As the trade deadline approaches, it needs to be determined who this season’s real Raptors are. Via the Toronto Star:
Are the Raptors the team that started 2-8 and is currently in a 1-9 swoon? Or are the Raptors the team that rattled off a 14-6 run in between that included wins over all the big boys of the Eastern Conference and showed they still have some big-time fight in them?
It is not easy. And deciding what to do may be harder this year for the president and general manager than it has been at any point in the seven-year run of post-season appearances the Raptors are in danger of seeing broken.
In many ways, it makes no sense to do anything of substance and to ride out the season before making any startling moves.
The Raptors can be good — they can be very good, in fact — and while they certainly have a hole to climb out of, there’s reason to think they won’t.
The Raptors are just 17-23 this season, which is the 11th best record in the Eastern conference. They’re being led in scoring by Fred VanVleet at 19.9 points per game, Pascal Siakam at 19.8 ppg, Norman Powell at 19.7 ppg, Kyle Lowry at 17.8 ppg, Chris Boucher at 14.3 ppg, and OG Anunoby at 13.8 ppg.
