Should the Toronto Raptors be NBA trade deadline buyers or sellers?

The Toronto Raptors got off to a dreadful start to the season, but now that they’ve gotten back into the playoff mix they’re going to have tough decisions as the NBA trade deadline nears.

They’re 16-16 now, but they began 2020-21 with a woeful 2-8 record. The Raptors can chalk plenty of their struggles up to the frailties of humanity, dredged up at a time where life itself lays those more bare than usual. As the government of Canada refused to allow the Raptors to play in Toronto thanks to the ongoing COVID pandemic, they had to find a new temporary home in Tampa, Florida.

Separated from family and familiar trappings, it took them some time to get it in gear, but they’re largely back to the same tough squad we’re familiar with over the last few years.

Should the Toronto Raptors be buyers or sellers at the NBA trade deadline?

Standing pat at the NBA trade deadline is rarely a thing for a savvy and aggressive organization like the Raptors. And historically, when given the choice, they’ve chosen to buy with abandon rather than throw in the towel and start over from scratch.

That approach paid off when they traded for Kawhi Leonard and won an NBA championship in their one-year window, but things are different this year. Kyle Lowry is older, and there’s no Kawhi out there on the trade market just waiting to get snapped up for the closest thing to a fair deal.

Maybe they were never serious contenders for James Harden, but that ship has long since sailed. Bradley Beal might be a candidate, but the blockbuster trades we’ve seen so far will set a high and painful price. The landscape is different, but the Raptors are still going to have to decide whether they’re going to cash some chips in and buy, or prepare for the next era of Toronto Raptors basketball and sell.

Let’s take a look at the arguments for each side, starting with “buy”.