I was looking at a picture of a bagel today and it reminded me of the salary cap. It is a circle that eventually closes in on you if you eat too much of it. The Raptors are currently standing in the middle of that bagel, and some people think we should trade RJ Barrett before the deadline closes.
RJ is a hometown hero which is a heavy thing to be. He scores twenty points almost every night like he is filling out a very consistent form at the post office. He cuts, he passes, and he provides spacing. Yet, there is a feeling that this team has a ceiling that is basically the height of a standard basement.
The Trade Winds and Other Drafts
Josh Lewenberg is reporting that the front office might be willing to part with some familiar faces. This includes RJ, Immanuel Quickley, and Jakob Poeltl. It is a bit like looking at your living room furniture and wondering if a sectional would solve all your problems. It might, but then you have to figure out how to move the old sofa down the stairs.
There are rumors that the Raptors have called the Pelicans about Trey Murphy III. Trey is a very tall person who shoots the ball well. He would be an upgrade, they say. We are always looking for upgrades, much like how my uncle keeps buying newer versions of the same leaf blower. He still has leaves on his lawn, but he feels better about the technology.
Mismanaged Assets and Sandro
We also have the curious case of Sandro Mamukelashvili. He played against the Kings recently. People are upset because we did not even assign certain players to the 905. The 905 is a place in Mississauga where dreams go to stay hydrated. If we aren't using the resources we have, it makes you wonder why we have them at all.
I remember watching Primoz Brezec play and thinking about the passage of time. Now I think about RJ Barrett and the trade deadline. If we trade him, we lose that hometown pride. If we keep him, we maybe lose in the first round of the playoffs.
In the end, we are all just waiting for the next transaction to tell us how to feel. Trading a starter is a delicate process, kind of like trying to change a lightbulb while standing on a rolling office chair. You can do it, but you might end up on the floor wondering where it all went wrong. For now, we just watch the score and wait for February to arrive.