The Toronto Raptors have been a good team for the past few years but they might be the biggest surprise this year in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have a record of 35-16 which is second best in the East and they are just two games behind the Cavaliers for the top spot. This Raptors team feels as though they have a very legitimate chance at a title this year so they are being very active on the trade market to try and round out their roster. One player who the Raptors have a lot of interest in is Thaddeus Young of the Brooklyn Nets, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Windhorst was on a Toronto radio show where he said that he thinks the Raptors are going to go for it this year. He also added that the Raptors are "pretty aggressive in the trade market" and that they are specifically looking for a power forward. Young is one of the names that have come up in connection to the Raptors but Kenneth Faried and Markieff Morris have also been mentioned.
The Raptors certainly have the means to be able to make a trade considering they have three first round picks in the upcoming draft. Toronto owns their own pick, the Knicks pick, which looks like it will be in the lottery, and the Clippers pick. If the Raptors truly feel like they are a power forward away, which they reportedly do, they could be willing to move on from a couple of those picks to get their guy.
The Raptors let former power forward Amir Johnson walk in free agency this offseason and they thought they had filled the void. Starter Luis Scola has had a solid season so far but Patrick Patterson has been very underwhelming in a season they were hoping he would emerge. The Raptors will likely have to unload salary in any sort of trade for a power forward so Patterson could be on his way out in this scenario, according to Nets Daily.
From the Nets side of things here Mikhail Prokhorov is reportedly against any sort of rebuild. Prokhorov has no plans to trade either Young or Brook Lopez, according to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, two guys who just signed deals this offseason. A trade with the Raptors might entice Prokhorov to change course though as the Nets need draft picks and the Raptors have plenty to offer. If Toronto were to offer two of their first round picks and Patterson for Young it would certainly be hard for a team that is struggling for assets to turn that down.
Young signed a four year $54 million deal this offseason with the Nets meaning he is under contract through 2019. The Nets do see Young as a foundational piece so it is understandable that they don't want to trade him but by dealing him they can get some draft picks and clear some future salary. In the hypothetical deal the Nets would be getting Patterson who is only under contract through next season at a reasonable $6 million. Making a deal like this would certainly signal that the Nets are in for a rebuild which is exactly what Prokhorov doesn't want, but it is something he has to at least strongly consider.
Young is averaging 15.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game in his first full season with the Nets. The 27-year-old forward clearly represents an upgrade over Patterson and the other power forwards on the Raptors so acquiring him would likely be a huge help. It will now be a matter of whether the Raptors will offer the Nets a deal that will force Prokhorov to change his mind about trading Young.
