The 2025 NBA Trade Deadline is two days away.
With many NBA blockbuster trades already going down, the league waits to see if anymore player movement will happen.
The Toronto Raptors have come up a ton in a bunch of trade chatter leading up to Thursday’s deadline. Not only do they possess expiring contracts, but they’ve also been linked to Brandon Ingram who the New Orleans Pelicans could trade.
However, the likeliest course of action the Raptors will take leading into the trade deadline is trying to get involved as a third or fourth team in a Jimmy Butler trade, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg:
“They could wait out the Jimmy Butler saga and try to get in on it as the facilitating third or fourth team, consolidating a few of their veteran reserves, collecting draft capital and freeing up more late-season playing time for their young guys. That is believed to be their plan less than 72 hours out from the deadline.”
Lewenberg also writes that the goal for the team should be trying to turn veterans Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher and Kelly Olynyk into “some combination of draft capital and fringe prospects.”
A Butler trade would help the Raptors accomplish that. Outside of those players, Lewenberg says the Raptors should at least test the market on Jakob Poeltl. But the Raptors will reportedly keep him in hopes of bouncing back next season.
It appears that if the Raptors are going to get involved at the trade deadline it will be subtle moves like moving off from veteran players and not going for a home run type of deal. However, with Masai Ujiri things can always change.
Where the Raptors stand after latest blockbuster trades
With the trade deadline inching closer, here’s where the Toronto Raptors stand two days out.
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