The trade deadline is a strange time. It reminds me of when my uncle used to swap lawnmower parts with the neighbors. Nobody really won, but everyone felt like they did something important with their Saturday.
Today, the news is mostly about people moving to different cities. Ochai Agbaji is moving on, and Ivica Zubac is heading to Indiana. It all feels very permanent, even though we know it probably isn't.
The Big Man in the Cornfields
The Pacers decided they needed Ivica Zubac. To get him, they had to give up quite a bit to the Clippers. Some people are calling it a gamble, especially with the draft picks involved.
It is the kind of offer you look at and realize you were never going to match. We are just spectators in this particular transaction. Watching other teams spend their future assets is like watching someone buy a boat (mostly expensive and potentially damp).
Saying Goodbye to Ochai
Ochai Agbaji is leaving the Raptors now. He played basketball for us, and now he will play it somewhere else. We say thank you because that is the polite thing to do when a person leaves a workplace.
He was there, and then he was not. It reminds me of Primoz Brezec or Rasho Nesterovic, players who exist in a specific pocket of your memory. They occupy a space between a Tuesday night loss and a rainy afternoon at the Scarborough Town Centre.
The Logic of Moving Backwards
There is a theory that you have to go backwards to go forward. My car does this every morning when I back out of the driveway, but I usually end up at the same coffee shop anyway. The Raptors seem to be in a similar state of motion.
It is a quiet feeling, watching the roster shift around. There is no reason to be upset, but there is no reason to throw a parade either. We are simply waiting to see what happens next, which is what we were already doing.
Maybe the draft picks will turn into something. Maybe the new players will enjoy the local transit system. Everything is fine, in a very specific, slightly confused sort of way.