'No idea what this franchise is doing': Raptors fans baffled by team's deadline

February 09, 2023 - 4:51pm

Kevin Michie and Eric Smith react to the Raptors lone move to acquire Jakob Poeltl before the NBA Trade Deadline, what the ceiling of this team is heading into the final stretch of the season, and what looms ahead in the offseason.

For months, the Toronto Raptors were painted as the potential biggest players at the NBA's trade deadline — that's if they decided to become sellers.

Well, perhaps we should've given a little more weight to the word if.

Instead of moving on from Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. or O.G. Anunoby, all players who can become free agents in the next two off-seasons, Raptors executives Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster added another pending free agent to the mix in Jakob Poeltl. Then, to much surprise, they stood pat.

Talk about a tease.

For a team that's 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 26-30 record and nowhere near championship contention, the trade deadline decisions were mind-boggling to Raptors fans and media, to say the least.