Trade for Harden? Trade Lowry? West Coast Trip Likely to Answer Raptors Questions

The Raptors' West Coast trip should provide clarity on which direction the team is heading this season and if a James Harden or Kyle Lowry trade makes sense

The Toronto Raptors appear to be entering the NBA's mushy middle.

By all accounts, they don't appear to be NBA title contenders. They were right on the edge last season, but after taking a step back in the offseason, they probably aren't even Eastern Conference contenders this season either. At the same time, however, it's still too early to say they're top-of-the-draft bad this season.

All that might change by Monday when the Raptors complete their first West Coast road trip of the season. If the Raptors can get back on track against Phoenix, Sacramento, Golden State, and Portland — some good but far from great teams — then maybe Toronto looks to make a win-now move and tries to trade for a superstar like James Harden. On the other hand, if the Raptors go 1-3 over that stretch and sit at 2-8 come Monday, it might be time to start recalibrating and go in another direction this season.

"These next four games can really help define how our season's gonna go, define the team in general," Raptors guard Norman Powell said Wednesday.

Let's take a look at some options:

1: Go All In

The most obvious all-in option for the Raptors right now is to try and make a deal for Harden. There has been plenty of reporting that Toronto has made contact with the Rockets about potentially making a deal, though talks do not seem to have escalated very far.

It would take a lot for the Raptors to land the 31-year-old superstar. The starting place for any conversations at this point would likely be Pascal Siakam and a combination of young players and picks well into the future.

A deal would instantly reshape the Raptors' offence, turning it from one of the league's worst attacks to presumably one of the league's best. Harden is currently averaging 33 points per game this season, the most in the league, and he remains one of the league's scariest isolation scorers. Regardless of how the next week goes, Toronto's offence certainly needs some work. Adding a player of Harden's caliber would be the spark Toronto needs.

2: Trade Kyle Lowry

A rebuild or reset has been on the table for the Raptors since they pulled off the Kawhi Leonard for DeMar DeRozan deal in 2018. Eventually, the Kyle Lowry-DeRozan/Leonard era was going to come to an end and the Raptors were going to need to transition into something new. Right now, that seems to be the Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and OG Anunoby era, which appears to be lacking at least one more piece.

The 34-year-old Lowry is in the final year of his contract with the Raptors and he still appears to have plenty in the tank to provide a title contender. While it may be tough to see the greatest player in franchise history get traded without a proper goodbye, a rough stretch from them Raptors would increase the chances Toronto decides to part ways with their lead guard.

Toronto likely wouldn't want to take on any long-term money, so finding a trade partner might be tough, but some draft equity in what's expected to be a very talented 2021 NBA Draft might warrant some attention from the Raptors front office. If things continue to go south, don't be surprised if Lowry trade talks begin to heat up before the NBA's March 25 trade deadline.