5 teams who will regret not beating Bucks' offer for Damian Lillard

2. Why the Raptors will regret not trading for Damian Lillard

For a fleeting minute, it felt like Damian Lillard was going to the Toronto Raptors. ESPN scribe Marc J. Spears dubbed Toronto the "frontrunner," and the entire NBA fandom felt the striking similarity to Masai Ujiri's last blockbuster trade as Raptors GM: the trade that brought Kawhi Leonard north from San Antonio.

It would appear the Raptors were ultimately unwilling to part with O.G. Anunoby, the only sensible centerpiece for a Toronto package. While the Raptors' ongoing commitment to the 26-year-old out of Indiana is admirable, let's keep it real: Anunoby isn't good enough for the "off-table" treatment in Damian Lillard trade talks. If the Raptors are at all serious about winning, trading Anunoby for Lillard is a no-brainer.

There's a strong argument to be made that Toronto should simply rebuild, rather than clinging so tightly to a flawed roster with little hope of legitimate title contention. Lillard is a top-shelf talent, but he's not Prime Kawhi. The Raptors would not be favorites — or even second or third-favorites — in the East post-trade.

Unfortunately, the Raptors have swerved away from a rebuild at every possible fork in the road. Ujiri has passed up golden opportunities to trade veterans such as Kyle Lowry or Fred VanVleet, only to watch them walk away in free agency. The guiding principle behind such mishaps was a desire to win. If that's how Ujiri is going to run his team, why balk at an opportunity to genuinely compete?

Lillard is the perfect solution to Toronto's ailments on paper. He's a volume shooter and a gifted halfcourt playmaker who would give new head coach Darko Rajaković a bedrock to build his system upon. Alas, the Raptors will now gaze up from NBA purgatory as the Bucks make another title run.