2024-25 Season: Draft, Trades, and FA Ideas Thread V1.0

[navyblue]

all players are expiring. pistons take on alot more salary.

pistons: bruce + boucher +

raptors: thjr + beasley + wendell moore jr + draft compensation

something like 2026 or 2027 1st or a couple of 2nd round picks like 2025 (ours) + 2025 (wiz)

we basically cut all those guys.

You would be hard pressed to convince them or many that brown + Boucher are better than THjr and Beasley. They wanted and needed shooting thus they got those players.

[Tripod]

I wonder if there is a 3way deal that works between Raps, Detroit and Denver.

We get youth and pick+filler
Detroit gets Porter
Denver gets playable depth like Brown, Boucher, etc..

[Grindhouse]

flagg is back to #1 pick
derik queen
egor denin
acy bailey

this is the draft to go all in on and get 2 in the top 10

[LoveMyRaps]

flagg is back to #1 pick
derik queen
egor denin
acy bailey

this is the draft to go all in on and get 2 in the top 10

is that your top 4?

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

Raptors get 2 defensive minded players that fit with IQ and Scottie. Pick up an extra first as well. Let Boucher and BB expire open up cap space. Smart and Herb help turnaround this terrible defensive culture. Use our 2025 pick to add shooting as a focus


Pelicans get a big guard that has played with Zion and has put up better number than BI on a better secured contract. Dick and Olynk also fit around Zion.

Grizzlies go all in by trading bench assets and a late first for a starter level wing. If they were in on paying Jimmy then they would probably be in on Ingram at a discount to contend as they’re 3rd in the West atm

Holy fk this is dreadful.

Ya I almost spit out my drink. If we package RJ with Dick, im expecting a proven star/prospect. Not for Herb jones and a 1st lmao. Smart is old and washed

[LoveMyRaps]

Raptors get 2 defensive minded players that fit with IQ and Scottie. Pick up an extra first as well. Let Boucher and BB expire open up cap space. Smart and Herb help turnaround this terrible defensive culture. Use our 2025 pick to add shooting as a focus


Pelicans get a big guard that has played with Zion and has put up better number than BI on a better secured contract. Dick and Olynk also fit around Zion.

Grizzlies go all in by trading bench assets and a late first for a starter level wing. If they were in on paying Jimmy then they would probably be in on Ingram at a discount to contend as they’re 3rd in the West atm

Holy fk this is dreadful.

Ya I almost spit out my drink. If we package RJ with Dick, im expecting a proven star/prospect. Not for Herb jones and a 1st lmao. Smart is old and washed

that 1st is also gonna be around ~25 which sucks.

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

Holy fk this is dreadful.

Ya I almost spit out my drink. If we package RJ with Dick, im expecting a proven star/prospect. Not for Herb jones and a 1st lmao. Smart is old and washed

that 1st is also gonna be around ~25 which sucks.

Yep. Now what would be more interesting is if it’s the Pels 1st instead. Don’t ask why they would trade it lol, but then would u do it? Hmm

I honestly think I would. I really like RJ and dick still has potential, but I would love to have a higher chance at getting Flagg or Harper, with a chance at getting both

[CazOnReal]

all players are expiring. pistons take on alot more salary.

pistons: bruce + boucher +

raptors: thjr + beasley + wendell moore jr + draft compensation

something like 2026 or 2027 1st or a couple of 2nd round picks like 2025 (ours) + 2025 (wiz)

we basically cut all those guys.

Pistons can't trade a 27 1st unless they release protections on their 2025 pick owed to Minnesota

[Grindhouse]

flagg is back to #1 pick
derik queen
egor denin
acy bailey

this is the draft to go all in on and get 2 in the top 10

is that your top 4?

as of today yes

[Saul Goodman]

Here’s my teardown




Poetl to OKC

Kenrich Williams/ousmane Dieng/miami 1st to Toronto



Bruce Brown/Mitchell/Boucher to Memphis


Gabe Vincent/hood schfino/jon konchar/2025 Memphis 1st to Toronto


Marcus smart to Lakers





This team guarantees a bottom 4 finish

Olynk/mogbo
Barnes/dieng
Barrett/abaji
dick/walter/jhs
IQ/shead/vincent


Top 4 pick
Miami 1st
Memphis 1st
Portland 2nd

To add to the mix

[ImaBeatDatAzz]

Which trade would yall say was worse:

1. Thad young
2. Poeltl
3. Powell for gtj

Mine is 3 by far because Powell was/is so much better. He’s playing like an all star now. Masai’s biggest blunder for me

[Zeno]

Here's my RJ proposal.

