Why a Raptors trade for Damian Lillard could be a pipe dream

2023-09-22 02:18

The Raptors have recently been linked with Damian Lillard but it's hard to imagine a trade working if they won't budge on this one key issue.

A recent report by Zach Lowe that the Raptors will not offer Scottie Barnes in a trade for Damian Lillard, seems like a deal-breaker. This comes after the Raptors were rumored to be the mystery team that was going after Damian Lillard.

Toronto has one other way to get a deal done but it would be extremely complicated or take till the trade deadline. The only other way for the team to get enough assets to trade for Lillard would be to get and accept a similar offer that they got earlier in the offseason for OG Anunoby. Toronto was reportedly offered multiple first-round picks for the wingman during the early part of the offseason by the Memphis Grizzlies.

As every day goes by the offers for the 3-and-D wingman get lower as his player option decision for next season comes closer and closer. It would be most advantageous for the Raptors to get a young player in a possible deal for Anunoby in addition to picks.

After getting a middle-level promising young player and picks in a deal for Anunoby, the Raptors could offer Thad Young, Gary Trent Jr., Otto Porter Jr., Chris Boucher, first-round picks, and the young player that they were able to get back in Anunoby deal. Even though it would be smart to either extend Anunoby or trade him, based on past history, it is unlikely that the Raptors do this. With that in mind, it seems like Toronto will be stuck in no man's land again

What happens if the Raptors don't trade for Damian Lillard?

Despite the fact that the team has not made the second round of the playoffs in the last three years, Toronto has been staying in place. They even traded a first-round pick for Jakob Poeltl, who is a good starting center but isn't worth the upgrade for a team that isn't close to winning a title. Masai Ujiri was at least able to execute his plan until free agency where he lost Fred VanVleet.

Toronto then replaced him with Dennis Schroder who is a solid point guard in this league but isn't starting caliber by any means. Toronto could be facing a similar situation with Anunoby this summer if they refuse to trade him or slightly overpay him to keep him in town. Yes, Toronto is a small market team but they have held on to their assets for too long without improvement in their win-loss record.