is a move to get something of value for him.
The Raptors would select Kelly Olynyk at this spot (provided he is there). Olynyk transformed himself into quite the player in his final season at Gonzaga and there is no reason why he shouldn’t continue to improve once he reaches the NBA.
After the two trades, the Raptors depth chart would look something like this:
PG: Myck Kabongo | (Insert veteran PG) | John Lucas
SG: DeMar DeRozan | Terrence Ross
SF: Trevor Ariza | Landry Fields | Jan Vesely | Linas Kleiza (possibly amnestied)
PF: Amir Johnson | Anthony Bennett | Quincy Acy | Trevor Booker | Andrea Bargnani (traded)
C: Jonas Valanciunas | Kelly Olynyk | Aaron Gray
The roster doesn’t look like much, but it’s designed to keep the Raptors from winning many games. That would set them up for the grand prize at the 2014 NBA Draft.
