After trading for Brandon Ingram at the trade deadline, teams around the league are expecting the Raptors to make another major move this offseason, per Brian Windhorst, as reported by Realgm.
“Toronto is one of those teams that is sitting there on the balls of its feet, which is interesting,” Windhorst said on a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast.
Eric Koreen of The Athletic added that the state of the Eastern Conference should push the team to be slightly more aggressive, as the bottom of the conference is likely to be weak, especially if Giannis Antetokounmpo departs for the Western Conference.
However, Koreen adds that his instinct is that the core five Raptors, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and Brandon Ingram, will likely remain with the team heading into next season.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- After a season that went much worse than expected, the Sixers are faced with a multitude of questions, writes Keith Pompey of The Inquirer. The first domino is the third pick in the 2025 draft. If they do use the pick, Pompey writes to not expect standout trade addition Quentin Grimes‘ impending free agency to impact the selection, but emphasizes the need to pick the best player available. Pompey also believes that following this season, another lackluster year from Philadelphia could spell the end of team president Daryl Morey‘s tenure as the lead decision-maker.
- Speaking of the third pick in the 2025 draft, count Sixers star Paul George as a firm believer in Ace Bailey, Pompey writes. Pompey reports that George has hyped up the 6’9″ wing three different times leading into the off-season. Recently, George said, “If there was no Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey would have been an even bigger name that people would have been talking about in this draft. … I think he’s going to come into the league and make noise right away.” Carmelo Anthony and DeMarcus Cousins are two other former players who have raved about the shot-making wing, but others believe that the three to six or seven range in the draft are basically interchangeable from a talent perspective.
- The Nets missed out on the Flagg sweepstakes, but they still have five picks in the top 36 of the 2025 draft. Collin Helwig of NetsDaily rounded up a list of players who have been confirmed to have worked out for the franchise, a list that doesn’t yet include Jeremiah Fears or Kon Knueppel. Colorado State’s Nique Clifford is the highest-ranked name to have worked out for the team so far, along with Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier. Helwig notes that St. John’s Aaron Scott and Temple’s Steve Settle both worked out in Brooklyn, as did Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis and West Virginia’s Javon Small. Finally, Helwig notes that international players Noa Essengue, Ben Saraf, and Hugo Gonzalez will not be working out for the team, as they finish their seasons overseas.