Potential NBA trade deadline deals that should scare Raptors fans

Tim and Sid break down DeMarcus Cousins getting traded to the Pelicans and debate who is to blame for the Kings failure since drafting Boogie seven seasons ago.

The Toronto Raptors have done trade deadline work early this year.

Even though they are still in the market for a swing man, their pre-all-star break acquisition of Serge Ibaka has made them intriguing down the stretch. If Ibaka re-signs this summer and makes them a legit challenger to Cleveland, this trade will go down as the best deadline move in franchise history.

If Terrence Ross reaches his full potential, Toronto continues to falter down the stretch and Ibaka leaves in free agency in the summer, it could go down as one of the worst deals. However, the Raptors improvements are relative to what other like-minded teams do. The New Orleans Pelicans have already struck it big landing DeMarcus Cousins.

But with the deadline less than 48 hours away, here are some potential deals that Raptors fans should worry about.

1. Jimmy Butler to the Boston Celtics
No emoji has excited a fan base and terrified another like Isaiah Thomas putting out looking eyes on the Internet. It sent Twitter in to a frenzy Monday night. Celtics fans thought it meant Danny Ainge was about to land Carmelo Anthony or Jimmy Butler. Canadian basketball fans were afraid that the Raptors killer Jimmy Butler was soon going to be playing on a parquet floor.

The correlation was immediately made to the last time Thomas sent out that tweet, when Boston landed Al Horford.

The Celtics front office did not confirm a deal, although assistant GM Mike Zarren didn’t flat out right deny one is in the works either.

More importantly, why would this deal matter? Thomas is a scoring machine averaging 29.9 points per game, good for second in the league. However, he is also the worst defender in the NBA by most metrics. Landing Butler would give Boston yet another wing defender to help cover for the 5-foot-6 point guard’s defensive shortcomings.

Brad Stevens would have the quartet of Butler, Avery Bradley Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart to throw at Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan allowing to Isiah Thomas to hide on the weak side wing defensively.

Landing Butler, paired with Thomas and Horford would give Boston the most balanced starting unit in the league East of Golden State. Butler is a three time all-star averaging 24.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and five assists, so adding him to any team makes them appreciably better. Boston has the capital to get a deal done as they own the Brooklyn Nets’ pick which is projected to be No.1 overall (before the lottery) in what is expected to be a loaded draft class.

Not only Toronto, but Cleveland would take notice if this deal gets done.

The Bulls are saying they aren’t trading Butler, which makes sense because he’s a top 10 NBA player in his prime. But we’ve heard that before (DeMarcus Cousins).

2. Bojan Bogdanovic to the Washington Wizards
John Wall fully expects the Washington Wizards to make a move. The fact that he’s that confident makes me feel the franchise player was provided with some intel to calm his nerves. The Wizards have arguably the best starting five combination in the East by most metrics.

The Wizards starters are outscoring opponents by 13 points per 100 possessions, which trails only the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, but they have no depth beyond that as they boast the third worst bench in the league by net rating.

A rumoured fit is Bojan Bogdanovic. The Bosnian born forward has quietly put together a solid year averaging 14.2 points and shooting 35 per cent from three and 44 per cent from the floor in just 26 minutes of action with no help around him in Brooklyn. His ability to get buckets on his own would make Washington more of a nightmare to guard than they already are. This potential blow for Toronto would be two-fold. Not only would Washington become more dynamic with him, but Bogdanovic is also a potential target for the Raptors.

3. Ricky Rubio to the Cleveland Cavaliers
Iman Shumpert has apparently drawn interest from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

This make sense because Shumpert is a defence-first guy who has steadily improved his three-point shot throughout his time in the league. This type of player intrigues Tom Thibodeau (see Jimmy Butler). But that is not the type of player a championship contending team parts ways with easily, especially when he’s good friends with the best player on the team, LeBron James.

However, LeBron has been publicly asking for a play-making, back-up point guard. Cleveland’s one weakness thus far has been defence. Rubio addresses both issues. Rubio has been on the block and was rumoured to be heading to Detroit in exchange for Reggie Jackson. Stan Van Gundy squashed that deal and personally guaranteed Jackson that he wouldn’t be moved for the Spanish point guard. Now that that deal is dead could Rubio be headed to Ohio instead of Michigan? If so, the Cavs would receive one of the best passers in the league in exchange for a player who will receive limited minutes in the playoffs because of the addition of Kyle Korver and the eventual return of J.R. Smith from injury.

Any incremental improvement by Cleveland is a massive blow to Toronto.

4. Andre Drummond to the Boston Celtics
Not only did Andre Drummond retweet Isiah Thomas and his eye balls tweet, he tweeted a set of his own.

Drummond recently removed “Detroit Pistons” from his Twitter bio and changed his profile pic to a photo of him waving. We don’t know if he’s waving good-bye or hello. What we do know is Al Horford has been disappointing since his move to Boston. Horford’s effective field goal percentage is .516, the worst since his rookie season. His overall field goal percentage is .456, the worst of his career. Moving him back to the four might get the best out of him, which would happen if Drummond was acquired. Both Drummond and Horford were all-stars a year ago. Playing together they could help each other get back to that all-star status.

5. Jahlil Ohkafor or Brook Lopez to the Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been rumoured to move Paul George or make a move to bring him some much-needed help.

One player who would be a fit is Jahlil Okafor who was rumoured to be going to New Orleans before they landed Cousins. A frontline of Okafor and Myles Turner would struggle defensively, but would dominate offensively. Indiana is a potential first-round opponent for Toronto for the second year in a row. George alone almost beat Toronto in seven games last year.

With a Raptors defence that has taken steps back from their performance in the playoffs last year, any improvement offensively by the Pacers is worth monitoring. If not Okafor, the Pacers could also pursue Brook Lopez, which would make Indiana dangerous for all the same reasons. Lopez has been on the block for what seems like forever, but with Brooklyn lacking draft picks, Indiana could give up expiring deals and picks for a potential borderline all-star (in the East) big man.

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