Raptors could benefit from aggressive post-Kyrie trade market at deadline

TORONTO – Up until Friday afternoon, the Toronto Raptors were darlings of the deadline, but things can change quickly in the NBA.

With a collection of highly coveted players and, perhaps, the motivation to shake things up in the midst of a disappointing season, all eyes have been on them. But once Kyrie Irving’s trade demand became public over the weekend, the spotlight immediately shifted to the polarizing point guard, as it so often does. Roughly 48 hours later, he got his wish.

On Sunday, Brooklyn sent Irving to Dallas, where he’ll join forces with MVP candidate Luka Doncic to form one of the league’s most dynamic duos. In exchange for their disgruntled all-star, as well as Markieff Morris, the Nets received veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie, do-it-all forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks from the Mavericks.

The deal was completed on Monday evening and, with that, trade season was officially underway. The chaotic series of events happened fast and came as a surprise to most people around basketball, but it may be what opens the floodgates ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.

In terms of its impact on the market and the market’s most interesting team, the Raptors, one league insider anticipated the implications could be “significant.” While the Irving trade presumably takes one buyer, Dallas, off the board, it should make several others more aggressive.

It was already expected to be a seller’s market, given the league’s parity – 25 of its 30 clubs were within two games of a playoff or play-in spot going into Monday’s slate – and the volume of teams that feel they’re one piece away, especially in the very competitive Western Conference.

Whether the addition of Irving turns Dallas from a sixth-place team hovering around the .500 mark into a legitimate contender remains to be seen. No one doubts the 30-year-old’s immense talent, but committing to the NBA’s wildest wild card is a gamble, to be sure. If nothing else, it was a bold move by Mark Cuban, Nico Harrison and the Mavs, and it surely got the attention of the teams around them in the standings. Now, how do those clubs respond? Are they more incentivized to add this week?

If so, the demand for Toronto’s top players, which was already very high, grows even further. After striking out on Irving, teams looking to address a need at the point guard position like the Lakers, Clippers and Suns could shift their attention to Fred VanVleet. New Orleans and Memphis – reported suitors of O.G. Anunoby and perhaps even Pascal Siakam, if he were made available – might be inclined to increase their offers. Brooklyn has also emerged as an aggressive buyer.

With Irving on the move, rival organizations have inquired into the availability of Kevin Durant, who submitted – and eventually rescinded – his own trade request over the summer. The Raptors were one of the teams to express interest in the future Hall-of-Famer at the time but, according to sources, those discussions didn’t go very far.

Brooklyn insisted that the reigning Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes, be included in any offer. Toronto refused. End of discussion. If Durant found his way back on the block and if the two clubs reengaged, all indications are those talks would go similarly. Barnes remains off limits – he’s the only player the Raptors won’t even entertain offers for, according to multiple sources.

Meanwhile, the Nets have more leverage with Durant, who’s signed through 2025-26, than they did with Irving, a free agent after this season. They also don’t have much incentive to bottom out, with Houston owning the rights to most of their picks for the foreseeable future (via the James Harden trade).

At 32-20, fourth in the East, and with Durant nearing his return from an MCL sprain that has sidelined him for the past month, they’ve indicated that their plan is to remain competitive, which means adding talent around KD.

Prior to completing the Irving trade on Monday, the Nets approached Toronto with the possibility of expanding the deal, sources confirmed to TSN, but the belief is that scenario – which would’ve sent VanVleet to Brooklyn in exchange for Dinwiddie and draft capital – never gained much traction.

While the Nets don’t have the quality or quantity of assets that some of those teams out West do, they can shop the 2029 unprotected pick they just received from Dallas, as well as Dinwiddie or Finney-Smith, though neither can be packaged with other players in a deal. They’re expected to be among the league’s most active teams ahead of Thursday’s deadline, so this isn’t the last time the Raptors will hear from them between now and then.

Raptors president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster figure to be very popular over the coming days. For what it’s worth, they’ve been telling interested teams that if they don’t like what’s out there this week or if they’re not ready to make a big move, they’re willing to wait and play out the season. As TSN reported last month, the sense throughout the association has been that Ujiri’s preference is to retool around the core he built and believes in, as opposed to breaking it up and launching a full rebuild.

According to one league source, the Raptors have been reluctant to seriously engage with offers for Siakam and also don’t seem eager to move Anunoby, who’s under contract through next season. Where they might be feeling more urgency is with VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr., who are expected to opt for free agency this summer and will be seeking big raises.

More often than not, standing pat or making small tweaks at the deadline and waiting until the off-season to make significant roster changes is a sound strategy. That’s always how Toronto’s front office has approached this time of year. However, if they are entertaining the possibility of pivoting, this could be an opportune moment to do so.

Regardless of the direction the Raptors prefer, one wonders if an active seller’s market and some aggressive offers could force their hand and push them to consider options they may not have considered under different circumstances.