The Raptors suffered when their star guard DeMar Derozan went down with an injury as they went 12-9 during his absence. But With Derozan back in the line-up, they are now back in their winning ways. However, recent trade rumors indicate that the Raptors are looking to upgrade their power forward spot and the likeliest candidate is Denver Nugget's Kenneth Faried.
The Toronto Raptors has been a surprise this year. Their chances of winning the Eastern Conference has not been this high. Kyle Lowry is playing his heart out and critics even put his name at the top 5 PG in the NBA right now. DeMar DeRozan will only get better and Jonas Valanciunas has been improving every year. But, their four position could use some help.
"Jonas Valanciunas is progressing well (I still say he's a future All Star), but he's not a shot-blocker or rim-protector. His rebounding and scoring are fine (and only going to improve), but there's a void left by Toronto's bigs. And it's not filled when you factor in the second unit-with guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Chuck Hayes or Patrick Patterson-either."
The Eastern leaders boast an outstanding frontcourt. The Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and even Atlanta Hawks have All-Stars manning the paint. The possible move:
"If I were in Ujiri's shoes, I'd be looking at teams outside of the playoff picture. Are those clubs looking to auction off assets? Denver's Kenneth Faried was mentioned above by one reader, and the Nuggets are a team worth talking to. Timofey Mozgov is intriguing, and Ujiri's ties to Denver could bring added value."
Mozgov is now out of the picture as he is now playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, Denver has been vocal of listening to offers as reports have suggested. Wilson Chandler and Aaron Afflalo are the most coveted players in their line-up and there are even some wild speculations that the whole roster is on the trading block. Fans would just have to stay tuned.
What do you think of this NBA trade rumor? Will Denver Nuggets give away 'The Manimal'? Sound off in the comments section below.
