Obviously, the most important names on this list are the first three. Gasol, Ibaka and VanVleet were all instrumental parts of the club’s championship run in 2019 and it would be nice to have them return given the success the team saw last season with them.
As for Gasol, he’s coming off one of the worst years of his professional career and at age 35 there’s a chance he might be finished with the NBA. If he’s not, however, the Raptors may be able to take advantage of the down year from Gasol and re-sign him on the cheap as a possible big return on investment as he was robbed of most of last season due to injury and figures to be healthier coming into this season.
Similarly, if the Raptors were take a point guard like Arizona’s Nico Mannion, what would that say about where they’re at with VanVleet? His name is more likely to come up around trade deadline time when a clearer picture of if the Raptors may be buyers or sellers will be made, but it’s worth keeping in mind that Powell is a likely trade chip should the Raptors decide to move in that direction at any point.
They certainly thought so of Siakam when they did it a year ago, but he showed more offensive ability than Anunoby has when it was his time.
Raptors loung_s Bye Fred.....