Toronto Raptors: NBA trade deadline winners and losers

Toronto Raptors</a>, the biggest news was regarding the move they <em>didn’t</em> make, rather than the ones they did.</p> <p>Toronto sent Matt Thomas to the Utah Jazz for a future second-round pick. They made a similar trade with the Sacramento Kings, dealing Terence Davis for a second-round pick in the upcoming draft. The team’s big move was getting Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood from the Portland Trail Blazers for franchise stalwart Norman Powell.</p> <h2>The 2021 NBA Trade Deadline featured a historic amount of moves. For the Toronto Raptors, the biggest news was regarding the move they didn’t make</h2> <p>But the trade of <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lowryky01.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">Kyle Lowry</a> never materialized. There were rumors sending the point guard to the likes of the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, among others. Toronto didn’t like the offers they were receiving, however, and decided instead to hold on to Lowry for a potential playoff push.</p> <p>The debate as to whether or not the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/24/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline/">Raptors should’ve dealt Lowry</a> for virtually anything will likely persist into the offseason. For now, however, all that can be evaluated is who won and lost the trade deadline for the team.</p> <p>The winners and losers for the Raptors are complicated. Is the franchise a winner because most of their core is still intact and the playoffs are within reach, where anything can happen? Or is the team a loser because they didn’t commit hard enough to a rebuild, which could leave them languishing in the middle of the Eastern Conference for years to come?</p> <p>These are the winners and losers from the Toronto Raptors’ trade deadline.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Future depth </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_398169" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-398169" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2187,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1203874702.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2187" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1203874702.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1203874702-768x525.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Winner: Future depth</h2> <p>The Raptors acquired two second-round draft picks at the deadline. One was in exchange for Terence Davis (this year) and one was in exchange for Matt Thomas (a future pick).</p> <p>During his three seasons with the Raptors, Thomas never revealed himself to be a future frontline player off the bench. This season, he was averaging 2.7 points per game in just 7.4 minutes off the bench prior to the trade. He was clearly an expendable player.</p> <p>Davis was much more promising, averaging 7.5 points as an undrafted rookie and 7.1 points during the strange 2019-20 season. But he wasn’t getting any better, down to 6.9 points per game before his trade this season.</p> <p>Additionally, a dark specter followed Davis. He was arrested in October after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend. The charges were reportedly later dropped, but the clouds have continued to follow the guard.</p> <p>The Raptors got all they could out of those two players. It was simply time to part ways with both of them and search for something new.</p> <p>Toronto hasn’t had much success with second-round draft picks, with the most recent one to truly hit being P.J. Tucker back in 2006, well before the current regime was in place. But draft picks are just darts thrown at a target anyways and it never hurts to have a few extra darts to throw, especially for a team that has made just two second-round selections in the last six years.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Rodney Hood </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_426022" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-426022" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2136,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1232010860.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2136" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232010860.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232010860-768x513.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Winner: Rodney Hood</h2> <p>This is not to say that the Raptors are a winner for acquiring Rodney Hood – he was more of an attachment to get Gary Trent Jr. But Hood was definitely in need of new scenery and maybe being in Toronto can kick start a second act for Hood.</p> <p>A year and a half ago, Hood tore his Achilles in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers. He missed the rest of the 2019-20 season because of the injury. Since then, it’s been impossible for the veteran to find his game.</p> <p>Hood was averaging 11.0 points per game prior to the injury. This season, he was averaging just 4.7 points per game, with his 3-point shooting under 30 percent for the first time in his career.</p> <p>There are early signs of hope out of Hood since the trade to Toronto, although the sample size is incredibly small. Despite an incremental increase in minutes, Hood is back up to 5.5 points per game and is hitting 30 percent of his 3-point attempts.</p> <p>There’s no guarantee Hood will get back to where he was. But the minutes are available to him in the Raptors rotation. He’s under contract through next season, so the opportunity should be there as well.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Gary Trent Jr. </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_426045" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-426045" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1043,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1309349231.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1043" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1309349231.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1309349231-768x501.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Loser: Gary Trent Jr. (present)</h2> <p>This is not to say that the Raptors are losers for acquiring Gary Trent Jr. In fact, he may be the best acquisition they made at the deadline. Trent could be a real part of the franchise’s long-term future.</p> <p>In the present, however, Trent has downgraded from a team that is going to make the playoffs and perhaps advance in the playoffs to one that will likely do neither. For any player, that’s likely to feel like a bit of a bummer.</p> <p>Trent was developing into a bonafide star in Portland. He was averaging a career-high 15.0 points per game, shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range and hitting an average of three 3-pointers per game for the first time in his career.</p> <div class="embed "> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://twitter.com/gtrentjr?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@gtrentjr: +54 tonight <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://t.co/vJi2zPK0MD">pic.twitter.com/vJi2zPK0MD

