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Ding! Dong! The clock struck midnight 3pm and Cinderella Kyle Lowry was still the GROAT... as an active Raptor!
In a shocking turn of events, Lowry was not moved on his 35th birthday. Instead, the second-longest tenured Raptor, Norman Powell, was shipped to Portland for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood. On a day when the NBA had the highest number of trades, teams involved, and roster players moved on Deadline Day, Toronto was front and centre throughout the day.
On the latest episode of That’s A Rap, the boys break down all the significant moves and set sights toward a second-half playoff push!
In This Episode:
4:25 — Powell is Trailblazing
The Raptors have built a reputation as a franchise that discovers overlooked college stars and develop them into serviceable NBA players. Before Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam, there was Norm. The 2nd-round draft pick who was thrown into the trade from Milwaukee for Greivis Vasquez, has grown into everything Raptors fans could’ve hoped for. He greatly outplayed his contract (4 year / $42 million) and has an extensive history of saving the Raptors in the playoffs. He made us all understand the grind and it will be sad to see him playing for Portland (on Sunday!!)
15:42 — Shedding the fat
Whether it was to clear room for a subsequent Kyle Lowry trade or simply to shed the fat, Terence Davis and Matt Thomas were traded to Sacramento and Utah, respectively, for second-round picks in this year’s draft. One fell out of favour with fans before the season and will now wallow in Kings mediocrity. The other fell out of Nick Nurse’s favour but will now add his sharpshooting ability to the NBA’s best 3-point shooting team (in history)!
22:35 — He Stay...for now
After all the eulogizing and fear and reminiscing, Kyle Lowry stayed! Ultimately, Masai Ujiri was not going to sell the franchise’s icon for a Herro-sized nickel on the Lowry loonie. There’s something to be said about Ujiri standing his ground, with the threat of Lowry walking this Summer and getting nothing in return. But the possibility of Lowry’s pre-game intro at Scotiabank Arena (as a Raptor, of course) still exists!
36:23 — Trade deadline madness
What a fast and furious trade deadline day it was! Orlando’s oldest player is now... Terrence Ross! Houston turned James Harden into Avery Bradley, Dante Exum (injured), Kelly Olynyk (possibly waived), a pair of DJs, and a bunch of draft picks. Boston actually made a trade. Former Raptors, Delon Wright, Cory Joseph, James Johnson, and Lou Williams all found new (but in one case, old) homes.