5 reasons why the Toronto Raptors must trade for James Harden

2. If the Toronto Raptors don’t trade for James Harden, somebody else will

Let’s face it, James Harden is probably getting traded, and Eastern Conference contenders are the most likely destinations. If the Raptors aren’t the team that makes a deal and, say, the Philadelphia 76ers do, they can comfortably assume that for as long as James Harden is with his new team, they will be lodged in the tier below the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sixers in the Eastern Conference. Not just missing out on him but seeing him go to a nearby rival will slap a rock-solid ceiling on top of them that they’ll simply have to wait out.

A big reason for this ceiling is their inability to score, which we’ll interrogate next.

3. Their offense is awful

It’s a good thing the Raptors have an incredible defense because their offense is abysmal. They have the worst offensive rating in the NBA at just 98.1, almost a full point-and-a-half behind the rebuilding OKC Thunder in second-worst. The Raptors have nobody that can generate easy offense and they are the league’s worst team at getting to the free throw line, shooting just 15.5 free throws per game.

Do you know who would jack that free throw number up? James Harden. The Raptors already take a ton of 3-pointers (leading the league at 46.0 per game) and their shooters could thrive off the opportunities Harden creates for them, at least whoever’s left after they ship out whatever massive package of players it takes to get him.