Toronto Raptors: Evaluating the Bradley Beal rumors

The new year means we’re just a few short weeks from the trade deadline. Expect the Toronto Raptors to be active on the open market, but what should we make of the Bradley Beal rumors?

The Toronto Raptors have paced the Eastern Conference all season, but things have been far from perfect.

Injuries abound for the Raptors. Head coach Nick Nurse has had to balance the continued recuperation of Kawhi Leonard with injuries to starters Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas.

Additionally, the team appears fraught for potential exposure in the postseason, with 3-point shooting proving to be a bigger bugaboo than expected.

All of these factors have led the Raptors to the NBA’s thriving trade market.

Rumors will run rampant over the coming five weeks, but fans were treated to a juicy one on Friday: Sporting News’  Sean Deveney reported on discussions between the Raptors and Washington Wizards about Bradley Beal:

"“There’s been chatter about the Raptors pursuing Wizards guard Bradley Beal, but Washington wants two players and two draft picks for him, according to sources.“That would cost the team budding star Pascal Siakam and wing OG Anunoby, plus some filler salary and two future first-round draft picks.”"

The tenor of Deveney’s report suggests the Raptors would balk at a deal like that one. Beal is a better individual player than Pascal Siakam or OG Anunoby, but the latter two are important pieces of the team’s future. Siakam is having a Most Improved Player-worthy season, while Anunoby is a recent first round pick with plenty of potential, especially on the defensive end.

Toronto should have an array of options to look at before the deadline, but the Wizards should be motivated to move players off their sinking ship before the opportunity passes. In other words, don’t discount the possibility of a deal between the two sides yet.

Bringing Beal on board would supposedly be a coup in the playmaking and shooting departments for Toronto. The Raptors are currently shooting 34.1 percent from 3-point range, good for 25th in the NBA.

A quick glance at Beal’s numbers provide cause for concern, however. He’s made the same 34.1 percent of his 3-point shots this season — not bad, but on pace to be the worst mark in his career. Ironically, he’s averaging a career-high 23.9 points per game, demonstrating his scoring prowess is increasing in the opposite way the rest of the league is trending.

There have also been chemistry questions following Beal around like a hawk for years in Washington. The Raptors have no reason to disrupt what they have going on right now.

More than anything, the timing doesn’t seem right to bring in Beal from a franchise-building perspective, even if Toronto can make the money work. Even if the Wizards lower their asking price by a little, they’ll still want a player who has either put Toronto on course for a title or will become essential next year, should Leonard skip town.

There are better 3-point specialists available for much cheaper prices, like Jeremy Lin or Courtney Lee.

The Beal rumors are fun because he’s a big name ready to be moved in a season of big moves (see: Butler, Jimmy). However, Toronto shouldn’t feel the need to shake things up that drastically at this stage. If the team unexpectedly tanks in the coming weeks, they could always re-evaluate.