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It is no secret that the Toronto Raptors‘ season hasn’t gone in keeping with plan to date.
Heading into its New 12 months’s Eve sport in opposition to the New York Knicks, the crew sat 0-3, its worst begin in 15 years. Given the condensed nature of this pandemic-shortened season, a gradual begin may derail an entire marketing campaign.
Pair that with the crew’s current blockbuster commerce historical past, and a disgruntled Houston Rockets celebrity being available on the market, and it is no shock NBA insiders have linked Toronto to James Harden. The newest to take action was ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“The Raptors are virtually in the identical spot that they had been two years in the past [when they made the Leonard trade],” Windhorst mentioned throughout an look on The Lowe Post podcast. “They’ve good gamers. They seem to be a good crew. There’s most likely seven groups within the Japanese Convention who may get the whiteboard out and persuade themselves that they are attending to the Convention Finals.
“…I really suppose the Raptors are a robust candidate to do that once more. Whether or not or not they may execute it, whether or not or not they may carry themselves to do it [we’ll see].”
An element that will deter the Raptors from pulling the set off on a Harden commerce, Windhorst mused, was the contractual state of affairs of Toronto’s president of basketball operation Masai Ujiri.
Ujiri, a former govt of the yr, was an architect of the commerce that introduced Leonard to Toronto — a transfer that culminated within the crew’s first-ever championship. Nonetheless, his long-term future with the crew stays unclear, as he has but to signal a contract extension that will preserve him making choices for the Raptors past this yr.
“The one factor I might say in regards to the Raptors is Masai is unsigned,” Windhorst mentioned. “Going ahead, it’s nonetheless a murky purpose as to why he’s unsigned — whether or not it’s his alternative or the Raptors’ alternative, I want I had extra info however I do not.
“If you are going to commerce for James Harden, you are doubtless going to have to offer a number of calmly protected or unprotected future first-round picks. If I used to be Raptors possession, I might say, ‘Effectively, you need to commerce for James Harden, let’s determine who’s working this crew when these picks are being traded.'”
Harden, whose season has been marred by a number of COVID-19 security protocol violations which have delayed his becoming a member of the Rockets and precipitated him to overlook video games, has been as impactful as ever when he does play.
In two appearances previous to New yr’s Eve, Harden averaged 39 factors, 12.5 assists and 5 rebounds.
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