The Raptors are sitting at 5-5, but the record only tells part of the story. They’ve dropped every game they’ve played against a potential contender, Kawhi Leonard has appeared in just two games before being sidelined by a left knee injury, and the roster still looks like it needs help in more than one spot if Toronto wants to push beyond merely being competitive.
The biggest issue is easy to spot from the outside. Toronto is 27th in 3-point percentage, and that’s not the kind of hole Leonard alone is going to patch.
The Raptors could use another reliable shooter off the bench, someone defenses have to respect the moment he checks in. They also have a messy center situation.
Jakob Poeltl gave them two solid outings against the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies, but his health is still a question, and his contract continues to make life harder when it comes to building out the rest of the rotation with dependable pieces.
That’s why Poeltl remains a name to watch in trade talks. If another team is willing to absorb him, Toronto should still have a deal on the table, even if it means attaching draft capital to make it work.
On The Athletic NBA Daily on November 10, Es Baraheni floated a mock trade that would be hard for Toronto to ignore if the LA Clippers were open to dealing again with the Raptors: Jakob Poeltl, plus picks and some salary, for Brook Lopez and Max Strus.
The appeal for Toronto is obvious. Strus would immediately help with the shooting shortage.
He’s a 36.9% career 3-point shooter who typically launches about six attempts a night, and in 2024-25, his last fully healthy season, he hit 38.6% of his threes on 6.8 attempts per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s the kind of floor-spacing presence the Raptors are missing.
Lopez would bring a different kind of value, and maybe even more of it. He’s 38, but he’s started the season well with the Clippers, hitting more than 40% of his 3-point tries on 3.1 attempts per game while also averaging one steal and one block per game.
He’s also been available, which matters just as much as production. He played 75 games last season and 80 the year before that.
For Toronto, he’d offer size, rim protection, and another frontcourt shooter in one move.
The Clippers’ side of the equation is simpler to explain: draft picks. That’s the real lure.
After losing several picks in the salary-cap circumvention investigation, they’re in a tough spot if they want to rebuild or retool effectively. Toronto still controls first-round picks in 2028, 2029, 2030, and 2032, along with second-rounders in 2027, 2028, and 2029, and some of that stock could be enough to get Los Angeles interested.
If the Raptors wanted to push the offer further, they could include rookie Allen Graves with Poeltl and the necessary salary. That would make the package more attractive, and Graves is likely the kind of player the Clippers would have interest in. It would hurt Toronto to move him this early, but the Leonard trade put the franchise in win-now mode, and that leaves less room to hold onto every young player it might otherwise want to develop.
In Other News...
Raptors Enter Brutal Stretch With Kawhi Still Not Close To Returning
Kawhi Leonards return remains on hold, and the Raptors are headed into another difficult stretch without one of their biggest names. Toronto announced that Leonard will miss at least one more week as he continues reconditioning after treatment for left knee swelling, a setback that has kept him out since Oct. 23. He has been back around the team recently, but he still has not resumed on-court work.
The timing only adds to the challenge for a roster already juggling injuries elsewhere. Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley are among the other Raptors dealing with health issues, and the team has been careful about managing availability rather than rushing anyone back. For a group trying to steady itself, Leonards absence leaves another important piece missing just as the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Leonard's Absence Leaves Raptors Waiting On A Crucial Next Step
Kawhi Leonard will spend another week on the sideline as the Raptors continue to wait for his left knee to respond to reconditioning work. Toronto said Leonard, who has been out since Oct. 23, is now set to keep moving through his rehab process after missing eight straight games, leaving the team without one of its most important pieces for a third consecutive week.
The next checkpoint is still a week away, which keeps the focus on patience rather than any immediate return date. For a Raptors team trying to sort out its rotation and stay steady in the meantime, Leonards absence remains the biggest variable on the roster, and the latest update only pushes the next real answer a little farther down the road. [Read more 🡒]
JaKobe Walter Is Becoming A Real Raptors Concern At The Worst Time
JaKobe Walters rough patch has arrived at an inconvenient moment for the Raptors, who are already juggling injuries and a thin roster. Over his last four games, the rookie wing has struggled to find any rhythm, and the shot-making dip has made his place in the rotation a little harder to sort out just as Toronto needs reliable minutes from anywhere it can get them.
The coaching staff is still backing Walter, which matters, but the next step may be less about confidence and more about fit. A move back to the second unit has been floated as one way to ease the pressure and get him into cleaner looks, and for a team searching for stability, finding a workable role for him suddenly feels like part of the bigger answer. [Read more 🡒]