RJ, Davion for CJ, Jordan Hawkins and the Milwaukee 1st 2026, 2-2nds

This gets the Pelicans out of the tax which is important to them, gets us a prospect(another shooting guard, I know, maybe flip him to 3rd team) and the Bucks unprotected 2026 which might be late but also has really nice potential upside too. Zion gets his college teammate.

[Van_Trump]

https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/massive-lakers-trade-proposal-sees-la-acquire-dynamic-23-million-guard-01jhb98p2y2x

I don'r think the author knows the definition of "massive'

Lakers receive: Bruce Brown

Raptors receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and a 2027 first-round pick

[ArthurVandelay]

https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/massive-lakers-trade-proposal-sees-la-acquire-dynamic-23-million-guard-01jhb98p2y2x

I don'r think the author knows the definition of "massive'

Lakers receive: Bruce Brown

Raptors receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and a 2027 first-round pick

Also doesn’t know the Lakers 2027 is Utah bound.

[Jermaine OBosh]

https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/massive-lakers-trade-proposal-sees-la-acquire-dynamic-23-million-guard-01jhb98p2y2x

I don'r think the author knows the definition of "massive'

Lakers receive: Bruce Brown

Raptors receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and a 2027 first-round pick

The Raptors are taking back about $30 million on the books for next year, putting us in the tax bracket.

[dagger]

I wonder if Masai is looking at this Raptor team and coming to the conclusion that this won't be a short rebuild, thereby convincing him to hear trade offers for Poeltl, providing he can get an FRP in the the 2025 draft and get out of most of Poeltl's money so he can do more future money take backs in other trades. Then roll with Kaminsky and Olynyk for the balance of this season, also give Chomche a few more minutes once the 905 season ends. That will cement the Raptors in a top-3 odds position heading into the lottery draw.

[TDotAllStar]

I wonder if Masai is looking at this Raptor team and coming to the conclusion that this won't be a short rebuild, thereby convincing him to hear trade offers for Poeltl, providing he can get an FRP in the the 2025 draft and get out of most of Poeltl's money so he can do more future money take backs in other trades. Then roll with Kaminsky and Olynyk for the balance of this season, also give Chomche a few more minutes once the 905 season ends. That will cement the Raptors in a top-3 odds position heading into the lottery draw.

With all due respect to Masai, I don’t think he ever sees his team as far away from contention. This is both good and bad, he won’t sell our valued pieces cheap, but this also results on him not selling them
sometimes when it could be beneficial.

[tecumseh18]

I wonder if Masai is looking at this Raptor team and coming to the conclusion that this won't be a short rebuild, thereby convincing him to hear trade offers for Poeltl, providing he can get an FRP in the the 2025 draft and get out of most of Poeltl's money so he can do more future money take backs in other trades. Then roll with Kaminsky and Olynyk for the balance of this season, also give Chomche a few more minutes once the 905 season ends. That will cement the Raptors in a top-3 odds position heading into the lottery draw.

Yes, especially because none of our tradeable "assets" - not even or especially not the red hot but 32-year-old Boucher - are worth a first by themselves, The only way to get additional 2025/2026 firsts is by absorbing bad contracts. The priority should be to create space for next season, and go full throttle on the Presti route to success.

But ... which contenders in need of a C have a 2025 first to spare? I thought Orlando, but Goga has been a revelation for them. Although I'm sure they'd love someone to take KCP off their hands for future cap relief. They have to pay Franz and Suggs next season, and Banchero after that). But they can't trade Carter Jr. until April 5, so ... . I would do anything for OKC's 2025 Sixers or Miami picks, but short of season-ending injuries to I-Hart AND Chet, there's no deal to be had.

