The Toronto Raptors are currently navigating a season that feels like a long wait in a government building. You are sitting there, the linoleum is peeling, and someone just announced that the person you were waiting for is actually in Dallas.
Jake Fischer is reporting that the Raptors are signaling they are no longer in the hunt for Anthony Davis. For a while, we were described as ardent suitors, which is a word usually reserved for people in Victorian novels who stand outside windows with flowers.
Now, the front office is messaging that they are not actively pursuing Ja Morant either. It is a strange feeling to announce you are not doing things. I am currently not buying a boat or learning to play the cello, but no one is tweeting about it yet.
The Loneliness of the Trade Deadline
Rich Paul has reportedly demanded a trade for Anthony Davis from the Mavericks, which is a sentence that would have confused me deeply three years ago. It still sort of does. The NBA moves fast, like a shopping cart with one bad wheel, and sometimes you just have to let it go where it wants.
The Raptors seem content to stay quiet for now. It reminds me of my uncle who used to go to garage sales just to tell people he didn't want their old lawn mowers. There is a certain kind of power in being the team that isn't interested.
Hugs and Misunderstandings
In actual basketball news, Darko Rajakovic and Domantas Sabonis shared an embrace after the game last night. It was a nice moment between two people who understand that basketball is mostly just moving a ball around until everyone gets tired and goes home.
The game itself had some curious footnotes. Kenneth Cardwell spent a significant amount of time hyping up the Sacramento crowd, seemingly unaware that Zach LaVine had already been whistled for a foul. It was a lot of energy spent for no particular reason.
The Side Eye
Jamal Shead was caught on camera giving Cardwell a look of pure, unadulterated confusion. It is the same look I give my toaster when it burns the bread after I specifically asked it not to. Confusion is a natural state of being for a Raptors fan in 2026.
We have a lot of players on the roster who represent the future, or perhaps just a very long present. Whether we trade for a superstar or just continue to watch people celebrate fouls that didn't count, we will be here. There isn't much else to do in January.