Could Toronto Raptors ownership changes signal a wave of upcoming trades?

With Ed Rogers increasing his power over the Raptors, and Larry Tenenbaum with one foot out the door, the countdown for Masai Ujiri’s departure is on. Is Ujiri incentivized to swing for the fences in the trade market?

When news broke Wednesday morning that Rogers had bought out Bell’s ownership stakes in MLSE, it potentially triggered a similarly seismic shift at the team level.

Ed Rogers will now own 75% of the team. Larry Tanenbaum will continue owning 20% of the team, while OMERS will own the remaining 5%. Rogers’ actions related to the Toronto Raptors recently have raised some eyebrows. He had hesitations with the 5 year, $75 million extension that Masai Ujiri eventually signed. Rogers was also opposed to the idea of MLSE pursuing a WNBA team. Tanenbaum landed a WNBA franchise for Toronto through his holding company, Kilmer Sports Inc.

What does this all mean? With his allies at Bell no longer part of the ownership group, and an exciting new venture in the WNBA on the horizon, Tanenbaum, who Sportsnet’s Michael Grange mentions is Ujiri’s biggest supporter, basically has one foot out the door with a clear exit strategy in place. Is Masai going to follow Larry out?

Ujiri has 2 years remaining on his contract. In addition to everything mentioned above, Ujiri consistently finds his name connected to any front office vacancies (or any time it’s a slow news day in New York). Whether or not Ujiri eventually succumbs to the next big offer, he still has Giants of Africa to continue growing and leading.

It’s not a stretch to say that the countdown has begun on Ujiri’s time with the Toronto Raptors!

With 1-2 years left and a lottery team with no championship aspirations soon, Masai has a golden opportunity to take bigger swings for the proverbial fence! Let’s look at some potential trades Ujiri can make to improve the Raptors’ future AND boost his own reputation.

Capture the Flagg

Masai refuses to tank. You know this. I know this. Everyone knows this. Even during the Tampa season, the Raptors were over .500 at the 31-game mark (of a shortened 72-game season). Luckily, the lottery gods bumped Toronto up from 7th to 4th in the draft order, eventually landing the team’s next cornerstone, Scottie Barnes.

If Ujiri plans on taking his talents to another NBA franchise, now’s a time to show off his versatility. Show the basketball world how to properly tank and turn a lottery team into a playoff contender in one year.

Lottery luck may be out of Toronto’s control, but losing as many games as possible definitely is. There are a handful of teams primed to be bottom-feeders from the opening tip in mid-October. Brooklyn, Detroit, Portland, and Washington are in a tier of their own for mediocrity next season. Without actively losing games, Toronto is arguably only one tier below (above?) with Charlotte, Chicago, and Utah.

Masai should make the Raptors slightly worse this season, with an eye towards next season and beyond. Cooper Flagg is the ultimate prize but the 2025 draft class will be stacked with future stars!

Trade #1: Addition by subtraction

After Barnes, the Raptor with the most Win Shares last season was Jakob Poeltl. When he was healthy, Poeltl was a stellar defender and rebounder on one end, while aiding the offense with efficient scoring in the paint and bone-crushing screens. Trading Poeltl while not receiving a starting Center would put the tank in high gear!

Raptors acquire Brandon Clarke, Santi Aldama, and a 2026 first-round pick

Grizzlies acquire Jakob Poeltl

Clarke has a very cap-friendly 3 years and $37.5 million remaining on his contract. He’s only a year younger than Poeltl, but has shown glimpses of a double-double player when healthy. Clarke also gets brownie points for being Canadian!

Aldama is in the final year of his contract. While he mostly played the 4 last season, at 6’11 he could step in and play some 5 for a lottery-bound team. Turning two bench pieces and a future first that does not project to be in the lottery into the missing piece in the starting lineup is good business by Memphis.

The Raptors speed up its tanking aspirations by trading away the glue that kept Toronto together many times last season.

Trade #2: Get floor spacers

It’s no secret that Toronto needs more outside shooting. Luckily for the Raptors, Cleveland has an abundance of shooters. Five of the Cavs’ top 7 players (average minutes per game) are good-to-great three-point shooters. The other two players are Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Cleveland lacks a spacing big. Enter Kelly Olynyk.

Raptors acquire Georges Niang and Sam Merrill

Cavaliers acquire Kelly Olynyk

Cleveland solidify its rotation with a veteran who can stretch the floor and whose defensive liabilities can be masked by the Cavs’ Twin Towers.

For the Raptors, Niang and Merrill provide some much-needed outside scoring. The lack of a draft pick isn’t ideal but if this trade works out (pushing Toronto further down the standings with its lack of frontcourt depth), the 2025 draft pick may improve still.

Trade #3: What about Bruce?

The elephant in the room is Toronto’s prized trade asset, Bruce Brown. When his Team Option was picked up, there were hopes that a trade was on the horizon. While turning down his option would have given Toronto more Free Agency money, the list of possible signees was not eye-popping (plus the ever-present, and always-annoying notion of playing in a different country).

Raptors acquire Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and a future first-round pick

Lakers acquire Bruce Brown and Ochai Agbaji

Los Angeles has quite a few question marks heading into the season. What can Vincent provide after missing 71 games last season? Can Austin Reaves prove last season’s dip in efficiency was an aberration? Will Max Christie and/or Jalen Hood-Schifino make relative leaps and become meaningful rotation pieces?

Brown is a proven playoff performer who can put all of those guard-related questions to bed. Giving up Hachimura is cushioned by the return of Jarred Vanderbilt, who only played 6 games last season, the signing of Christan Koloko (insert crying emoji), and the presence of Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers only really need 15-18 minutes of competence from those bigs as they back Anthony Davis.

Unfortunately, Bruce Brown underwent an athroscopic surgical procedure on the knee that was bothering him this week, per the team. He’ll be out for the preseason at least, and missing time would bump his trade stock down.

Here’s what the revised rotation would look like:

Starters — Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Rui Hachimura

Key Reserves — Gabe Vincent, Davion Mitchell, Brandon Clarke, Georges Niang, Santi Aldama

Depth — Ja’Kobe Walter, Sam Merrill, Garrett Temple, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Chris Boucher*

2-Ways — Branden Carlson, DJ Carton, Ulrich Chomche

*Roster size would be 1 above the limit. Boucher would be traded to a team for a player (the Raptors would waive) plus a future second-round pick. Pour one out for Chris!

The aftermath of these trades:

• 4 of the oldest Raptors (non-Garrett-Temple division) will be off the roster
• Rotation is younger with only one incoming player over 30 (Niang)
• The departure of Poeltl (and lack of a true Center) should move the tank along more smoothly
• Additional moves will need to be made (duh) as the team’s cap space actually increases by $13 million in 2025-26
• Whether or not the Raptors can #CaptureTheFlagg on Draft night, depth at Center will need to be addressed. Free Agents next summer include Myles Turner, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Brook Lopez, Ivica Zubac, and Clint Capela.

Last season, the Raptors seemingly “chose a direction” by trading away Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. In reality, they’re still too good to tank and not good enough to be a playoff contender — the dreaded middle! By trading away key rotation pieces, getting younger, and collecting draft picks along the way, Toronto leans further in the appropriate direction.

With time ticking away on Masai’s tenure with the Raptors, the opportunity to turn things around is more obvious now than ever before.