| December 8, 2021, 12:13 AM
December 8, 2021, 12:13 AM
Following the recent news regarding the Indiana Pacers and the Portland Trailblazers, and the direction each franchise may be heading, Will Lou and Blake Murphy discuss potential trade targets for the Toronto Raptors.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that the Pacers are potentially considering a roster rebuild with key veterans like guard Caris LeVert and either centre Myles Turner or forward Domantas Sabonis as trade pieces. Out on the West Coast, the Portland Trailblazers are figuring out their next steps, with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski's reporting that Damian Lillard's contract extension expectations exceed $100 million over two years. These steps may include centre Jusuf Nurkic and forward Robert Covington finding themselves on the trade block.
"People love Myles Turner. People love the idea of a three-and-D centre with this group, which I would also love the idea of a three-and-D centre with this group," said Will Lou on Tuesday during The Raptors Show With Will Lou.
"I think that Turner's limitations are things that you can kind of make up for when you have (Pascal) Siakam, (Scottie) Barnes and (OG) Anunoby around ... sometimes the book on Turner is that he's not as aggressive and physical inside as you would like a big to be," said Blake Murphy.
"Just any semblance of rim protection on this team, even if you're having Turner switch around a lot, he's led the league in blocks multiple times and the Raptors have nobody who is blocking shots right now," said Murphy.
"Nurkic is a guy that if you're looking for 'hey, who's a centre the Raptors could try to grab in the off-season?'... Nurkic might be one," said Murphy.
Watch the full conversation about how Toronto can best navigate the latest trade rumours on The Raptors Show with Will Lou, which can now be streamed live daily on Sportsnet's YouTube channel. A replay of Tuesday's episode can be found below.
