Four Players Who Can Help the Toronto Raptors Shooting Issues

They’re 13-15, now, 10th in the Eastern Conference, with Chicago Bulls on their heels. And they’ve lost three in a row, going into tomorrow night’s game at home against the Brooklyn Nets, a team that’s been rising (17-12, fourth in the East). They’ll have to continue to navigate a stretch of games against teams that have a record of .500 and above, with the Nets and then the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. 

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The Kings loss at Scotiabank Arena exposed what has been their No. 1 ongoing weakness so far this season – 3-point shooting. The Raptors are third worst in the league, at 32.3 per cent. 

Last night they were 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, matching their fewest made 3-pointers of the season. The Kings outscored Toronto by 33 points there. Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s top 3-point shooter on the season – 33.5 per cent, 118th in the league. He only played 24 minutes against the Kings – the fewest of the starting five. That’s not going to get it done.

A very winnable game, Scottie Barnes – who hopefully had himself a slump-breaking game with 27 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists – said afterwards. 

As trade talk heats up a bit around the city – especially with the San Antonio Spurs’ Jacob Poeltl being a name bandied about (no real scoring bonus there, but the Raptors also need a boost at centre, with Christian Koloko as their primary starter there) – shooting is going to be a focus. The trade deadline is Feb. 9.

Here are four players who can help improve that (NBA trade season is now underway): 

Coby White (trade, from the Chicago Bulls).

If the Bulls start to unload, White could be a Raptors target. While off to a slower start this season (32.9 per cent from beyond the arc), the point guard hit on 38.5 per cent 3-pointers over 61 games last season.

Kyle Kuzma (trade, from the Washington Wizards). 

Kuzma is about to be an unrestricted free agent, so he’s likely a rental. He’s a premier wing and has touched 36.6 3-point percentage in his six-year career (2017-18 with the Lakers, 36.1 per cent with the Lakers in 2020-21).

Cameron Johnson (trade, from the Phoenix Suns). 

Johnson is going to be a restricted free agent, a small forward with some heady 3-point percentage numbers – 42.5 last season in 66 games, 43.1 per cent in eight games this year. He’s out now with a knee injury and is without a clear timeline on when he gets back into game action.

Otto Porter Jr. (returns from injury). 

Porter was signed to a contract that pays him just $6 million this season. While that number makes him tradeable, we’re sure the Raptors would rather have the player they inked as a free agent this summer, the guy with the career 39.7 per cent 3-point stroke. Not the guy who has missed all but eight games this season with injuries (out with a dislocated toe injury now).

This is all speculation, of course. But the bottom line is the organization can’t afford to wait this out and can’t currently compete without a sellable three-point option nightly on the floor.

Sports Interaction has the Raptors as 1-points underdogs Friday against the Brooklyn Nets.