<p>— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://twitter.com/Raptors/status/1378146404686790659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>April 3, 2021</a></p></blockquote> <p><script async src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></div> <p>His best skill is his ability to secure the basketball. So far this season, Trent sports a 4.8 turnover percentage, which is the best for qualifying players in the entire league. The Raptors are one of the better teams at avoiding turnovers (12.7 per game), so adding Trent is improving upon a strength in that department.</p> <p>With an increase in minutes, Trent has seen an uptick five games into his Raptors tenure. He’s up to 16.8 points per game and his hitting a putrid 43.2 percent of his threes. His turnover percentage is even better than before, too, at 1.3 percent.</p> <p>The early returns are looking good. Trent just turned 22 years old and has plenty of promising development ahead of him. Ultimately, it should be a win-win for both player and team if he develops into a high-caliber starter.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Norman Powell </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_426079" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-426079" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1309851329.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1309851329.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1309851329-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Winner: Norman Powell</h2> <p>Seeing Norman Powell traded away is heart-wrenching for Raptors fans. Powell has spent his entire career with the franchise, developing into one of the better pure scorers in the league, as way as one of the most underrated.</p> <p>Powell spent part of six seasons with the team. He won a championship with the team. This season, he was averaging a career-high 19.6 points per game for the team, starting more than half the games for the first time in his tenure.</p> <p>While Powell’s microwave offense off the bench was always exhilarating, he deserves to be a starter in this league, an opportunity he wasn’t really given in his first five seasons with the Raptors. Portland is affording him that opportunity for a playoff team, starting each of his first five games with the franchise.</p> <p>Not only does this give Powell the chance to try a new role, but it does it at the opportune time. Powell is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season if he chooses to decline his player option and could command around $20 million annually on the open market.</p> <p>The Raptors were not likely going to give Powell the next big contract he deserves. Getting to start on a playoff team should give him time to enhance his value and allow him to cash in on a big payday.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Kyle Lowry </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_425361" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-425361" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1231775179.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1231775179.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1231775179-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Loser: Kyle Lowry</h2> <p>This is sad. Lowry shouldn’t be a loser after the trade deadline. He gets to stay with the franchise where he became a legend and play out his contract before figuring out where he wants to finish his career. That’s pretty cool.</p> <p>But this was his opportunity to grab a second title and it’s likely not coming in Toronto. One of his rumored suitors, the Sixers, are in the driver’s seat for an Eastern Conference Finals berth at the least. Another, the Heat, are a year removed from an NBA Finals trip, although they’re off to a slower start this season.</p> <p>Instead, Lowry continues on in Toronto, where he’ll be beloved for life, but doesn’t really fit in the direction with this team. The Raptors are trying to get younger as they figure out what’s next, jettisoning Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka previously. Lowry is one of the last older holdovers from the championship team.</p> <p>Toronto could potentially choose to retain Lowry after the season, but it feels like the right time for a parting of ways. Not trading him did little but push back the inevitable. It could lead to a messier break between the two sides.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Toronto Raptors </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_426165" class="wp-caption aligncenter"> <img class="size-full wp-image-426165" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2137,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1310134590.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2137" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310134590.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1310134590-768x513.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img"> <p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Toronto Raptors, NBA trade deadline Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images</p> </div> </div> <h2>Winner: Toronto Raptors</h2> <p>So after everything is said and done, did the Raptors win the trade deadline or not? It’s too soon to definitively answer that question, but the early returns are promising.</p> <p>They kept Kyle Lowry, which may not do much for their rebuild, but gives them a fighting chance should they make the postseason. It will also certainly make some fans happy, as Lowry is one of the last key holdovers from the championship team.</p> <div class="related-categoryright"><div class="related-main-title">More from <span class="related-name">Toronto Raptors</span></div><ul><li> <a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/30/nba-trades-rudy-gobert-toronto-raptors/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">NBA Trades: 3-team trade that lands Rudy Gobert on Toronto Raptors</a> </li><li> <a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/19/5-roster-moves-toronto-raptors-need-make-offseason/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">5 roster moves the Toronto Raptors need to make this offseason</a> </li><li> <a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/02/nba-trades-og-anunoby-toronto-raptors/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">NBA Trades: 3 OG Anunoby trades for the Toronto Raptors</a> </li><li> <a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/05/25/exit-survey-goals-toronto-raptors/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Exit Survey: 3 goals for the steadily-improving Toronto Raptors</a> </li><li> <a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/05/18/goals-toronto-raptors-offseason/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">5 important goals for the Toronto Raptors this offseason</a> </li></ul></div> <p>Getting rid of Matt Thomas and getting rid of Terence Davis may have been addition by subtraction, cliche as that sounds. Those two second-round picks are almost certainly going to come in handy.</p> <p>Rodney Hood is more of a throw-in than anything else at this point, but that may not always be the case. If he can get his career back on track, he may prove to be a relatively cheap scoring option for the Raptors, a poor man’s Norman Powell.</p> <p>Most importantly, the team acquired Gary Trent Jr., a young player on a meteoric rise. He’s got the game to develop into a legitimate top-three starter for the Raptors’ rotation to pair with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet down the road. In the long run, he could prove to be the best player either given away or taken by Toronto at the deadline.</p> <p>Like drafts, evaluating deadline deals takes time. But there’s a good chance Toronto will be happy with their haul from this year’s deadline.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Deadline deals Warriors should've made" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/03/golden-state-warriors-three-trades/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/04/toronto-raptors-nba-trade-deadline-3/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/03/golden-state-warriors-three-trades/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Deadline deals Warriors should've made </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—>">