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The Toronto Raptors are expected to be open for business ahead of February’s trade deadline, and no surprises there—with the team just 10-32 on the season, selling off role players and veterans for draft assets and young players makes sense.
Two players to keep an eye on are big men Kelly Olynyk and Chris Boucher.
According to NBA reporter Marc Stein“Olynyk is in the mix alongside Chicago’s Nikola Vučević, Washington’s Jonas Valančiūnas and Portland’s Robert Williams III on the list of big men perceived to be available via trade leading up to the deadline.”
He added that Olynyk was “nearly traded” to the Golden State Warriors ahead of last season’s trade deadline while he was still with the Utah Jazz, but was instead dealt to Toronto.
The 33-year-old is averaging just 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 19 appearances, coming off the bench for the Raptors with Jakob Poeltl starting at center for the Raptors. He is shooting 45.2 percent from three, and teams looking for a scrappy, floor-stretching big man could do worse than Olynyk.
As for Boucher, Stein reported that he’s “not regarded as a likely buyout candidate, sources say, even if he stays put with the Raptors beyond the trade deadline. Word is that the 32-year-old big man with the floor-spacing outside touch—while drawing trade interest from various teams—has interest in a contract extension with the Raptors.”
He’s seen a bigger role than Olynyk, averaging 10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 37 appearances while shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc. And it sounds as though he’s interested in remaining with the Raptors as size and experience off the bench.