Unless Brown can string together two or three good games in a row, I just don't see anything happening this season that would significantly help the Raptors rebuild. There maybe be more 2026 FRPs out there to be had, but how many picks do we want in that draft? We did well with multiple 2RPs last June, and that's going to have to be the strategy/prayer again in 2025. But usually there are more Bantons and David Johnson's in the second round than Mogbos and Sheads.

[CazOnReal]

Which trade would yall say was worse:

1. Thad young
2. Poeltl
3. Powell for gtj

Mine is 3 by far because Powell was/is so much better. He’s playing like an all star now. Masai’s biggest blunder for me

It's the Thad Young trade. With Powell for Trent, it made sense at the time since the prevailing wisdom was that Norm would cost too much for us to retain vs. Trent. Obviously in hindsight, it was a mistake since Powell is playing at an All-Star level and reportedly expected to stay a Raptor his whole life.

The Thad Young trade on the other hand, looked bad at the time. Set aside for a moment that the Raptors could have drafted Walker Kessler since there's the whole "this doesn't look as bad if Koloko doesn't suffer from blood clots" thing or that they could have gotten back Tingus Pingus if they included Gary Trent Jr. (I'm not a big fan of Tingus for off-court reasons); the value we got back for our first rounder was pathetic. Sure, the Celtics also gave up a swap with their pick that same year but they got back Derrick White who has been a key contributor to a championship roster. The Raptors got back...Thad Young, who i'm pretty sure isn't in the league any more and was already way past his prime at that point. We overpaid to keep him and he was part of the reason why our bench was so bad the past few years.

It was a salary dump and a pretty egregious one at that. And for as much as I like Koloko, I still don't think it would have looked all that great if he did manage to stay healthy.

I think if the Raptors got back Poeltl for their 22 pick and a similarly protected swap way down the line that deadline, it would be a very different story for the team for 2022 and beyond. And it should go without saying that, while Kessler is worse than Poeltl, his age and upside make him a much better option for a team that probably should have rebuilt in 2023 if Toronto did end up keeping their pick, assuming they still land 6th in the East (If they land in the lottery then it's a different story).

TL;DR If the Thad Young trade doesn't happen then there's a good chance the Poeltl trade doesn't.

But ... which contenders in need of a C have a 2025 first to spare? I thought Orlando, but Goga has been a revelation for them. Although I'm sure they'd love someone to take KCP off their hands for future cap relief. They have to pay Franz and Suggs next season, and Banchero after that). But they can't trade Carter Jr. until April 5, so ... . I would do anything for OKC's 2025 Sixers or Miami picks, but short of season-ending injuries to I-Hart AND Chet, there's no deal to be had.

One's not a contender but there's 2 teams that comes to mind (And no I wouldn't consider the Lakers a contender):

-Atlanta: They have a potentially interesting Lakers pick for this year. As for the returning salary, it depends on how highly they value Onyeka Okongwu. If he's off the table then it would likely be additional draft capital attached to Capela as a 2 year-ish stopgap though...well there's a reason why Clint is being moved in this hypothetical. He's good on the boards and that's it.
-Grizzlies: I don't think you're getting Edey back but Santi Aldama is a very intriguing stretch big who you could potentially have on the books for the next 4 years. Throw in a 1st this year or the next and filler

You could also, in theory, do a Bucks trade centered around Brook Lopez but Milwaukee only has a 31 1st to spare that i'd be hard-pressed to see them move and the spacing is atrocious. I guess they could move Tyler Smith? It'd need to be a separate move due to 2nd apron shenanigans but I digress. I don't think the fit with Poeltl and Giannis would make any sense, frankly.

I don't love trading Poeltl without having someone who can fill in the hole at the 5 for a season or two but this at least gives you some options to not be a disaster at center.

[Ell Curry]

https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/massive-lakers-trade-proposal-sees-la-acquire-dynamic-23-million-guard-01jhb98p2y2x

I don'r think the author knows the definition of "massive'

Lakers receive: Bruce Brown

Raptors receive: Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and a 2027 first-round pick

The Raptors are taking back about $30 million on the books for next year, putting us in the tax bracket.

Yeah, a move like this probably has to send Rui to a 3rd team for an expiring, like Lonzo or PJ Tucker, as examples since those teams could use a forward who can shoot it.