Head coach Darko Rajakovic named the elephant in the room during a team meeting with his Toronto Raptors.
“Listen, we’ve got to acknowledge the trade deadline is around the corner. I don’t have information about what’s going on. I don’t want to know what’s going on until something goes down or doesn’t go down.”‘ Rajakovic told reporters at practice Tuesday.
“I just wanted to acknowledge to players that I understand where we might be as a team and that might be on somebody’s mind.”
Toronto (30-21) was fourth in the Eastern Conference heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That has the Raptors in contention for a playoff berth, despite pre-season expectations that they would be vying for a play-in spot.
On the surface, that position in the rankings would likely make Toronto general manager Bobby Webster a buyer ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern. They have needs too, with a notable lack of size at centre behind Jakob Poeltl — who has only played seven minutes since Dec. 15 as he struggles with a sore lower back — and struggles with three-point shooting.
However, the Raptors were also in the NBA’s luxury tax zone, an issue that they addressed Wednesday afternoon.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul was traded to Toronto in a multi-team deal also involving the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, according to media reports. The Raptors sent forward Ochai Agbaji, their 2032 second-round draft pick and cash to the Nets, according to ESPN.
Those same reports said that Toronto would not require Paul to report to the team and could still discuss trades involving him before the deadline.
That move got the Raptors out of luxury tax trouble and cleared about $7 million US from the Clippers’ payroll.
Paul announced in November that this would be his final NBA season, but L.A. announced on Dec. 3 that it was parting ways with the likely Hall of Famer, sending him home.
“There is so little that we can control and so much that’s out of our control,” said Rajakovic, noting that he’s not privy to the front office’s dealings. “We’ve just got to focus on us, getting better, getting into the gym and putting in the great work that we had today in practice.”
Second-year point guard Jamal Shead said that he and swingman RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., discussed the realities of the NBA trade deadline earlier this week. Barrett was traded to Toronto ahead of the 2023 deadline along with point guard Immanuel Quickley.
“This is a business, and you go and do your job every day, and what happens, happens,” said Shead. “You control what you can control, and what we can control is coming in here, working and just trying to get better.”
The Raptors will host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night in the second half of a back-to-back. Chicago was 10th in the Eastern Conference heading into play on Wednesday, holding the last play-in spot.
Backup centre Sandro Mamukelashvili, whose playing time might be affected if Toronto acquired another big man, said that he can’t focus on the trade deadline and the impact it might have on the Raptors’ roster.
“We have games to play. I think that’s the main focus right now, winning games and playing your part,” said Mamukelashvili. “It’s out of your control what happens.
“You can’t really focus on [the deadline], just control what your game is bringing every day. Your intensity, energy and making sure you help the team.”
Gilgeous-Alexander out until after break
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be out of action until after the all-star break due to an abdominal strain, the team announced Wednesday.
The reigning MVP from Hamilton suffered the injury during Oklahoma City’s 128-92 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. It means he will sit out the Feb. 15 all-star game. Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement.
Gilgeous-Alexander also will miss Wednesday night’s showdown with the San Antonio Spurs. The team said it would re-evaluate him after the break.
It’s a huge loss for the defending NBA champion Thunder, who lead the league with a 40-11 record. Gilgeous-Alexander is the league’s No. 2 scorer with 31.8 points per game. He is on a streak of 121 consecutive games with at least 20 points scored, the second longest streak in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s run of 126 straight games.
He barely kept his streak alive on Tuesday night, scoring exactly 20 points before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander is having perhaps his best all-around season. He ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage at 55.4 per cent (14th) and in assists, with 6.4 per contest (15th).
His injury is just the latest in a string of health setbacks for the Thunder.
Davis to Wizards in 8-player deal: report
The Washington Wizards are acquiring Anthony Davis in an eight-player trade with the Mavericks that includes draft picks for Dallas, a person with knowledge of the deal said Wednesday.
The move is a signal the Mavericks are moving on from the widely criticized trade that sent superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package headlined by Davis last year.
Former general manager Nico Harrison, who was fired by Dallas in November, engineered the middle-of-the-night deal that angered fans. Trade speculation had surrounded Davis ever since Harrison was let go following a slow start to the season.
The Wizards are sending Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham and Marvin Bagley III to the Mavericks along with two first-round draft picks and three second-rounders, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had yet to be approved by the NBA.
Washington is getting three guards from Dallas in Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell and Dante Exum.
The Wizards have made a stark shift recently from their rebuild after losing 67 and 64 games the past two seasons. Washington traded for Trae Young last month and now adds Davis to a group of young players that includes big man Alex Sarr, the No. 2 pick in 2024.
It’s not clear if Young or Davis will play much this season, which could be for the best given the Wizards lose their top draft pick this year if it falls outside No. 8.
Still, a deal like this suggests Washington is ready to move on from the phase of waiting for lottery luck. A 2026-27 team with Davis, Young, Sarr and other complementary players could be interesting in the Eastern Conference, although health is always a concern with somebody like Davis.
The 10-time all-star has been out since Jan. 8 with a left hand injury and wasn’t expected to return before the all-star break later this month.
As might have been expected, Davis appeared in just 31 of a possible 84 games over two partial seasons with the Mavericks, including the two play-in tournament games he played last season.
The 32-year-old’s ailments included a core muscle issue and a calf strain before Davis injured his hand while defending a driving Lauri Markkanen of Utah last month.