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The Toronto Raptors took a huge step forward in 2025/26, and with the young core that’s led by Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, the future has been looking bright for a number of years now.
After their 46-36 finish to the season, the team went all in on pushing for another NBA Championship, making a trade to reunite with Kawhi Leonard, and while things are still up in the air on that deal due to controversies with the Los Angeles Clippers, the hope is that it will go through in the near future. The team aren’t sitting back on their heels however, as it has now been reported that they were in on another blockbuster trade before the Atlanta Hawks swooped in and got the deal done.
Toronto Raptors Miss out on Landing NBA Champion
That NBA Champion would be Canadian Lu Dort, who was recently acquired by the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade that also included the Dallas Mavericks who acquired Zaccharie Risacher, with the Thunder getting three second-round draft picks while the Hawks landed the hard nosed defender.
It’s unclear just how close things got, but according to Mike Scotto of Hoops Hype, the Raptors were one of four teams that were showing interest in Dort before the three-team deal sending him to Atlanta became official.
“Several teams expressed trade interest in acquiring Dort before he was traded to Atlanta, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Heat, league sources told HoopsHype,” writes Scotto.
On paper, Dort would have been a fantastic fit for the Raptors, as it would have given them a three-headed defensive monster of Dort-Leonard-Barnes, with the assumption being that Barrett would have likely been a piece of the return along with draft picks.
Can the Raptors Take a Huge Leap in 2026/27?
Despite this miss, and assuming the Leonard deal goes through, with a resolution expected in the coming weeks, the Raptors are a much improved team after last year, with Kawhi a major upgrade over Brandon Ingram, who produced very well in his short tenure with the Raptors. Beyond that, the team are hoping for a major individual leap from Murray-Boyles, who averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game in just 22 minutes a night during his rookie campaign, and if they get that, this could be one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
If Kawhi can be at 100% and play at least 65 games for the team next season, that makes them a true threat, but given the question marks over the point guard and center spots, this is a team that’s going to remain aggressive.
That means there’s still plenty of improving to do, and the fact that the team wanted to add another elite defender via trade shows that they’re prepared to be aggressive in pushing for contention in a loaded East that features a contending Cavaliers, Celtics, 76ers, Heat, Pistons and the defending NBA Champions, and if they can get another deal done, they should have just as good a chance as anyone in the conference.
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