Something Brewing in Raptorland: Why a Trade with Portland Makes Sense

[Built Ford Tough]

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Raptor point guard Jose Calderon has been the subject of trade rumors for much of his time in Toronto

 

When Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reported that the Toronto Raptors will be waiving seldomly used veteran point guard Anthony Carter prior to March 15th's trade deadline, it sparked a multitude of speculation.

 

Why would Toronto decide to make the move now after Carter's salary was already guaranteed for the rest of the year?

 

Why would Toronto release their 3rd string point guard when Jerryd Bayless has been bothered by a troublesome ankle for the majority of the season?

 

However, the most commonly thought thing was whether or not the releasing of Carter was a precursor to another roster move.

 

That just may be the case.

 

It is no secret that Raptors General Manger Bryan Colangelo has been receiving offers on point guard Jose Calderon. He has been linked to teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the Portland Trailblazers and the Utah Jazz. Basically, if a team is in the market for a point guard, there is a good bet that Calderon's name has been linked to them at one point or another.

 

Colangelo has made it well known that he covets cap space, or “flexibility” as he likes to refer to, heading into this summer. That leads one to believe that Colangelo would love to shed the final year of Calderon's contract that would pay him $10,561,985. That would leave the Raptors with just $28,963,296 in committed salary for next season, possibly even less if they don't pick up the team option on centre Solomon Alabi or extend a Qualifying Offer to Bayless.

 

Enter the Trailblazers.

 

During the 2011 NBA Draft, the Trailblazers acquired Raymond Felton from the Denver Nuggets and believed that they had found their point guard of the future. Felton was coming off a breakthrough season split between the Nuggets and the New York Knicks in which he averaged career highs in points (15.5 per game), assists (8.3 per game), steals (1.7 per game) and Player Efficiency Rating (16.6).

 

However, Felton has struggled in Portland. He is currently averaging career lows in points (9.7 per game), rebounds (2.0 per game), steals (1.2 per game) and PER (10.7). In fact, he has struggled so much that Portland coach Nate McMillan recently took him out of the starting lineup, although he has since been re-inserted into the starting five. That doesn't mean he has restored his coach's faith in him as he is averaging just 23 minutes per game over his last six games.

 

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Raymond Felton has struggled in his lone season with Portland. A change of scenery may rejuvinate his game

 

Speculation has come about that Portland is looking to make a trade to bolster their point guard position before the trade deadline in hopes of moving up the Western Conference standings and have contact numerous teams about trade possibilities. The Raptors make the most sense, though.

 

Calderon will give the Blazers a reliable, steady, mistake free presence at the point. He is currently leading the league with an assist-to-turnover ratios of 4.53:1, averages 8.6 assists per game, which is good for 3rd in the NBA, and is a much more consistent shooter from the perimeter.

 

Meanwhile, the Raptors will need a point guard in return if they move Calderon. By trading for Felton, they can give him a 20 game audition in hopes that he can get back to his near All-Star form that he showed last season. If he proves incapable of that, the Raptors will simply let his contract expire at the end of the season and enter the offseason with as much cap flexibility as they could hope for.

 

It really is a win-win for both teams.