Which Raptors have underrated trade value?

Trade value is a persnickety thing in the NBA.

It’s easy to think about value in a vacuum — skilled! young! good contract! — but nothing ever exists in a vacuum in the NBA. Value, insofar as it exists to a team that isn’t currently employing a player, is very much in the eye of the beholder. A player can matter a huge amount, more than life itself, to his own team. And the other 29 teams around the league can have no interest. (Pascal Siakam, circa 2022-2024) Or a player can be on the outs in his own town but still have a thriving trade market. (Jimmy Butler, this trade deadline?)

Because it takes two to tango. There is no bank of trades in the NBA, wherein a team can acquire a set value in exchange for a player if no other team is interested in making moves. There is only the market. And that can shift daily, due to other factors entirely, due to the whims of individuals (Nico Harrison?), due to anything and everything around.

So let’s take this concept of ‘value’ with a grain of salt.

That being said, it is important to gauge how the Toronto Raptors might be viewed around the league. Raptors not having the value on the open market that they deserved has led to two teams acquiring hugely impactful players at discount costs — and then reaching the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. I imagine Masai Ujiri understands that better than anyone else around. He didn’t get fleeced in exchange for Pascal Siakam and OG Anuoby. They just didn’t have the markets that their talents should have indicated. Ujiri will surely position his team and his trades to (try to) ensure that doesn’t happen again.

RJ Barrett

To my mind, Barrett is the exact type of player who might be traded for more than fans and analysts might expect. Let’s go down memory lane. Briefly. Fresh off being called a toxic asset, Barrett exploded in Toronto, upping his scoring, efficiency, and creation duties as well. He didn’t finish around the rim in 2024-25 as well as he did the half season prior in Toronto, but he still turned in a more efficient year than he ever did in New York. And he set a career high in assists on top of that.

Barrett churns to the rim in the half court. When not given primary duties, he cuts, spots up and his the easy ones (over 40 percent on corner 3s), and drives the damn ball like a lunatic. He even turned in a very solid defensive second half of the season for Toronto. As the Raptors improved on that end, so too did Barrett. He wasn’t exceptional, but he paid better attention to details, was in the right spots, and tried hard. The team’s defensive rating after the All-Star break was slightly better with Barrett on the court than overall; he can fit into a good defence, even if he won’t drive it.

Players like that help good teams. He can scale his usage up or down, initiate and run the offence from time to time, or spot up and drive closeouts. He will score and draw free throws no matter who else is on the court. He’ll also be eligible for an extension this October, which means his contract is expiring soon — he’s not going to be on the books for long if teams trade for him.

It only takes one team to want a player and drive up his market, and I imagine a number of teams can convince themselves Barrett is a missing piece. The Golden State Warriors might want some extra scoring at the wing spot. Perhaps the Denver Nuggets feel they lack offensive punch around Nikola Jokic. Barrett is a good player who will help a good team. Even if media may not acknowledge Barrett’s value, I would guess at least one front office would.

Jakob Poeltl

As more and more teams want ball movement, passing and screening, and decision-making from bigs, it would behoove front office around the league to look to one of the best delay operators (non-Jokic category) in the NBA.

Poeltl just turned in the best season of his career. After showing some slippage early on in the season, his defence rounded out to form midway through the year, and his offence was spectacular. He finishes everything, screens and creates for others, and always makes the right choice with the ball in his hands. He also doesn’t need others to create easy looks for him; toss him the ball 10 feet from the rim in a crowded lane, and as long as he has a head of steam he’ll turn it into a high-quality look.

Every team in the league, bar none, would want a player like Poeltl. (Especially as the double-big lineup continues to have a resurgence in the league.) He may not shoot, but he offers plenty of spacing through his earth-shattering screens. The Warriors (again) would desperately want a player like Poeltl. The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers would be greatly bolstered by his abilities.

The only issue is that the Raptors — about to try to win games again — also desperately need Poeltl. As with Anunoby before, if the Raptors traded Poeltl they would immediately need a player just like him in the rotation. The Raptors may have the ninth pick in the draft, but to expect a rookie to start at center and help the team win would be folly.

Still, as with Barrett, Poeltl is on an extremely tradeable (if about-to-expire) contract. It only takes one team out there to come sniffing for a trade to happen, and teams can and do make offers that are too generous to refuse. Were the Raptors to try to trade Poeltl, countless teams would likely offer big deals.

Ochai Agbaji

Okay, yes, this is the trio of players who are about to eligible for extensions. That’s a coincidence.

But as with Poeltl and Barrett, Agbaji is on a very tradeable contract. And like them, he is a role player who can fill a variety of roles around the league.

For Toronto last season, Agbaji was more or less perfect. He was the second-most efficient scorer on the team, behind only Poeltl, and his jumper was as close to automatic (39.9 percent from deep) as it got for the Raptors. And it evolved, too. He started out the season hitting just from the corners, then he shifted above the break, and then he added side-step and one-dribble triples to his bag. He ended up hitting almost equal percentages from above the break as from the corners, which is huge in helping spread the floor to its breaking point.

Sure, he had the easiest role on the team. He did almost no creation for himself or others, and was asked only to shoot when open, cut when guarded, and drive when run off the line. He did it all fabulously. Even though his defence isn’t quite what it should be, every team in the league is looking for more wing sharpshooters on cheapo deals. Agbaji would surely draw interest from teams like the Orlando Magic, the Phoenix Suns, or the San Antonio Spurs.

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