5 players who should be traded during NBA Draft

No. 3 player who should be traded during NBA Draft: OG Anunoby

OG Anunoby’s name was flying fast and frequent at the NBA trade deadline in February but the Raptors ultimately held out despite several very appealing offers. Now Toronto, fresh off missing the postseason entirely, is staring down the barrel of another mediocre season. It’s time to make real changes to the roster, starting with Anunoby.

On the surface there’s no reason for Anunoby specifically to be the starting point for Toronto’s rebuild/retool. He’s only 25 years old and he was just named to the All-Defensive team. Projecting over the next half-decade, how many wing defenders are more bankably elite than Anunoby — even considering the injury history? Not many.

That said, every reported trade offer for Anunoby grows more and more ludicrous. If the market for Anunoby is what it’s reported to be and the Raptors take serious stock of their roster situation, there’s simply no justifiable reason not to trade Anunoby.

Toronto received multiple trade offers of three first-round picks for Anunoby last season and it appears that he is garnering similar interest ahead of Thursday’s NBA Draft. While Anunoby is undeniably talented, combining his marvelous point-of-attack defense with brute-force isolation scoring and reliable 3-point shooting, he is not the second coming.

The Raptors have the talent to avoid a full-blown rebuild if that’s what Masai Ujiri and the front office crave. The path there doesn’t involve trading your superstar in Pascal Siakam, and it doesn’t involve letting go of your recent Rookie of the Year in Scottie Barnes. Selling high on Anunoby for a gaggle of picks and an influx of guard talent to space the floor and resuscitate the Raptors’ halfcourt playmaking apparatus is the way to go.