Proposed Cavs trade with Raptors swaps Allen for Anunoby

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Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers and Khem Birch, OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors. Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images /

Proposed Cavs trade with Raptors: Why Toronto does this deal

Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes penned the piece in question, identifying trades to help out some of the NBA’s top young stars. The deal was therefore pitched from the position of the Cavs. If that were the case, why would the Raptors do this deal?

The biggest reason lives in Philadelphia, PA, and just averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds per game against the Raptors in this year’s playoffs. Joel Embiid is hard for any team to manage, but the Raptors were left with just a single strategy: swarm Embiid and hope he turns the ball over. While the big man did average 3.3 turnovers per game in the series, the Raptors were left with no available adjustments when the 76ers countered.

They need to find a reliable center who can survive in the playoffs; while Jarrett Allen doesn’t have much of a track record, his quality of play is high enough that he should be an excellent option in the postseason, especially against teams playing a traditional center. Allen has the size to match up with Embiid, or to wall off the paint against other elite bigs in the conference like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Bam Adebayo.

OG Anunoby is a really talented player, and the Raptors would lose something significant by trading him. Yet the emergence of Scottie Barnes gives the Raptors an excess of forwards, and by trading from that excess they could find a more balanced team that gives them more options for lineups than they currently boast. They could trot out a starting lineup of Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and Jarrett Allen. That’s an elite and balanced lineup.

If presented the opportunity, the Raptors should do this deal. Our sister site, Raptors Rapture, came to the same conclusion.