Toronto Raptors 2025 Trade Season Preview

As we head into 2025, here is what to expect (or not expect) from the Toronto Raptors as the February 6th Trade Deadline approaches.

What better way to celebrate the year anniversary of the O.G. Anunoby, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley trade than to preview this upcoming trade season. Last December 30th, the Raptors kicked off trades by making an early deal that sent the NBA faithful into a frenzy. A year later, it seems to have worked out for both sides.

O.G. Anunoby is deservedly getting his flowers as a defensive powerhouse in New York, while RJ Barrett is playing the best hoops of his life in Toronto, 23.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game this year. While Immanuel Quickley has not been healthy for long enough to fully judge his potential as a Raptor, the team bet on him by offering him a huge deal to sign in the summer.

Now as we head into 2025 and the trading season ahead, the Raptors are expected to potentially make a few moves. Maybe not be as active as they were last season, dealing nearly 10 players before the deadline expired, but there are a few rumours swirling.

With the NBA Trade Deadline on February 6th at 3pm, let’s dive into the Toronto Raptors situations this season:

Potential Players the Raptors could Trade OUT

There are going to be a few names you see repeated in trade rumours that involve the Toronto Raptors. The team will likely stick to a similar theme they did last year: trade out older players, trade in younger players (with a few exceptions).

Jakob Poeltl has been a name swirling around lately, and while I personally don’t think the Raptors will move on from their big man, let’s consider it. Poeltl is only 29 years old, which means he is on the cusp of not fitting into the team’s “youth movement,” but I don’t think they will be as strict with him. He’s playing great this season apart from a few injuries here and there. He’s averaging 15.4 points, 10.9 rebounds per game, and fits into the Scottie Barnes centered future plans of the team.

As far as his trade prospects go, he’s still got 2 years left on his current contract with $39 million attached to his name. Along with that, he’ll get the chance to have a player option in the year after that, meaning the ball is in his court. It seems likely he could take that option, but a lot could change in 2 seasons. Like I said before, I doubt they actually move on from Poeltl unless something much better is coming in as a result of that trade — which I doubt.

Next is Chris Boucher. The Canadian is in the final year of his current contract, and it seems more than likely his time with the Raptors is dwindling. He is continuously in and out of the rotation — good to insert in when other players are injured but passed on when more favourable options are healthy. He’s the remaining player left from the 2019 championship team as well, and at 31 is aging out of Toronto’s young core. On top of the fact that he will likely walk in free agency, the Raptors could likely deal him off for picks or a young player.

Bruce Brown is a name that has been circulating trade talks for nearly a year. Brown came to Toronto as part of the Indiana Pacers’ Pascal Siakam deal in January 2024. He’s a good rotation player with experience, and could be a great asset for the Raptors in a trade — and it seems like they’ve been waiting for the right chance to jump on that. He could attract a decent young player, be part of a bigger deal, or even bring in multiple picks for the Raptors. He’s on an expiring deal as well, giving the team more motivation to retain something from him.

Despite struggling with a knee injury that left him out of the rotation until this week (late December), he played great in his debut. He scored 12 points on 50% shooting from the field, was active on defence, and brought the energy to a Raptors’ team that has been lacking motivation. All good things for teams looking to potentially take him.

Potential Assets the Raptors could Trade IN

It’s going to be picks, picks, picks for the Toronto Raptors this trade deadline. Along with their probable lottery pick coming in as a result of their... subpar season, the Raptors will likely have another active draft night in 2025. In 2024, they ended up drafting four players by the end after going in with just two picks. They got Ja’Kobe Walter 19th overall, Jonathan Mogbo 30th overall, Jamal Shead 45th overall, and Ulrich Chomche 57th overall.

So far these players are looking great, and along with the slam dunk on drafting Gradey Dick 13th overall the year before, it seems like the Raptors’ draft luck is back. That was in a “weak draft” as well. The 2025 prospects are already looking good, so the Raptors could collect the picks and roll the dice.

When it comes to bringing in players, expect the Raptors to be mentioned in big name trade rumours — that’s always the case. Masai and Bobby are ones to always pick up the phone and see what options they have.

One big name circulating is Anthony Edwards out of Minnesota. The NBA’s starlet seems a little disgruntled at his situation in Minnesota even though they have yielded good results in previous seasons. Still, the Timberwolves are 8th in the Western Conference at 17-14, ad Edwards was just handed a $200,000 fine for swearing in a postgame presser this week. This is all after the Timberwolves shocked the NBA with an offseason trade that sent franchise beloved Karl Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks.

All of this has progressed trade rumours for Edwards as we approach the deadline, and Toronto has been attached to those rumours. What’s unknown is if Toronto can even afford to be in the running to acquire Edwards when you combine players, picks, and even multi-team trade situations. We will have to wait and see if that develops more.

I wouldn’t expect any huge blockbuster trades from the team this season, but Masai has always said “if it feels right, we’ll do it.” They definitely won’t be as active in trade talks and deals as they were last season (thankfully, that was rough lol), but they could get a few deals in there.

The team is still in full rebuild and will be continuing to shift their assets as they try to bulid around Barnes. They’ll be active participants in the draft, so stay tuned as we dive into draft prospects.