NBA trade deadline: End of an era for Toronto Raptors?

BET À DAY

No team is more talked about in the NBA than the Toronto Raptors, with two days to go before the trade deadline.  

The players of the Queen City team, however, assure that they manage to ignore the storm forming around them. 

Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam: the list of players aggressively coveted by other teams on the Silver circuit is long, according to the ESPN network. With basketball operations president Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster hiding their cards well, however, we don't yet know if the “Raps” will be sellers or buyers.

With a 25-30 record, good for the 11th overall in the East, the only Canadian NBA team can still aspire to participate in the “play-in” tournament involving the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th teams of the Eastern Conference.

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Thus, head coach Nick Nurse and the Raptors point guards have a reason to ignore the media circus surrounding them.

“I don't think my players talk about it 24 hours a day like you, Nurse sneered at reporters. No one walks on eggshells. It's a business and we have a busy schedule. We make sure they focus on the basketball.”

A defining week

The same goes for the athletes, who just savored a 106-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, their second win in a row.

“I literally have no idea what is happening, Siakam confirmed. Several years ago, I decided to stop worrying about what I couldn't control. I have seen people leave and arrive in my career. Nothing surprises me anymore. I'm not looking for rumors unless my phone rings.”

The Raptors take on the San Antonio Spurs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday in what could be the duel that spells the end of a era in Toronto. No question of jumping to conclusions too hastily for Nurse, but the pilot admits all the same that this week will be decisive for the future of the organization.

“I think it is always about 'a crucial week for the organization, just like the moments surrounding draft night or the last cuts at the end of training camp, he concluded. Every window that improves the team, no matter how, is always important.”