Raptors Are Out Of Time To Pile Up Wins Due To A Lost Of  A Prolific Star Player…

The Toronto Raptors are in a terrible situation where they are not in the playoff picture following yet another difficult loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. It is a reflection on this front office that despite the team’s shortcomings, they are not bad enough to earn their first-round pick back from the San Antonio Spurs.

The Raptors will have an opportunity to turn things around and defeat the beatable Utah Jazz team before Christmas. Even though Lauri Markkanen can score points at any time, the Jazz have enough scorers to defeat the Raptors, who have recently struggled defensively.

Even though the Raptors are playing this game on the second night of a back-to-back, Darko Rajakovic will have his work cut out for him if they can’t put an end to a disappointing team that is having injury issues with some of its bigger players.

Christian Koloko Injury Status for tonight’s Raptors vs. Jazz game

Koloko’s story doesn’t change; the respiratory ailment that has kept him out of commission for the entire year is still severe enough to keep him out of commission. He doesn’t seem to be anywhere near getting on the court anytime soon, even after moving on to on-court work.

Lauri Markkanen Injury Status for tonight’s Raptors vs. Jazz game

Following his absence from Utah’s victory over the struggling Pistons because of load management, the Jazz appear prepared to start the trade chip Markkanen again. The Finnish star might be sufficient to lead his team to yet another surprising victory given how essential he is to their offensive strategy.

READ MORE:

NBA Insider Shares Latest Trade Chatter Involving Raptors OG Anunoby…

The most recent team to surface in talks about an OG Anunoby trade is the Philadelphia 76ers.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Anunoby and Zach LaVine are both players to “keep an eye on” as possible 76ers targets and players Philadelphia has expressed interest in.

The 76ers appear lined up to make another move this season after dealing James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers early this year. Philadelphia acquired multiple first-round picks in the deal and is expected to try and make another deal ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.

What the 76ers would be willing to part with in order to acquire Anunoby before his summer free agency begins is unknown. With the exception of Tyrese Maxey, who would be invincible in trade negotiations, Philadelphia lacks many young, talented players. However, the salaries of Robert Covington, Nicholas Batum, and Marcus Morris, who are all eligible for trade as soon as December 30 in a multi-player deal, are identical for the 76ers.

Complicating this picture is the 76ers’ ability to go after Anunoby in free agency should Philadelphia opt to create cap space this summer. It’s not clear that the 76ers will go down that path, but they could create nearly $40 million in cap space this offseason to offer Anunoby a near-max contract while keeping Maxey and Joel Embiid under contract.

It is thought that the Raptors are more likely to move Pascal Siakam than Anunoby at the trade deadline because Toronto has not yet shown that the team is prepared to move Anunoby. Nevertheless, given that a number of teams are reportedly interested in Toronto’s All-Defense forward, the Raptors might find a deal that is too good to refuse in a bidding war.