The Toronto Raptors will diversify their portfolio around Scotty Barnes at the trade deadline

TORONTO — After completing the OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam trades, Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri repeated a phrase that seemed to prepare himself as much as he prepared anyone else.

“I (don't) know if I'd call it a rebuild or a rebuild or whatever we want to put it, but a normal rebuild with other teams … takes five or six years. Do we have the patience for this?” Toronto Raptors president Ujiri said about it. “Do we have the patience for three to five years?” Anyway, somehow we have to be patient. One of the things I'll tell you, one hundred percent, I'm not going to BS anyone about it, I'm patient.”

On the surface, the Raptors' performance on Thursday contradicted that. For the third year in a row, they gave up a first-round pick before the deadline. Only one other team, the Dallas Mavericks, was eliminated in the first round. The Raptors can't seem to fully commit to the youth movement.

However, Thursday was very different from the 2023 and 2022 deadlines for the Raptors. By bringing in Kelly Olympique and Ochai Agbaji and letting go of four players, what they did was essentially diversify their portfolio of assets around the team's core. The core will remain Scotty Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and possibly RJ Barrett.

“We're trying to find the right mix,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said at his postseason news conference.

In addition to trading Otto Porter Jr., Kyra Lewis Jr., and a first-round pick to Utah, the Raptors also traded Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young to Brooklyn for Spencer Dinwiddie, who they promptly waived, wanting to focus more on Barnes and others. young versions with a ball in their hands.

“Even in our personal conversations with a lot of teams in a similar position, (the consensus) is that young guys need leadership,” Webster added. “I think we lost the veteran presence when we did the previous deals.

“So you're trying to find the right chemistry of who can lead these players. It's hard for us to lose Tad. … So at the same time, we're encouraging young players to develop and grow, and we're also creating an environment around them where they're learning professional habits, they're being held accountable, they're learning how to play basketball at the NBA level, they're learning how to win.”

The two trades served very different purposes. The Raptors wanted players from Utah and decided to give up the worst of the three picks the Pacers received for Siakam. Trading the pending unrestricted free agent in Olynyk is risky. The Raptors did this in the middle of the previous two seasons with Young and Jakob Poeltl, and re-signed them to player-friendly deals (though not from a team perspective) to keep those players. Olynyk also has the option to go elsewhere, but the fact that he's Canadian and turns 33 shortly after the end of the regular season limits teams trying to sign him. At first glance, a two-year deal for a mid-level standout seems reasonable, filling Schröder's salary slot. Olynyk is immediately eligible for expansion and Webster said Olynyk wants to stay in Toronto.

Translation: They are confident that they will find a common language on the contract.

“We were big fans of Kelly,” Webster said. “I think we're going to have a unique approach to him, he's a steady hand and I think we've seen that off the bench, especially in the bigs, he's got the skills to be a veteran presence that we think is going to be the voice of this department. please help.”

As much as anything, the Raptors don't seem to want to invest more in the 2024 NBA Draft. By Thursday, they would have three first-round picks, as well as one early second-rounder in what is considered a weak draft, if their individual picks fall in the top six. According to multiple reports, the New York Knicks are offering Bruce Brown a 2024 first-round pick, but the Raptors want a future pick, not wanting to have too much leverage in this draft class.

The Raptors also give up their pick, which comes down to the Los Angeles Clippers or Oklahoma City Thunder — whoever ends up with the better record and, accordingly, the worse pick. They still have the Pacers' pick and a second-rounder from the Detroit Pistons. Agbaji, in the second year of his rookie deal, taking a wing in a situation of sudden need is a good gamble.

“I think Ochai's energy will energize Scotty,” Webster said.

Keeping Brown means the Raptors are unlikely to have room below the salary cap to spend money on free agents. They would have to waive Brown's $23 million team option and let Olympique and Gary Trent Jr. walk in free agency to make up for the $40 million cap space. Then again, there's no one on the market worth it, least of all those who think the Raptors are a true option.

More likely: The Raptors keep Olyny, see what Brown's trade value is this summer and next season, and consider bringing back Trent if the price is right. For now, Olynyk and Brown will stabilize the bench, giving the Raptors a few more chances to close out competitive games.

And as for the future? Let's see who will make himself indispensable.

Notes

• Webster said no one met the Raptors' asking price for Brown, or they would have done something. With only two first-round picks moving on the day, the Raptors' ask seems pretty obvious.

• The Raptors didn't move Trent either. After picking up his player option for 2023-24, he will become an unrestricted free agent in his final offseason with little surprise.

“Gary is 25 years old and a 40 percent 3-point shooter. So you can start there,” Webster said when asked if Trent is part of the team's future plans. “I think he'll probably admit that he didn't get off to the best start he would have liked, but he's settled now and we're seeing that. So I think it's a little bit TBD on Gary, but I think we're watching him grow with this group. We watch as he picks and chooses his attack spots. I think you're seeing him be a little more aggressive defensively, which we've seen over the years.”

Trent is young enough to receive an above-average offer from some team this summer, but unlike several second-round picks, having the Bird rights to retain him is a defensible piece of roster management. TBD is correct.

• The Raptors are down to 13 players on the main roster, meaning they have two open roster spots. They can trade one of the three players on two-way contracts, Jontay Porter, Javon Freeman-Liberty or Markquis Nowell, to a major contract, or they can leave the organization. The Raptors must fill one of the spots within two weeks. They want to see what Barnes can do in a ball-handling role, but regardless, they need a point guard.

• Finally, questions were raised about whether Webster's ability to keep a pick loaned to the San Antonio Spurs for Poeltl, who is protected by top-six picks in the next three drafts, will affect how the Raptors approach their final 31 games. The Raptors enter Thursday's game with Memphis tied for the sixth-worst record in the league, though it's clear the lottery could change the draft order.

“We're going to prioritize seeing that group game,” Webster said. “If we're in the top six or if we're in the top six, especially with a new (lottery chance) — trying to make a pointless game. At the end of the day, these are lottery balls.

“I think for us, playing that young group together: getting Grady (Dick) with that group, seeing how they fit together, because that gives us more information on how to build this team.”

(Top photo of Kelly Olympic: Troy Taormina/USA Today)