Toronto Raptors: How trade deadline deals help team’s future

Many rightfully focus on this year’s NBA title race when looking at the Toronto Raptors’ recent trades. Their future should benefit from them as well.

The Toronto Raptors seemingly followed the usual NBA trade deadline credo last week: contenders buy for now, pretenders sell for the future.

Toronto made a deal to improve its roster immediately, exchanging Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles and a second round draft pick for three-time All-Star Marc Gasol.

(They also shipped Greg Monroe out for no players, but that shouldn’t prove to be a significant loss.)

On the surface, these appear to be “win-now” moves: the Raptors improved at center, arguably their weakest position on the roster, without giving up too many members of the bench and sacrificing depth.

But there are several ways these moves can also help the team down the road, starting in the 2019-20 season.

The financial ramifications for the trades aren’t necessarily pleasing for Toronto’s future payrolls. Monroe will hit unrestricted free agency at the end of the season. Valanciunas, Miles and Wright are all likely to hit free agency — restricted in the case of Wright — the following summer.

Then, there’s the Gasol contract. He’s currently making $24.1 million in base salary. If he chooses to exercise his player option for next season — which he’s financially incentivized to do — his $25.6 million salary could really hamstring next season’s salary cap.

If Kawhi Leonard leaves, that contract looks like an even greater albatross. But the trade for Gasol was designed so that Leonard wouldn’t want to leave when his contract expires this summer, which is the real potential silver lining of this deal.

Leonard’s camp has been typically silent this season, avoiding the same persistent questions that have beleaguered the likes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Still, he’s a massive prize waiting for a big payday during free agency. Back when he was seeking a trade from the San Antonio Spurs, the Raptors were not among his assumed desirous destinations.

However, there is precedent in a player being shipped to an odd place, only to find a home there and decide to re-up for several years to build something with a contender. Just ask Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Those situations are not exact parallels. The Thunder had a still-ascending superstar in Russell Westbrook, while the Raptors have an aging star in Kyle Lowry and now another one in Gasol.

Leonard doesn’t need to look too far to see promising signs for the future, though. Pascal Siakam is having a season that is pushing him toward All-Star status. Fred VanVleet remains poised to usurp Lowry as starting point guard in the near future. Nick Nurse has pulled all the right strings in his first season as an NBA head coach.

If competing for championships is the goal, there are far worse places to do it than Toronto.

First things first: The Raptors need to compete for a title this year. WIth the addition of Gasol, they might have the most feared rotation in the Eastern Conference. That being said, the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers also made big acquisitions at the trade deadline, creating a three-team race for the conference (four if the Boston Celtics get their act together).

If the Raptors make a run to their first NBA Finals in franchise history, this season’s results won’t be the only benefit – next season’s will too.