Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the franchise-shifting deal featuring Pascal Siakam, one of the handful of prospects the Raptors would develop into front-line players.
Once the decision was made to pivot into the Scottie Barnes era, the first domino to fall was OG Anunoby.
Then came Spicy P who along with the likes of Fred VanVleet and Norm Powell were nurtured in Toronto and developed at a time when the Raptors were leading the NBA in player development.
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For what it’s worth, the trade exception the Raptors acquired in the Siakam package with the Indiana Pacers expires in a few days.
According to the arcane rules surrounding the NBA’s trade guidelines, an expiration date is attached to trade exceptions. It arrives one year after a deal is engineered.
Unless something completely out of left field is struck, the Raptors don’t figure to use the trade exception. Keep in mind stranger things have happened, but any movement on the trade exception front would be quite stunning.
A more relevant and consequential date to keep in mind is Feb. 6 at precisely 3 p.m. ET, when the NBA trade clock expires.
The league’s landscape has changed dramatically from the days when trades seemed pretty routine.
At the heart of the trade dilemma involves money, which has always the case. Prior to the inclusion of second aprons, deal-making wasn’t as restricted.
In Miami, the Heat is trying to manage the nuisance known as Jimmy Butler, whose seven-game suspension levied by the team is about to run out. He wants out of South Beach and would prefer a union with Kevin Durant in Phoenix.
The finances make any straight-up deal between the Heat and Suns problematic to the point of impossible, unless a third team enters the equation.
In theory, the Raptors can always be leveraged as that third team, though it does seem highly unlikely.
The Raptors, who are coming off a spirit-lifting win over a below-average Golden State Warriors team Monday night, play host to Boston on Wednesday night before heading out on the road for a Friday night date in Milwaukee, where they will be looking for only their second away victory of the season.
Including the tip versus the Celtics, who simply embarrassed the Raptors on New Year’s Eve by handing Toronto its largest defeat in club history, a total of 11 games will be played prior to Feb. 6.
The 11th and final game prior to the trade deadline is set to feature Toronto native Zach Edey playing his first pro game at Scotiabank Arena on Feb. 5.
In a rebuild season, the focus has been on player development and assessing how the Raptors chosen core pieces could function as a unit.
That theme continues, but now comes the trade talk and what moves, if possible, will be made in the build-up to Feb. 6.
The one piece that assuredly will net the biggest return is Jakob Poeltl, whom the Raptors are said to be reluctant to move for the second time.
Again, anything is possible and, if a deal gets presented that is too good to pass up, the Raptors must pounce on it.
Realistically, the likely candidates to get traded are, in no particular order, Chris Boucher, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk. Whether one or none is moved remains up in the air.
Brown, who won a ring with the Denver Nuggets when he served as a key bench player, has regained his form on both ends of the floor since undergoing knee surgery late in the off-season.
Olynyk began the season on the sideline following a back injury. He has been traded in the past and has a nice feel for the game, a decent floor spacer for a big who does have value.
The way he has been playing of late, Boucher’s stock hasn’t been as high. Against his former team, Boucher put the ball on the floor and attacked the rim with ferocity.
For once, he was on the floor in the fourth quarter when he emerged as a dominant player in helping the Raptors beat the Warriors.
A pending free agent, it’s anyone’s guess what kind of return the Raptors might experience in a deal involving the Montreal native.
Golden State pulled the trigger on a trade with Brooklyn that brought former Raptors point guard Dennis Schroder to the Bay Area, a deal designed to ease the ball-handling burden off Steph Curry. It hasn’t worked out.
Bit players and second-round draft picks were also involved. The Nets would also acquire D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.
Indiana and Miami became trading partners in a move that sent Thomas Bryant to the Pacers.
In all three cases, the NBA’s power structure was not altered, to say the least.
Consequential deals are not easy to make these days with virtually every team unwilling to enter this second apron that carries with it some devastating consequences.
What’s best for the Raptors and what is realistically possible for a franchise that needs shooters to best complement Barnes and defenders capable of locking up their man, isn’t so easy.
As well as Boucher has been playing of late, he’s a veteran with a limited game. When it comes to creating chaos on defence, Boucher is more than capable.
When it comes to launching threes and draining them, Boucher has shown to be quite adept in catch-and-shoot sequences.
Whatever plays out in the ensuing weeks, it’s safe to say nothing will come even remotely close to the Siakam trade.
Whether it was the deal that sent Anunoby to the Knicks or the Siakam to Pacers move, the Raptors have come out as losers on both transactions.
The team is much worse without the pair of two-way players, but the goal wasn’t to be good in the short period.
How the Raptors manage the looming trade deadline must help the long-term plan.