Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Report: Raptors Among Teams Interested in Kings' Richaun Holmes
The Toronto Raptors' pursuit of a new centre might not wait until the offseason.
The Raptors are reportedly one of the teams that has expressed interest in Sacramento Kings centre Richaun Holmes, sources tell The Athletic's Shams Carania.
The 27-year-old Holmes is having a career season, averaging 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season. The problem for the Raptors, however, is Holmes' contractual status. He's in the final year of his contract and heading into unrestricted free agency this summer. That would either make him a rental for Toronto or a player the Raptors could lose in free agency this summer.
Had news leaked a few weeks ago when before Toronto's COVID-19 issues when the Raptors were still in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff chase a deal for Holmes would have made a lot more sense. But now the Raptors have dropped eight straight and look more like deadline sellers than deadline buyers.
If Toronto is going to do anything before Thursday's trade deadline it's far more likely to trade Norman Powell and potentially Kyle Lowry than it is to add a rental player to try and make a push for the post-season this year. Holmes could be an interesting player for the Raptors to look at during the offseason if Sacramento doesn't bring him back, but otherwise, a trade before Thursday doesn't make much sense.
Further Reading
Kyle Lowry jokes that he doesn't know about Thursday's trade deadline
Report: Norman Powell has emerged as a top trade target recently
Report: A Norman Powell trade is 'close to inevitable" ahead of the trade deadline
