Masai Ujiri: Raptors Will ‘Definitely’ Make More Trades After Siakam, Anunoby Deals

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The Toronto Raptors apparently aren’t done making moves this season.

After trading Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers and moving OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said “definitely” when asked if there will be more trades ahead of the February deadline, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

This is quite the shift in strategy from last year.

While there was no shortage of rumors surrounding Toronto, it decided to not move any of its marquee pieces ahead of the 2023 deadline. That proved costly, as it ended up losing to the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament instead of enjoying a deep postseason run.

Then Fred VanVleet signed with the Houston Rockets as a free agent.

Ujiri clearly didn’t want to see Siakam and Anunoby leave for other teams without getting something in return after the VanVleet exit. Siakam is set for free agency during the upcoming offseason, while Anunoby has a player option for 2024-25 and could also become a free agent if he doesn’t exercise it.

“The lines of communication were not that great …I apologized to him for it,” Ujiri said of how the Siakam situation was handled over the last year, per Grange.

Shifting into something of a rebuilding mode makes sense for the Raptors, who are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 16-25. The roster that was constructed heading into the 2023-24 campaign was not going to compete for a championship, so focusing on future assets seems to be the correct approach.

In the Siakam trade alone, the Raptors landed three first-round picks. In the Anunoby trade, Toronto brought back 23-year-old RJ Barrett and a contract that extends through the 2026-27 campaign.

Perhaps Ujiri can use those picks and surround Barrett with several talented players in the coming years. There may even be more picks or young players coming if Toronto makes another move or two before February’s deadline.