The NBA draft for 2023 is less than six months away and it seems more and more likely that the Toronto Raptors will have a mid first round pick. With the trade deadline quickly approaching, should the Raptors trade their first round draft pick to grab a player they may like? My answer is no unless you are getting a superstar in a win now move. However, the Raptors are not in that position as currently they are in 11th place in the eastern conference. Here are my reasons why below.
NBA Draft 2023 – Reasons Toronto Raptors Should not Trade Their Draft Pick
The Toronto Raptors are not a big free agent destination for NBA players. Because of that, the Raptors have a hard time attracting players to play for them. The Super star players do not want to sign here. Case in point, Kawhi Leonard who came here in a trade but soon as free agency came, he went to Los Angeles. The Toronto Raptors have to over pay to get even role players to play here. Because of that, the best way for the Raptors to improve their talent is through the draft.
So a first round draft pick is very valuable because it is an easy way to improve your team. Yes, you get a prospect who comes at a relatively cheap cost and you can develop them. Also, you have control over their contract for about seven years. This gives you time to see what you have in a player and that player could be used as a trade chip to get an even better player later. However, if you get a really good prospect that could be a potential franchise player (like Scottie Barnes), then you have seven years to build a team around that player.
NBA Draft 2023 – One More reason Not to Trade Their Draft Pick
The Toronto Raptors have young and talented players on their roster. Unfortunately, they do not seem to fit together. Because of that, the NBA world is waiting to see what the Toronto Raptors will do at the trade deadline. So if the Raptors want to address a need such as rim protection or shooting, they can trade a couple of players to do that. However, if they feel that there is no point in building their team with this roster, they can trade most of their core players and get back draft picks and prospects. They are really in an interesting situation as they can go either way.
Conclusion
As shown above, the Toronto Raptors do not need to trade their 1st round draft pick. They have enough players to make changes. However, they will have to decide soon what they are going to do. They have Gary Trent Jr. and Fred Van Fleet who can opt out of their current contracts this summer. They also have to look at potential new contracts for Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby next summer. Because of these situations, I expect the Raptors to make a move before the deadline. But as I said above, there is no need to trade their draft pick as they have enough assets to trade. Buckle up because things are going to get interesting in Raptor land!
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