While several franchises have already done what it takes to try to position themselves as best they can in the race for the French phenomenon Victor Wembanyama, other NBA teams might be added to the list with the trade deadline approaching. Other teams like the Raptors for example, even if according to the latest rumors they are not sellers…
The Toronto franchise is one of the most interesting teams to follow ahead of the transfer deadline on February 9. Why ? ‘Cause she’s in some kind of no-man’s land right now, where she is not very far from a qualifying place for the play-in tournament (and therefore the Playoffs) but not very far from the bottom of the rankings either with a record of 17 wins – 23 losses and a 12th place at ballast. The kind of situation where a cheeky manager like Masai Ujiri may very well decide to smash everything to put his franchise in a new, clearly established direction.
Especially when you have great stuff to transfer.
Especially when there’s the best all-time prospect to pick up.
“The singular greatest prospect in NBA history.” Why NBA teams are tanking for Victor Wembanyama — and why some Raptors fans are already calling on the struggling team to join them.https://t.co/3nFotQKciS
— Toronto Star Sports (@StarSports) January 5, 2023
Except that according to l’insider Marc Stein, it is not really the plan of the Canadian team at the time of these lines. Indeed, no destruction project in Toronto would be planned between now and the next trade deadline.
If Gary Trent Jr., given his contractual situationmight look elsewhere and we are waiting to see what happens Happen with Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby are still firmly in Masai Ujiri’s plans. According to Stein, it would take a “very big consideration” to see the Raptors part with it. The fact that the Dinos currently have an 8.2% chance of landing the first pick in the 2023 Draft (compared to 14% for teams with the worst NBA record) may also encourage Toronto to maintain its course of action.
Tanking for Wemby, so that doesn’t seem to be Ujiri’s delusion. We will still keep a close eye on Toronto in the coming month, but don’t expect big blockbusters as we might imagine…
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Source text: Marc Stein