1 deal the Raptors must make while the 2025-26 NBA trade season is underway

The The play of the Toronto Raptors may have been a bit off latelybut they remain in fourth place in the congested Eastern Conference at 20-15. That’s still better than most expected of them heading into the 2025-26 campaign, although it appears to be the bare minimum given how much the team has invested in player wages.

But as much as the Raptors look like a legitimate playoff team in the East, it’s becoming very apparent that they may not have enough to compete for a championship just yet. Brandon Ingram has been a godsend as a primary perimeter shooter, Scotty Barnes is a winning player who can fill gaps for his team on both ends of the floor, while RJ Barrett provides pressure at the rim that no other player on the team can.

however, Jakob Poeltl has been dealing with injury issues all season long, while Immanuel Quickley has struggled with inconsistency. If there are areas for improvement for the Raptors, it is in the backbone of their team — the center and point guard positions.

Even with Masai Ujiri no longer with the franchise, the Raptors organization knows the value of having stars on the roster. It should come as no surprise to anyone that they were associated with a potential trade for Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis.

Davis’ winning impact has been proven for years, which would make it difficult for the Raptors to trade for him, especially when he will have plenty of suitors himself.

Regardless, trading for Davis is an obvious move for the Raptors, and here’s the package they have to swing to try and convince the Mavericks.

The Raptors are getting aggressive in the market for Anthony Davis

Raptors pick up: Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell

Mavericks Acquire: Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, Collin Murray-Boiles, 2026 TOR First Round Pick, 2028 TOR First Round Pick

At first glance, this seems so expensive price for Davis. He’s 32, so you’d think his best years are behind him, and he’s been injury-prone throughout his career – a fact that’s unlikely to change as he ages even more.

However, a player’s trade value does not exist in a vacuum. The trade market dictates how much any team would be willing to pay for a star of Davis’ caliber. And with the Mavericks reportedly looking to sign Davis in their ongoing pivot to a youth movement, they won’t settle for pennies on the dollar, not when they traded Luka Doncic to acquire the 32-year-old’s services.

ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel even swam a crazy five-team trade scenario where the Mavericks manage to acquire Domantas Sabonis (an All-Star-caliber shortstop), Zachary Rizacher (the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft), Luke Kennard and two first-round picks. That’s a reasonable return for the Mavericks to expect in any Davis trade scenario, and if that’s the level of package the Raptors have to meet just to land Davis, then they might have to think twice.

Regardless, the Raptors have the wherewithal to land Davis. They could simply choose to figure it all out later. Having to trade two starters as well as the ninth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft in Collin Murray-Boiles along with two first-round picks may deter the Raptors from pursuing Davis, but here’s why it’s worth the risk.

For starters, the Raptors will be able to void Poeltl’s contract in this trade. Poeltl signed a three-year, $84 million extension on top of his current deal. Now it will gain total of 104 million dollars in four years. While the 30-year-old center is a productive rim protector and underrated passer when healthy, his back issues have lingered all season, and back issues are never a good sign for an aging big man.

Poeltl will make around $27.3 million in his age-32 campaign, and that could put the Raptors in some serious purgatory if they keep his deal on the books.

These same issues may prevent the Mavericks from wanting Poeltl in any Davis trade scenario with the Raptors. However, there is no other way for Toronto to match Davis’ salaries other than adding Poeltl to one of Quickley’s or Barrett’s deals. There is no way Toronto trades Ingram or Barnes for Davis.

Quickley, on the other hand, hasn’t exactly been lighting it up lately, although he’s picked up his game and seems to be turning things around. He’s averaging 16-4-6 on the season, which might not be the kind of production you want out of someone earning $32.5 million for the next four years.

Getting rid of Quickley’s contract should also lead to better long-term health for the Raptors, and being able to shed that burdensome contract while bringing in a star like Davis can be seen as nothing more than a huge win.

But given the downsides that come with getting Poeltl and Quickley, the Mavericks would like to be well compensated. This is where the inclusion of Colin Murray-Boyles becomes necessary. Toronto would like to find a scenario where they can acquire Davis without giving up a recent lottery pick. Alas, acquiring talent means giving up talent in return, and the Mavs would like to add blue-chip prospects in the event of a Davis trade given that giving up the 32-year-old means they’ll be banking on youth.

Murray-Boyles’ offensive game is so raw it looked like he was pulled straight out of the ocean, but defensively, he showed plenty of potential as a multi-position disruptor, a high-level connector that any contending team would want. Pairing him along with Cooper Flagg would give the Mavericks two high-level defensemen to build a team around — continuing former GM Nick Harrison’s roster-first ethic.

Two first-round picks simply act as a sweetener for the Mavericks, so they no longer look elsewhere in an attempt to replace Davis. If the Raptors end up winning a lot of games over the next few seasons, it shouldn’t hurt too much to lose those guys anyway.